Allan began his working life at Gladstone Co-operative Dairy as a laboratory technician, and continued to work there until he commenced training for the Royal Australian Air Force in Sandgate.
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Captain Allan Lodder (RAAF) |
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Allan Lodder was born
in the family home of his maternal grandmother Sarah Morris in Silkstone,
Queensland, on 24 May 1923 to parents Reginald and Gertrude Lodder. In 1929
the family moved to Bundaberg where Allan’s father had employment with Wyper
Brothers, as manager of their joinery factory. The family again moved, this
time to Gladstone, in 1937. After working in the building and joinery
industry in Gladstone for some years, Allan' s father established Enterprise
Joinery Works in Herbert Street in 1946. Allan began his working life at Gladstone Co-operative Dairy as a laboratory technician, and continued to work there until he commenced training for the Royal Australian Air Force in Sandgate. |
| Alan commenced his aircrew training at 8
Initial Training School at Sandgate in May, 1942 on 28 course at 18 years of
age, he then completed his six months of training at Kingaroy, subjects
studied were electrical science, theory of flight, signals, morse code (send
and receive 12 words per minute), aircraft recognition, navigation, use of
firearms drill and physical training. On completion of the course Allan was
selected to proceed onto pilot training, this was a great thrill for Allan
as everyone wanted to be a pilot. From here the ones that had been
selected for pilot training, travelled by train to Narrandera, NSW to No 8
Elementary Flying School to train on DH82 Tiger Moths.
Due to the fact that Allan's group had arrived two weeks before they could commence flying training they were transported by tender to a satellite landing field at Bundidgarie near Grong Grong each day to assist ground staff to handle aircraft on the ground and refuel, at the days completion the students were driven back to the main drome by tender. The instructors and some pupils of 27 course would fly the aircraft back to Narrandera. One day when Allan's course was leaving, instructor Ken Gregor and his pupil, Colin Pickworth flew over the tender and then climbed to 200 feet and did a stall turn, without enough height to fully recover he crashed into Allan's tender, killing fellow course pupil, Gerald Ryan. |
| Allan suffered bad lacerations and a dislocated left arm and after a half hour wait for the ambulance was taken to Narrandera General Hospital before been transferred several days later to No 1 RAAF Hospital at Forest Hill, Wagga Wagga. The wound then became infected with Gas Gangrene which needed several operations, two blood transfusions and skin grafts. After several months Allan was sent to a sheep station called "Wisconsin" for convalescence for two months before the doctors passed him as being fit to carry on his training. |
Allan (on right) rests at the No 1 RAAF Hospital Wagga Wagga in 1942 |
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Due to the fact that Allan had lost five months he was now on No33 course, his first flight was on the 15th February 1943 and Allan did his first solo flight on the 1st March. Allan remembers the marvellous feeling to climb away over the hangers and he also remembers singing as loud as he could. On competition of No33 course Allan was posted to No 8 Service Flying Training School based in Bundaberg Queensland, he flew a Anson twin engined aircraft the first flight being on the 14th April and met up with his old mates from 28 Course, Joe Herman and Rex Breusch who had almost finished their courses. Allan completed his last training flight on the 28th July and was very proud to be presented with his pilots wings and promoted to Sergeant Pilot. We were then given several weeks pre-embarkation leave before we were sent to Bradfield Park, Sydney for a short time and then we boarded an American ship "USS Mount Vernon" to San Francisco, then by train across the USA to Camp Miles Standish, near Boston. After several weeks Allan boarded the "RMS Aquitania" at New York enroute to Greenock Scotland, from here Allan travelled by train to Brighton, (the RAAF personnel and dispatch base in England). Allan then spent about 2 months on some more ground studies, navigation, aircraft and ship identification, machine gun, shot gun and pistol shooting. (TO BE CONTINUED)
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