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

Service Profile: Ken Nicholson

Kenneth William Nicholson MID (ACA 16925) joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) from Fiji in June 1941, training as a pilot through the Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS).

Expecting to be trained in nearby Australia, Ken, with 20 other volunteers from Fiji, was surprised to be sent to Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) where he began his aircrew training at Initial Training Wing (ITW) at Heaney in July 1941.

In transit, his group of 20 civilians spent three weeks at the RAAF transit depot at North Sydney before embarking on a small cargo ship for Durban in South Africa. Being categorised as a pilot trainee, he was then posted to No. 28 Elementary Flying Training School (EFTS), Southern Rhodesia, on 16 October 1941. From December 1941 to the end of March 1942, Ken was back at Heaney undergoing 'wings' standard training at No. 33 Service Flying Training School (SFTS). As a qualified pilot, he was next sent to No. 31 Air School at George, South Africa, to undergo a General Reconnaissance (GR) (Maritime) Course, completing that segment of training in June 1942.

Ken's next move was to the UK, where he underwent further training at a Beam Approach (BAC) Course at No. 1509 BAF Flight, Dyce, Scotland, from September to October 1942. He was posted as a co-pilot to No. 228 Squadron at Oban in Scotland. In June 1943, he attended No. 4(C) Operational Training Unit (OTU) at Alness, Scotland (Sunderland Flying Boats), and No. 308 Flying Training Unit (FTU) at Pembroke Dock in Wales. Ken was posted to No. 230 Squadron, then temporarily based in East Africa. The squadron then moved to Ceylon, Burma and eventually to Singapore.

During his service, he flew Tiger Moths, Airspeed Oxfords, Avro Ansons, Short Sunderlands (Marks I, II and V), Catalinas, Sea Otters and Walruses.

Ken's operational service was wide and varied during World War 2, flying in the Battle of the Atlantic, serving in West Africa, the East Africa–Indian Ocean region, Burma and the Persian Gulf. His prowess was recognized through being Mentioned in Dispatches (MID). He served with No. 230 Squadron until the end of the war when the squadron was returned to Singapore.

In 1947 Ken was temporarily discharged from the RAF to complete a course in Air Traffic Control and a course at the London School of Navigation for the issue of British Commercial Pilots and Navigators Licences. He was discharged from the RAF in 1947 with the rank of Squadron Leader.

As It Happened: Life Goes On (70K PDF)