These profiles and stories were donated to the RAAF Museum by the Gold Coast Branch of the Air Crew Association.

Service Profile: Vesey Allen

Vesey J. Allen enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force on 3 March 1941 and trained as a pilot under the Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS).

Commencing his aircrew training at Initial Training School (ITS), Victor Harbour, SA, he was then posted to Parafield, SA, for pilot training at Elementary Flying Training School (EFTS). His next posting was to Point Cook, Victoria, for Service Flying Training (SFTS), where he gained his pilot's brevet.

On posting to the UK, Vesey trained at No. 1 Advanced Flying Training School at Little Rissington, did his Beam Approach Course at Ipswich and Astro-Navigation Course at Harrogate, before attending Operational Training Unit (OTU) at Silloth.

Following that bout of training, Vesey was posted to the RAF's No. 62 Squadron, firstly in India and later in Burma, flying Hudsons. He also flew Dakotas (C-47s) with Transport Command in Burma in 1943.

Returning to Australia, he attended OTU at Tocumwal before flying Liberators in the South-West Pacific theatre of war as a member of Nos. 21 and 23 Squadrons based at Morotai. At a later date he was a member of No. 25 Squadron at Cunderdin, WA.

After a long period of aircrew service of nearly five years during World War 2, Vesey was discharged from the RAAF in January 1946.