By John Telfer
In World War 2, the Royal Air Force Bomber Command sadly suffered 54 per cent losses of personnel from 1939 to 1945. As Winston Churchill famously declared: “The fighters are our salvation, but the bombers alone provide the means of victory”. This declaration by the British Prime Minister at the time justly highlights these heroes of the sky who courageously flew out night after night to take the fight to the enemy.
However, not much is mentioned of the Pathfinder Force formed in 1943, which contained some of the bravest pilots in the Command. Their task was to locate targets for the bombers by dropping flares to light up the area, and from 1943 to the end of hostilities they suffered losses of personnel that totalled 3,618 aircrew lost. One of these brave men who survived the war was the late Flight Lieutenant Ronald Nielsen of Yangan, and this is his story.
Ronald Hunter Nielsen was born in Brisbane on 8th April 1921, the son of Eva Nielsen of Esk, Queensland. He received his early education at the Esk State Primary School and left school in 1934 at 13 years of age to help support the family. As this period of time was during the height of the Depression, employment was not easy to get, but the enterprising young Ron linked up with the local Cinema Operator who taught him the art of cinematography, where he worked up until the outbreak of World War 2 in 1939.
Like all young men at this time, Ron was keen to enlist but was declared medically unfit (flat feet) by the army medicos, so, undeterred, he applied to enter the Navy but at this time they were short on ships so once again Ron missed out. Still determined to enlist Ron entered the air force recruiting office on 7th December 1941 and was immediately accepted for aircrew training. Ron’s initial posting was to the No 8 Elementary Flying School at Narrandera in New South Wales, then between 1942 and late 1943, trained at flying schools at Bundaberg, Sandgate and finally at Bradfield Park in Sydney mainly flying Tiger Moth and Anson aircraft. Ron finally received his ‘wings’ on 1st July 1943 and was promoted to Sergeant, and later, to Flight Sergeant in January 1944. Ron was to be posted to Canada for further training under the British Empire Training Scheme, but a bout of Glandular fever sent him to hospital for a period which delayed his posting to the United Kingdom which finally came about on 14th July 1943.
Ron arrived at the Royal Air Force Base at Mildenhall and began his conversion course in Wellington and Stirling bombers before a posting to No 622 Squadron. before moving to No 7 Squadron’s Pathfinder Force, where he was to complete 51 sorties and operations against the enemy, flying Lancaster bombers. This was a very hazardous occupation, leading the bomber force into their bombing runs as they laid the flares to light up the target. They had to avoid the heavy flack barrages as well as the deadly German night fighters.
On 6th May 1944, Ron was commissioned as a Pilot Officer and on 21st March 1945, he married his English sweetheart Paulina, who was a Section Officer in the Royal Air Force and they lived in married quarters at the RAF Station Hobden, in Leominster, Hereford.
As the war was nearing its end, Ron received his highest accolade when he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. This is what the citation read:
“Flying Officer Nielsen has completed numerous operations
against the enemy, in the course of which he has invariably
displayed the utmost fortitude, courage and devotion to duty”
Ron was also granted certification to wear the prestigious Pathfinder badge on 11th May 1945. So, on 3rd November 1945, Ron received his discharge from The RAAF and he and his English wife Paulina, returned to Australia to begin a new life free of the conflict and traumas of post-war Europe.
Ron and Pauline returned to a different Australia than the place he had left in 1941. Employment was difficult, so for a period of time, Ron could only find work as a house painter until he met an old RAAF colleague, who helped him get a position as a records clerk in the Government Repatriation Department. Eventually, Ron decided to look elsewhere for employment so applied and was accepted as a representative with the Shell Oil Company. This position entailed a large amount of travel throughout South West Queensland and Goondiwindi, so later, Ron tired of the travelling and decided to work for himself and started a grocery shop in Ipswich, and later, a news agency and paper delivery service at Booval, also in Ipswich.
Still unsettled, Ron and Paulina purchased a small farm at Raceview, and later moved to another farm at Sandy Flat near Tenterfield, which they called “Oakington”, in honour of the place where they were married in England. Finally, on the move again they settled at Yangan, near Warwick, and once again, named their property “Oakington”.
Ronald Hunter Nielsen led a life of high adventure and a war-time romance with his beloved wife Paulina. He was a survivor of one of the last World Wars and came out reasonably unscathed, considering the casualty toll of the RAF’s bomber command. His Distinguished Flying Cross was testimony to his great bravery and resilience that took a heavy toll on many of his contemporaries in his squadron, and the daily psychological effort that these brave men of the bomber command had to overcome.
Ron was a true hero who passed away on 2nd February 1999 and now lies at rest in Warwick’s Soldier Cemetery. Buried with him is his loving and faithful wife Paulina who joined Ron 20 years later on 10th November 2019, after receiving special permission to join him from the War Graves Commission because of her war-time service as a member of the Royal Air Force. May they both rest in peace.
