‘Lest I forget’: the legend of the Beaufighters

In this extract from Whispering Death by historian Patricia Skehan, which recounts the story of the Australian-built Beaufighters, their pilots, and their remarkable feats in World War II, Warrant Officer Lerryn Mutton OAM recounts the 1945 accident that claimed the lives of his commanding officer and three of his crew.

Sandakan Memorial, 1999. There are moments in life that still haunt me, no matter how long ago, or how far behind I leave them. Sights and sounds so terrifying that they pass through my eyes and ears into my mind but reside in my soul. Memories so raw that they reduce me to more than tears.

I stand here at Sandakan Memorial, in Borneo, the only non-family member of the official party selected in 1999 by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs to attend this inaugural, major event. Microphones are thrust toward my face and cameras roll as I stare down at the graves of my commanding officer, Squadron Leader Donald ‘Keith’ Gulliver, and three of his crew on that fateful flight.

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