Author | Lightnews

Steven Westwood @tamino78.bsky.social · 2d

Can recommend "Wings For Victory" 👍

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Reposted by Steven Westwood

Corey S. Powell @coreyspowell.bsky.social · 4d

Happy Mole Day to all who celebrate.

www.compoundchem.com/2014/10/23/m... 🧪

Today, 23rd October is Mole Day – which might put you in mind of small, furry, burrowing animals. However, they don’t even seem to have a commemorative day of any kind; we’re actually talking about the mole in chemistry, a concept that makes it easier to talk about the amounts of substances involved in chemical reactions. This is a fundamental concept and one that all chemists utilize.

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Reposted by Steven Westwood

Hush-Kit aviation news, history & satire @hushkit.bsky.social · 5d

82 years ago today Flt Lt Peter Isaacson flew a Lancaster under Sydney Harbour Bridge

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Steven Westwood @tamino78.bsky.social · 5d

Despite this "indiscretion" he subsequently completed a full tour with 459 Sqn in the Middle East, became an OTU instructor and reached the rank of Flying Officer. In a confidential report a superior officer assessed him as "a keen and efficient instructor, but very headstrong" 😅

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Steven Westwood @tamino78.bsky.social · 5d

A quirky find in an RAAF service record. A handwritten summary of the court martial of a 23 y/o RAAF F/Sgt accused of (a) Causing a distrurbance in a brothel in Asmara (b) calling the MPs who arrested him "English yellow bellied bastards". Found guility of both charges and severely reprimanded. 😬

Transcription:

District Court Martial

Tried by Field General Court Martial held in the field on 28.10.42 and 1.11.42 on the following charges:
AFA Sec 40. 1st Charge

When on active service conduct to the prejudice of good order and Air Force discipline, in that he at Asmara, on the 10th September 1942, in the House of Rest "Brothel" improperly created a disturbance

AFA Sec 40. 2nd charge

When on active service conduct to the prejudice of good order and Air Force discipline, in that he, at Asmara on the 10th September 1942 when under escort of Lance Corporal (redacted) and Lance corporal (redacted) both of the Corps of Military Police said to them "you English yellow bellied bastards" of words to that effect.

Finding: Gulity of both charges

Sentence: To be severely reprimanded

Confirmation: Confirmed by the A.O.C. No. 203 Group on 12.11.42

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Steven Westwood @tamino78.bsky.social · 10d

Nice article about a classic film. However it fails to address the big question - did the Parkes School Band really play the theme from Hawaii 5-0 in place of the Stars and Stripes to welcome the American Ambassador? - I think not but I can only hope they did.

Daniel Pomarède @pomarede.bsky.social · 10d

The Dish: Fact vs fiction

The Dish is an Aussie classic, set at Murriyang, a.k.a the Parkes radio telescope. Most of the film is based on fact, but what was added for the sake of a (rollicking) good yarn?

www.csiro.au/en/news/All/... 🧪🔭

The Dish: Fact vs fiction

The Dish is an Aussie classic, set at Murriyang, our Parkes radio telescope. Most of the film is based on fact, but what was added for the sake of a (rollicking) good yarn?

www.csiro.au

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Steven Westwood @tamino78.bsky.social · 10d

The podcast with Roland Perry hasnt dropped yet for non-Patreons but will be available soon at www.australianmilitaryhistorypodcast.com
As an aside, Perry is happy to express some strong opinions. Despite Oliphant's apparent enthusiasm, take his comments re "cold fusion" with a large grain of salt.

Steven Westwood @tamino78.bsky.social · 10d

#histbookchat #SWW After listening to a podcast featuring this biography of Mark Oliphant it (the bio) has gone into the TBR (Kindle) pile. I had forgotten his critical role in the atomic bomb project (written out of Nolan's Oppenheimer) and in developing the cavity magnetron. A great Australian.

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Steven Westwood @tamino78.bsky.social · 11d

BK270 was shot down and crashed, bursting into flames, near Monchengladbach, again with the loss of all aircrew on board. Sgt Noonan is now buried along with his crewmates in the Rheinberg War Cemetery. His mother visited his grave in 1955. Sgt Hall is buried at Becklingen Cemetery. #LWF 🧵 6/6

Report of the death of F/Sgt Noonan published in his local newspaper.
Source: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article260728304

CWGC grave at Rheinberg War Cemetery of Sgt Noonan
Source: Findagrave.com

Steven Westwood @tamino78.bsky.social · 11d

On 15th October Sgt Noonan was WOp in BK270 for an attack on Cologne, the first since the “1000 Bomber” raid in late May. As for Sgt Hall, it was his 6th combat sortie. His pilot, 21 y/o F/Sgt John Jolley was the son of another serving pilot, the only father/son combination flying in the RCAF. 🧵 5/6

