Ted Eagleton

Today we remember Ted Eagleton, who was with Bomber Command in Europe and the first few days with his squadron were eye opening for Ted.

Ted Eagleton audio file (MP4 23.90 MB)

Ted Eagleton audio script

75th Anniversary of the End of the Second World War

Audio actuality

“Fellow Citizens, the War is over” – (The Hon J B Chifley, Prime Minister of Australia)

On the 75th Anniversary of the End of the Second World War, Australia remembers Ted Eagleton, who was with Bomber Command in Europe and the first few days with his squadron were eye opening for young Ted.

Ted Eagleton

The night I arrived at the squadron, three crews that I had trained with gave me one or two of their mementos and said “will you hold onto these mementos in case I don’t come back?” Sure enough, that night, two crews, they didn’t come back. Two days later I was called up and the first of two boys to Cologne. This was an extraordinary event, little did I realise what I was going to see when I got over the target. It was just like a Christmas tree lit up. Markers going down, and the bomb shells and the flak, it was absolutely extraordinary. And I just couldn’t realise that we could come out the other side of that flak barrage without being hit. We had aircraft on either side of us, and aircraft above. And the terrifying part about that was you’d look up and find a Lancaster sitting above you with the bomb doors open about to drop his bombs. You just felt like you’d like to reach over on the side in case he hit you.

Saturday, August 15 marks the 75th Anniversary of the End of the Second World War. Let’s pay our respects to that amazing generation of Australians.