John Margrave Lerew DFC (1912 - 1996)

Appreciating that his squadron could now not make any useful contribution in the event of full invasion, John made plans to evacuate his wounded and save his remaining aeroplanes. He was subsequently astonished, to say the least, when Port Moresby headquarters responded by ordering him to maintain combat readiness for further orders. His reply has gone down in history books, most appropriate but causing irreparable damage to his career: "Morituri vos Salutamus" – 'We who are about to die salute you' – the gladiators' salute to Caesar. Disregarding the nonsensical order, John arranged for flying boats from a Port Moresby squadron to evacuate his fit men and sent the Hudson away loaded with his wounded. His two Wirraways flew off to Lae. Soldiers from the 2/22nd Infantry Battalion set off 100 embedded bombs, rendering the airstrip unusable. Getting to the pickup point for the flying boats involved an eighty kilometre journey through the jungle, by vehicle initially, then by boat and by foot, trying to keep hidden from the victorious Japanese. A hundred were picked up by the flying boats, some escaped by boat, three were captured by the Japanese. ^[4]

Career 'sidelined'

After the evacuation, John took command of No.32 Squadron at Port Moresby. On 11th February 1942 he was shot down in a Hudson in a mast-height bombing raid on shipping over Gasmata, New Britain, bailing out the front window with the plane in flames into heavy jungle. None of his crew survived, but he avoided capture, was rescued by Coast Watchers and evacuated by schooner, returning to Port Moresby nine days after having been posted missing. ^[5][6]

John was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) on 7th April 1942 for 'skill and courage in operations at New Britain'. ^[7][8][9]

The rest of the war was less eventful for John. He spent a lot of the next eight months on trains, with six postings across Australia from Northern Territory, to Victoria to New South Wales. His biographer, Lex McAulay, speculates that this was to keep him out of the public eye and away from media until he was no longer news-worthy. He held base commands around Australia and commanded No.7 Squadron in Australia for a time. He spent time once more at No.1 Aircraft Depot, Laverton, where he felt he was under-utilised, even though he had over 2,000 personnel under his command and it was a vital if rear-echelon role. He investigated an air crash while there with the findings adopted world-wide. The experience was to be an indicator of his future career.

John was posted to RAAF Overseas Headquarters, London in December 1943, travelling via the United States. He studied Royal Air Force (RAF) and United States of America Air Force (USAAF) methods as well as undertaking diplomatic tasks.

John returned to Victoria in 1945 and married Laurie Manley nee Steele, an air hostess and divorcee ^[10] whom he had met in London. ^[11] They had two daughters, but eventually divorced.

In June 1945 John became the inaugural RAAF Director of Flying Safety with the rank of Group Captain (GPCAPT).

Move to Canada

John believed he had little place in a post-War RAAF, so applied for a position with the newly created Provisional International Civil Aviation (PICAO) in March 1946. Shortly after taking up a posting as officer commanding RAAF North West Area (NWAHQ) in Darwin he was offered a position of Technical Officer with PICAO, which he accepted. He left the RAAF on 8th November 1946. ^{[2] [12]}

Migrating to Montreal, Quebec, Canada, John took up his position with PICAO which became the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) in 1947. He was appointed Chief of Aerodromes, Air Routes and Ground Aids Section in January 1951 and is credited with introducing a standard runway approach lighting system after five years of disagreements.

John married for a second time, to Josephine Henriette Oude Reimerink in Mexico on 20th August 1966. There were no children.

He was promoted to ICAO's Chief of Flight Branch in April 1969 and retired from ICAO in 1972 after 25 years with them.

Final flight

John and Josephine eventually settled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. John passed away there in St Pauls Hospital on 24th February 1996 after a short battle with cancer, aged 83. ^[13]

Sources

1. ↑ Birth - Victoria BDM Birth Index - Event: births; Registration number: 30561 / 1912; Family name: LEREW; Given name(s): Jno Margrave; Place of event: HTON, VIC, Australia; Personal detail Mother's name: Georgina Margt Jane; Mother's family name at birth: KEYS; Father's Name: Wm Margrave
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} department of Veterans' Affairs nominal roll: 73 Group Captain John Margrave Lerew; accessed 6 Nov 2023
3. ↑ PROPOSED TRAINING SCHOOL (1940, January 26). The Corowa Free Press (NSW : 1875 - 1954), p. 5. Retrieved March 4, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article236659561
4. ↑ Lindsay, Patrick. The Coast Watchers: The Men Behind Enemy Lines Who Saved the Pacific. Random House, North Sydney NSW, 2011. ISBN 978-1-74275-312-6
5. ↑ PILOT SAFE. (1942, February 21). Cairns Post (Qld. : 1909 - 1954), p. 5. Retrieved March 4, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article42333005
6. ↑ We Who Are, About To Die... (1948, May 26). The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954), p. 3. Retrieved March 4, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article247297778
7. ↑ Australian War Memorial honours and awards: DFC; accessed 6 Nov 2023
8. ↑ Australian War Memorial honours and awards (recommendation): DFC; accessed 6 Nov 2023
9. ↑ MIDDLE PARK FLIER WINS HIGH HONOR (1942, April 11). Record (Emerald Hill, Vic. : 1881 - 1954), p. 1. Retrieved March 4, 2020
10. ↑ Divorce Hurry For Baby's Sake (1945, August 31). The Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910 - 1954), p. 3 (LATE FINAL EXTRA). Retrieved March 4, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article230461363
11. ↑ Marriage - Victoria BDM Marriage index - Event: marriages; Registration number: 16968 / 1945; Family name: LEREW; Given name(s): Jno Margrave; Personal detail Spouse's family name: MANLEY; Spouse's given name(s): Laurie Wfred Hill.
12. ↑ AIR POST IN CANADA (1946, November 7). The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954), p. 4. Retrieved March 4, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article204953682
13. ↑ Ryerson Index Deaths LEREW John Margrave Death notice 24FEB1996 Death 83 late of Vancouver Sydney Morning Herald 02MAR1996

• Australian War Memorial.

Further reading

• Gamble, Bruce. Darkest Hour: The True Story of Lark Force at Rabaul. Zenith Imprint, St. Paul, Minnesota, 2006. ISBN 0-7603-2349-6.
• Lindsay, Patrick. The Coast Watchers: The Men Behind Enemy Lines Who Saved the Pacific. Random House, North Sydney NSW, 2011. ISBN 978-1-74275-312-6.
• McAulay, Lex. We Who Are About to Die: The Story of John Lerew, a Hero of Rabaul, 1942. Banner Books, Maryborough QLD, 2007. ISBN 978-1-875593-30-9.
• Veitch, Michael. Australia's Secret Army: The Story of the Coastwatchers, the Unsung Heroes of Australia's Armed Forces During World War II. Hachette Australia, Sydney NSW, 2022. ISBN 978-0-7336-4847-2.
• John Lerew.
• Wikidata: Item Q6244617