Photo reposted from entry for F/Sgt John Jolley, the pilot of Wellington BK270 at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial

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Steven Westwood @tamino78.bsky.social · 11d

On 13th October Sgt Hall was WOp in Wellington DF664 on a raid targeting Kiel. His pilot, F/Sgt Wakeman, had been the second pilot on four earlier raids in which Noonan was the WOp. DF664 was shot down with the loss of all onboard, crashing into the North Sea at the mouth of the Elbe. 🧵 4/6

Newspaper report on the Kiel raid of 13th October 1942 during which Sgt Hall was lost with his crew.
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/167563650

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Steven Westwood @tamino78.bsky.social · 11d

They followed separate paths to the UK but were reunited when posted to RCAF 419 Sqn in June/July 1942. As a result they were present during the creation of 6 Group under Canadian control in Bomber Command in August and were members of the small coterie of RAAF crew serving under RCAF command. 🧵 3/6

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Steven Westwood @tamino78.bsky.social · 11d

Like many wartime RAAF recruits they were clerks prior to enlisting in Jan 1941. Their training had overlapped, first at 1 WAGS in Ballarat and then 2 BAGS in Port Pirie. In June 1941, but on different days, each went AWOL from 1 WAGS for a few hours and as a result were confined to barracks. 🧵 2/6

Entry from Conduct Sheet of LAC Noonan for 1/6/41 when he was charged with being AWOL from his training course at 1 WAGS in Ballarat for a few hours. Cropped from his service record at naa.gov.au

Entry from Conduct Sheet of LAC Hall for 22/6/41 when he was also charged with being AWOL from 1 WAGS in Ballarat for a few hours. Cropped from his service record at naa.gov.au

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Steven Westwood @tamino78.bsky.social · 11d

#SWW 15.10.42 #OTD 406508 Sgt Vince Noonan, a 25 y/o from WA, was W/Ag in Wellington BK270 of RCAF 419 “Moose” Sqn. Two nights previously the only other RAAF airman serving in 419 Sqn, 401213 Sgt Rex Hall, a 21 y/o from Victoria, was missing after his plane had failed to return a raid on Kiel. 🧵 1/6

419 Squadron Wellington in flight over England
https://caspir.warplane.com/personnel/unit-search/p/600030073/

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Steven Westwood @tamino78.bsky.social · 14d

#SWW #WW2 Here is a CWGC identification mystery from Abbeville - an unidentified Australian airman found in the Pas de Calais region in March 1941. Nothing fits in the IBCC database, predates 452 Sqn. So served in another RAF Command Sqn with RAAF insignia or maybe from RAAF 10 Sqn? Any thoughts?

Steven Westwood @tamino78.bsky.social · 16d

Question for @mikehistorian.bsky.social . How did a sergeant with the Glider Pilot Regiment end up in Abbeville Cemetery in the Somme as a result of D-Day? A fair distance away from Normandy !

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Steven Westwood @tamino78.bsky.social · 17d

#SWW Visit to V-1 launch site 671 in the Somme. Seen several in museums but hard to describe how menacing and sinister the rocket looks on an actual launch site aimed at England. The small bunker to the left is the firing control. Hats off to anyone game enough to stay there for an actual launch.

Reposted by Steven Westwood

Dorian Lynskey @dorianlynskey.bsky.social · 18d

I love that Beckett is still confounding people after all these years. It’s like “I went to see The Rite of Spring. I don’t know what the hell that was but it sure wasn’t music. I felt like rioting. One star”

Lux "Nightmare" Alptraum @luxalptraum.com · 18d

TFW you paid $1400 to see Beckett’s most famous work without knowing anything about it

One Star Review of Waiting for Godot on Broadway
I recently attended Waiting for Godot on Broadway and spent over $1,400 for two Row C seats (103 and 104). I'm a longtime admirer of Broadway productions and even hold a season pass for Shea's Performing Arts Theatre, so I came in with genuine enthusiasm and high expectations. Unfortunately, this show was unlike anything ! have ever experienced —and not in a good way.
What I encountered was not the artistry, music, or emotional storytelling I usually associate with Broadway, but instead what felt like an endless cycle of nonsensical conversation between characters who seemed trapped in their own madness. I tried-truly tried-to find meaning, symbolism, or even a thread of emotional resonance. I stayed through the first half hoping the second would offer clarity. But by intermission, it was clear: this was a waste of both time and money.
Keanu Reeves is an actor I respect greatly, but I cannot fathom why he would agree to participate in such a disjointed, inaccessible production. His talent was lost in a performance that defied reason rather than provoked insight.
To anyone considering attending: unless you are drawn to highly abstract, nearly incomprehensible theater, I strongly caution you against this show. For the average, educated, thoughtful theatergoer, it is far more frustrating than fulfilling. In my opinion, this was the single most disappointing Broadway experience I've ever had - an unfortunate waste of money and, more importantly, of time.

