Robert Alexander Walton Blair (1922 - 1944)

Ancestors

Biography

Robert Alexander Walton Blair was born on 18th January 1922 in Perth, Western Australia, Australia. He was the firstborn child of (Robert) Walton Blair, a Light Horse veteran of The Great War, and Vera Crease. ^[1] On 9th November 1941 Robert enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) for service during the fast-escalating Second World War. His father, then a Lieutenant Colonel in the Volunteer Defence Corps in Perth, was listed as his next-of-kin. ^[1] He was posted to Group 4, No.77 Squadron RAF and, having been commissioned as a Pilot Officer, flew a Handley Page Halifax III Rolls-Royce Merlin four-engine heavy bomber with markings KN-A A-Able from at RAF Elvington in Yorkshire. In May 1944 the squadron moved to RAF Full Sutton in East Riding of Yorkshire. ^[2]

Aged just 22 years, he was killed in action during a flying battle on 17th June 1944. Robert Alexander Walton Blair's name is located at panel 119 in the Commemorative Area at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra, Runnymede Memorial, Surrey, England, and the Perth Cenotaph. ^[3][4][5]

Following the war, Robert's parents were issued his campaign and service medals: 1939-1945 Star, Atlantic Star, Defence Medal, War Medal 1939-1945 and Australia Service Medal 1939-1945.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Department of Veterans' Affairs nominal roll: 415498 Pilot Officer Robert Alexander Walton Blair; accessed 24 Nov 2023
2. ↑ No.77 Squadron RAF; accessed 24 Nov 2023
3. ↑ Australian War Memorial roll of honour: 415498 Pilot Officer Robert Alexander Walton Blair; accessed 24 Nov 2023
4. ↑ Burial of son Robert Alexander Blair: "Web: UK and Allied Countries, Index of International Bomber Command Losses, 1936-1966" International Bomber Command Centre; Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England; Losses Database: Https://Internationalbcc.co.uk/History-Archive/Losses-Database/; URL: https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/202379/ Ancestry au Record 70893 #60054349 (accessed 26 January 2023) Robert Walton Blair's son Robert Alexander Blair burial in Runnymede Memorial, United Kingdom.
5. ↑ Military: "UK, Commonwealth War Graves, 1914-1921 and 1939-1947" Commonwealth War Graves Commission; Author: Peter Singlehurst; Series Title: British Commonwealth War Graves Registers, 1914-1918; Archive Name: London, United Kingdom Ancestry Sharing Link