Laurie Woods, age 21.
This web site is dedicated to the aircrew of Bomber Command, and to all those mates who did not return, who served in the forefront of the war against the enemy for six long years, in which the squadrons were never withdrawn from operations.
These young Australian men, some of the cream of their generation, were all volunteers who although not their war were prepared to go to the other side of the World to fight for freedom and for the right of other people in other lands to enjoy the freedom which we Australians value so very highly…
| Killed in Action | 9% |
| Killed in Crashes | 51% |
| Seriously injured in crashes | 3% |
| Prisoners of War | 12% |
| Evaders | 1% |
| Survivors unharmed | 24% |
We owe an immense debt of gratitude to the ground crews who through thick and thin in all kinds of weather strove to keep our aircraft operational. They shared with the aircrews all the dangers of fire, explosions, enemy incursions, and the dangers associated with a Bomber Command squadron.
The aircrew game was a strange one, it was played out six days of rest and relaxation with perhaps a little backdrop of wine, women and song on the ground, followed by six weeks of muck, sweat and fear in the air. There were few more certain ways of coming to a premature end than by carting those bombs to the target; and yet, illogically, it was never you who was going to die, but always some other chap.
Undoubtably we were the pioneers and guinea pigs in the beginnings of heavy load planes, giving a no frills in our one way delivery service to Germany. We were overloaded so heavily with fuel and bombs that if we had to immediately land it would have been suicidal as we could not have landed safely.
We had a job to do, and it was something we the sons of Anzacs would do to the best of our ability, because we are very proud to be Australians. As we grow older and especially on Anzac Day we are proud to wear our medals. They are a salute and an honour to our departed comrades, and to those who also were once part of our team, but who did not live to wear any medals. We make every effort to keep the memories and the record of achievement of our Anzac's and of our comrades, alive as long as possible.
January 2003.
Laurie's grandson Jarod here. Laurie unfortunately passed away in March 2021. I'll continue to host this site, but any content and design updates may be few and far between.
Laurie is sorely missed by his surviving family members and I hope his legacy lives on. Love you, Opa.
Lawrence William Woods
December 26, 1922-March 22, 2021
Website contents:
Email me, Laurie Woods, about this site:
lauriew@tpg.com.au