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Steven Westwood @tamino78.bsky.social · 18d

It was impossible not to be moved by how uniformly he appears to have been admired by others throughout his life. It was evidently a great blow to those who knew him closely, felt even years later, after he was lost. He is buried with F/O Hannah in Schoonselhof Cemetery, Belgium. #LWF 🧵 8/8

Steven Westwood @tamino78.bsky.social · 18d

The ORB entry concludes “Loss is deeply regretted by all”. Poignantly, Kerr intended to announce his engagement to WAAF Margaret Gardner on his return. In another blow he was reported in 1944 as a POW by the Red Cross although this was later corrected. It was his 20th operational sortie. 🧵 6/7

Extract of 464 Squadron ORB report of the raid on 9th October 1942
Source: Cropped from document AIR-27-1924-20 at https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/

Erroneous initial report received in January 1944 that F/Lt Kerr was a prisoner-of-war
Source; OUR SERVICEMEN (1944, January 19). Queensland Times (Ipswich, Qld. : 1909 - 1954), p. 2 (DAILY). Retrieved October 9, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article114561764

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Steven Westwood @tamino78.bsky.social · 18d

The raid this day was hampered by poor visibility and heavy cloud the whole way. His plane was last seen on a shallow dive towards the target, having taken over the lead role when the formation leader was hit by flak. HX912 subsequently crashed due to unknown causes 300 km away near Antwerp.🧵 5/7

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Steven Westwood @tamino78.bsky.social · 18d

He and his regular Ventura crew, two Australians and Hannah, were presented to King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in May when they visited RAF Methwold. His plane, F-Freddie, bore a painted nose art depicting an emu and kiwi above a boomerang inscribed with the motto "Per Astra Ad Australian" 🧵 4/7

Photo of Phillip Kerr's regular crew published in an article about their presentation to the King and Queen in May 1943.
Kerr had enlisted in Brisbane on the same day with his wireless operator, 405105 F/O Bill Kirk and they took pârt in the same 3ITS course and travelled to the UK via Canada in the same transport. They were subsequently posted to 17 OTU where they ctrewed up with Bernard Hannah before being posted to 464 Squadron.
Source; Air Veterans (1943, June 1). The Courier-Mail (Brisbane, Qld. : 1933 - 1954), p. 2. Retrieved October 9, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article42042223

Close up of the crest of F-Freddie, the Ventura of 464 Sqn flown primarily by Phillip Kerr. The first of the twenty bomb logos was painted on the fuselage after returning safely from the Eindhoven raid on 6th December 1942
Source: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C252512

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Steven Westwood @tamino78.bsky.social · 18d

Phillip Kerr was one of the squadron’s founding members. Always flying with Hannah as his navigator he had taken part in its first action in Operation Oyster, the Eindhoven raid, on 6th Dec 1942. He flew so low on the return leg that the bomb bay doors of his Ventura were spattered in mud.🧵 3/7

Photograph of the damage to the Phillips factory complex during Operation Oyster on 6th December 1942.
Source:
“Air to ground attack of the Phillips Electronic Company factory in Eindhoven,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed October 9, 2025, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/collections/document/25198.

BIRDS WORRIED DAY RAIDERS (1942, December 11). News (Adelaide, SA : 1923 - 1954), p. 2. Retrieved October 9, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article128308835
Reference to Phillip Kerr is highlighted

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Steven Westwood @tamino78.bsky.social · 18d

It was only the 2nd operation by 464 Sqn since changing over from Venturas to Mosquitoes. On their first, six days earlier to a target in Brittany, the squadron ORB entry only lists 11 crews - including Kerr & Hannah - but the AOC 2 Group, AVM Basil Embry, also accompanied the raid incognito. 🧵 2/7

A formation of 464 Sqn Mosquitoes in flight. This phot was taken in 1944 after the loss of Phillip Kerr.
Source: AWM photograph collection for 464 Squadron

Portrait of Basil Embry painted in 1940s
By Francis Edwin Hodge - https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/sir-basil-embry-19021977-kbe-cb-135888, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=155730133

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Steven Westwood @tamino78.bsky.social · 18d

#SWW 09.10.43 #OTD 405106 F/Lt Phillip Kerr, a 25 y/o former school teacher from Qld, with his navigator RNZAF F/O Bernard Hannah, 31 y/o, was piloting Mk VI Mosquito HX912. His was one of 12 464 Sqn planes targeting an aeroengine factory near Metz in NE France. 🧵 1/7 vwma.org.au/explore/peop...

RAAF enlistment ID photo (8th January 1941) of 405106 AC2 Phillip Kerr cropped from his digitized service record at naa.gov.au

Photo of F/O Bernard Hannah who flew all his operations as navigator with Phillip Kerr as his pilot. They first crewed up at 17 OTU.
Source: https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/C25449

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