Cadet Under Officer Lisa Wilkinson delivered  the main address at a  RAAF Association  Bomber Command  Branch - Battle of Britain Commemorative Service, recently held at the Bradfield Park  Sydney  memorial. 


Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is an honour to be asked to stand before you today and share our pride and gratitude in honour of our comrades from Bomber Command.

The men of Bomber Command were unquestionably amongst the bravest and most committed men in the history of military aviation.  More than 10,000 of them were trained and deployed from Australia - many of whom would have been only a few years older than my colleagues and I are now.

Fittingly, we are standing on the land that was once part of Bradfield Park, which was in the time of World War II one of the largest Air Force bases in Australia, and the location in which more than a few men from Bomber Command received their basic training.

It is almost impossible to imagine the pressure they were under almost every day in combat as they were tasked with bombing the most heavily protected military and industrial targets in Europe. Railway yards, military installations, docks, refineries, factories, bridges, dams and roads were all targeted to disrupt the enemy's war efforts.  Flying in total darkness, often at the limit of their aircraft's range and payloads, these men were expected to carry out their missions over hostile territories and with very little protection.  It is no wonder that we lost 3,486 killed in action and a further 546 killed in training.  They represented only 2% of Australia's servicemen but accounted for 20% of combat deaths.  This was a duty with terrible cost. No other group of Australians made a greater scarifice or played a more vital role in our victory.

The crews we sent were blended with their brothers from other Commonwealth nations and formed an exceptionally tight bond with each other.  For at least twelve months, they trained and stayed together in a team of around 8 men.  I can only imagine that investing your life for such a lengthy amount of time with a group of guys you've only known for a few months would have taken a vast amount of trust and courage. 

Apart from the loss endured by the families and friends of the fallen and injured, we must also give thought to the long term loss that our society, indeed our country, has suffered.  To lose such a large proportion of wonderful, hard-working and committed men at such a critical stage in our nation's development has had a marked impact on our society, and we wish that they could be here to share this moment with us today.

On behalf of my fellow Australians, and my generation in particular, I salute our comrades from Bomber Command - both fallen and those still with us.

To those remaining, our gratitude will be perpetual, our respect eternal.  We will be forever in your debt.

History shows that we won the war, and that it would not have been possible without you.  

You inspire my generation to do justice to the nation you have given us, and for that we say thank you.