454 and 459 RAAF Squadrons
Flight Lieutenant Anthony Hopper (Tony) WHITE
454 RAAF Squadron
Service No. 400608
Date of Birth: 29 Oct 1914
Place of Birth: PARKES, NSW
Date of Enlistment: 18 Sep 1940
Date of Discharge: 17 Dec 1945
Rank: Flight Lieutenant
Date of Death: 08 Sep 1997
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Crew:
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George Railton DFC - Pilot (RAF)
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John Matthews - Observer
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Tony White - WAG
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Murray Hancock - WAG
454 RAAF Sqn 1943, Tony White and crew, left to right:
F/O John Matthews RAAF Observer, W/O Tony White RAAF WAG, F/Sgt Murray Hancock RAAF WAG, F/O George Railton RAF Pilot
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Tony White enlisted 18th september 1940 and trained at Narromine NSW and in Canada as a Wireless Operator Air Gunner. In May 1942 he was involved in the first 1000 RAF Bomber Command attack on Cologne, Germany.
Posted to the Middle East he joined the initial 300 personnel posted to 454 RAAF Blenheim Squadron in Palestine; it moved then to Iraq (Quiarra) and back to Egypt, where it was re-equipped with Baltimore Mark IIIs for search and strike daylight convoy escort, and long range reconnaissance sorties in the Mediterranean and Aegean seas with George Railton RAF as Pilot.
On Tony's 48th sortie on 3lst December,1943, his aircraft was attacked twice in the Aegean sea by separate pairs of German ME109 fighters. The Baltimore crew with Tony manning the upper turret (immobilised twice during the attacks) fought its way clear reaching base but with considerable damage and Tony wounded. Tony was "demobbed" as Flight Lieutenant 17th December,1945. Railton's immediate DFC indicated the success he achieved in getting back to base.
Post-war Tony trained in Forestry at the Universities of Adelaide and Canberra receiving BSc and Dip. For. awards in 1951. He retired in 1975 as District Forester at Mt. Gambier, South Australia.
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