When Benalla’s Richard Roe, Known to friends as Dick, died in a tragic air show accident he was just 26 years old.
He had joined the RAAF in 1940, three years earlier, to serve his country in World War II, after already having served with the Army militia.
In newspaper articles written at the time he became referred to as Benalla’s Greatest Aviator.
After signing up Dick was sent to Canada to train with the Empire Training Scheme.
He was subsequently sent to England, where he served with 456 Squadron, RAAF — this was a “night fighter” unit, which was deployed to intercept and shoot down German bombers and raiders.
After returning from the United Kingdom, Dick flew Beaufighters in New Guinea with 30 Squadron RAAF.
He flew more than 40 operational missions in New Guinea.
On one mission from Gurney airstrip in Milne Bay, Dick was reported missing, but later made it safely back.
On one famous occasion in 1943, he and another pilot destroyed six Japanese Zero fighters on the tarmac at Malahang air strip near Lae.
Dick was mentioned in dispatches and later posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for his courage as a pilot in New Guinea.
After his New Guinea tour of duty, Dick was assigned to the 1 Aircraft Depot at RAAF Laverton as a test pilot.
He was very experienced, with hundreds of hours of operational flying under his belt, on many different types of aircraft.
He would reach the rank of Flight Lieutenant.
Sadly Dick would never see the end of the war in which he showed so much bravery.
On September 4, 1943, Richard was flying a Vultee Vengeance Dive Bomber as part of an aerial display over Flemington Racecourse.
More than 60,000 war-weary Melburnians gathered at the Racecourse for a morale-building civil defence day.
The highlight was going to be a 30-minute aerial display by the RAAF with simulated strafing, dive bombing, dog fighting and a parachute drop.
But instead of a thrilling display of military manoeuvres, the crowd ended up witnessing the tragedy of war first hand.
Coming out of a steep dive Dick performed a victory roll for the crowds gathered below.
During that manoeuvre he lost control of the aircraft and plunged into a North Melbourne warehouse.
He was in the plane with Flying Officer James Harris.
Neither survived.
The RAAF crash investigation indicated the most likely cause of the crash was a faulty buckle on Roe’s harness — this probably came undone as he performed the victory roll, meaning that he slipped out of his seat was unable to control of the aircraft.
He was buried in Springvale War Cemetery.
Dick was mourned by his family back in Benalla. They were no strangers to the tragedy of war, with his brother John having been a prisoner of war in Japan.
Dick had grown up at 2 Crofton St where he lived with mum Jennie and dad Cyril, the local butcher.
Dick attended Benalla High School on Barkly St.
After leaving school, he became a clerk with the Victorian railways, before deciding to do his bit for the war effort.
The people of Benalla later inscribed Dick’s name onto the Benalla War Memorial.
He was also commemorated on an honour roll at Benalla High School.
Benalla’s war heroes are well known with streets and memorials baring the names of Hec Waller and Edward Weary Dunlop.
While Dick’s story is not as well know as theirs, it came to light in 2021 when the World War II defence service started to digitise its records as part of a Federal Government program, which will see some 850,000 service records preserved.
To date, about 200,000 have already been digitised.
The digitised files are being made freely available via the National Archives’ online RecordSearch database at www.naa.gov.au
Making the files available digitally means that while the originals are being preserved in Canberra, the digital copies can be accessed by everyone, no matter where they live.
This is great for people living in regional areas like Benalla, who have an interest in the town’s history.
Digitisation of these records will help keep the memory of the World War II generation alive for future generations.
Through the digital records, you will be able to delve into the stories behind the names on the Benalla War Memorial — including that of Dick Roe.