Pilot Officer William GOLDMAN 400403

On 15 November 1941, Pilot Officer William Goldman, known as Bill, was the Observer/Navigator aboard Wellington Mk.IV R1775. The crew of R1775 on this day were:    

Pilot                        P/O Furey, Ronald John             AUS404332

Co-Pilot                  Sgt Cox, Alexander Lewis          AUS400460

Observer                P/O Goldman, William               AUS400403

W/O                        Sgt Rowland, Eric                     1050936

Air Gunner, Front   Sgt Pepper, Douglas Bertram    946888

Air Gunner, Rear    Sgt Duffield, Henry William      745531

The 458 Sqn Operational Record Book states that that R1775 took off from RAF Holme-on-Spalding-Moor at 17:17 with the target as Emden, Germany. The record of events simply states that they did not return to base and that the last communication was received at 20:35.

 Wg Cdr Mulholland wrote in his circumstantial report that “Three Q.D.M.s were given to this aircraft at approximately the time of E.T.A. at target, the last being strength 6. Nothing further was heard from this aircraft, and a square search by 7 aircraft as far East as 3 degrees East failed to reveal any information as to their whereabouts.” A QDM is a Magnetic heading to steer.

As mentioned by Mulholland and by the newspaper clipping below, 458 Sqn sent out 7 aircraft on 16 November 1941 to search the North Sea for evidence of R1775. Sgt Opas was a member of one of the crews sent to conduct the search, in a letter home he wrote: “Up to the time this letter goes to press I’ve done 6 trips & 1 North Sea sweep looking for one of our planes that came down in the said sea.”    

                                                     “News” newspaper, Adelaide, Wednesday 26 November 1941, Page 1

Four days later, 19 November at 6pm, Bill’s mother Mrs Amelia Goldman received the telegram informing her that her son was missing on operations. This letter was followed up on 2 January 1942 to state “The last time contact was made with the aircraft was at the estimated time of arrival at the target, but after this time nothing further was heard from it, and although searches were made no trace of the aircraft or of any member of the crew could be found.” 6 months later, the Air Board wrote to tell Mrs Golman that, for official purposes, her son William Goldman was now presumed dead.

A letter from Bill’s brother-in-law, Captain Pincus, to the Australian Department of Defence in February 1942 shows the impact of William’s death on the family. In the letter, it is apparent that the family furniture business had to be wound up when Bill joined the RAAF, and with one of William’s sisters gravely ill with colitis, the family was partly reliant on Bill’s earnings, some of which he was allocating to his mother.

A further letter sent to Mrs Goldman on 22 March 1949 stated that “all efforts to find any trace of your son’s aircraft or to establish whether the bodies of any members of the crew were ever recovered for burial, have proved unsuccessful. In view of this complete lack of evidence, it is now concluded that your son and his comrades were lost at sea.”    

                                                                 The Argus, Melbourne, 8 September 1942, Page 3

Bill Goldman was born in Melbourne on 28 May 1912 to Harry and Amelia Goldman of Kooyong Road, Caulfield, South-East Melbourne. As shown in the newspaper clipping announcing him as a casualty, Bill studied at Melbourne Grammar School and was associated with several groups. On enlistment to the RAAF in August 1940, Bill stated his occupation as ‘Manager Furniture & Joinery’. This is evidently the business of his late Father and well-known furniture maker Harry Goldman. Made under business names ‘H. Goldman Pty Ltd’ and ‘H Goldman Manufacturing Co’, Harry Goldman’s furniture is still found in museum collections and in auction houses across the world today. The Goldman’s business made furniture and ceremonial pieces for the King and Queen, Dukes and Duchesses of Kent and Gloucester and other members of the Royal Family, as gifts by various Australian organisations and the Prime Minister on behalf of the Australian government.     

                                                                 The Sun News-Pictorial, 27 November 1939, Page 15

After completing training with No 8 Elementary Flying Training School (8EFTS) in Narrandera, Bill sailed for Canada on 28 December where he completed further training throughout 1941 with No 2 Air Observer School (2AOS) in January, No 2 Bombing and Gunnery School (2B&GS) at RCAF Mossbank in April and No 1 Air Navigation School (1ANS) at RCAF Rivers in May. In late June Bill received his commission as Pilot Officer and joined many other newly trained RAAF servicemen to sail for England, arriving in late July. Bill was assigned to 11 Operational Training Unit (11OTU) at RAF Bassingbourn whereafter he was posted to 458 Squadron in September.