Page 34 - Demo

34an immensely popular leader, was to meet his end when, in the middle of celebrations to mark VJ8Day, a homemade firework exploded and he sustained fatal injuries. A few South Africans flew with Bomber Command and thirty8four were lost on operations, including Captain Edwin Swales, who was awarded a posthumous VC as a Pathfinder with 582 Squadron. A total of 2,227 members of the SAAF were killed and 932 wounded; 273 were taken prisoner, three of whom were murdered for their involvement in the Great Escape. %u000c%u000fffiffi%u0004%u0001%u00032 In the this paper, I have been able only to scratch the surface of the contribution made to the war effort by the Commonwealth countries. There can be no doubt, however, that the involvement of many thousands of men and women from the Commonwealth, whether serving in national units or within the RAF, represented a vital element and one for which the %u2018Mother Country%u2019 should be eternally grateful. 1 O%u2019Brien, Terence; Chasing After Danger: A Combat Pilot%u2019s War Over Europe and the Far East 1939?42 (London, 1990). 2 Two other Australian airmen won VCs while serving with the RAF. 3 The most recent accounting, Brian Cull%u2019s Diver! Diver! Diver! (Grub Street, 2009) suggests that No 486 Sqn may have accounted for as many as 246 V81s. 4 In November 1944, a reformed No 7 Gp took over all HCUs and with them, the training bases previously run by each Bomber Group, Topcliffe%u2019s No 61 Base becoming No 76 (RCAF) Base. 5 Kostenuk, Samuel and Griffin, John; RCAF Squadrons and Aircraft (Toronto, 1977) p79. 6 With effect from 20 August 1941. 7 With effect from 12 September 1941.