Susanna Freymark
The memories and medals of Gordon Pursey will be at the Anzac Day march in Coraki this Thursday.
Peter Pursey will be wearing the Distinguished Flying Cross in honour of his uncle Flying Officer Gordon James Pursey.
His father Neville Pursey went to Anzac Day services in Coraki wearing his own medals, but Peter doesn’t recall his father ever wearing Gordon’s medals.
“I’m trying to right a wrong,” Peter said.
Neville served as a fitter in the RAAF during the war. He organised many Coraki Anzac services an active RSL member.
When Neville died in 1987, he left his son the four medals awarded by Australia to his brother Gordon, Peter said.
Gordon was born in Coraki in 1919 – one of three brothers and a sister who were all raised on the family farm at Bora Ridge. Gordon joined the RAAF to help with the war effort in 1942.
He qualified as an air gunner in January 1943 and two months later took a ship to England where he was posted to 57 Squadron, a Lancaster Bomber Squadron, based in Lincolnshire. In July 1943 was appointed as an officer in the RAF.
In 1943 and 1944 he flew 53 missions over Europe, mainly Germany and France and later as part of the prestigious Pathfinder Squadron of Bomber Command. In 1944 he was the mid upper gunner and awarded the Pathfinder Badge.
Gordon was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for a mission over Berlin. In that mission over a target in March 1944, Gordon drove off an attack by a Messerschmidt and again drove off another attack by a Focke Wolfe fighter just minutes later. It is recorded that Gordon and another gunner opened fire together and destroyed the enemy aircraft. For this action, Gordon and the crew of his aircraft were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. The DFC is awarded for acts of valour against the enemy while in the air.
Gordon died in an air crash in an electrical storm as he was returning from a bombing run on Givors in France in July 1944. His aircraft collided with a Canadian bomber over the Pyrenees which caused both planes to crash land. Gordon’s plane exploded killing all on board. He is buried in the Marseille war cemetery along with the other crew members.
He was married to Margaret who was a member of the Women’s Army Corp and has a daughter Christine who lives near Manchester in England. His wife was presented with Gordon’s Distinguished Flying Cross by King George VI at Buckingham Palace in 1945.
Peter had his own 30 year military career. Born in Coraki and raised on a dairy farm at Bora Ridge, he went to school at Bora Ridge and to high school in Lismore. He was called into National Service in 1970.
Peter served for 30 years in the regular army as an infantry officer reaching the rank of Brigadier. In that time, he was a battalion commander in the Operational Deployment Force, Commandant of the Land Warfare Centre and Commandant of the Royal Military College at Duntroon. He also led the introduction of the Blackhawk helicopter in its battlefield role. He was awarded the Order of Australia in 1994.
When Peter noticed that Gordon’s medals were incomplete and the Distinguished Flying Cross was not in the satchel left to him, he decided to do something about it. Gordon’s four Australian medals had old, rusted pins and had never been formed into a medal set and without the DFC the set was incomplete.
In 2023, Peter had Gordon’s medals properly mounted and he added a replica DFC to the set to ensure a complete medal set could be kept for historical purposes.
“In July 2023 I visited Gordon’s daughter near Manchester in the UK where I saw and held his original DFC,” Peter said.
“I felt a gentle family obligation to honour this distinguished award.”
This Thursday will be the first time Gordon’s full set of medals will feature in an Anzac Day march.
“I owe it to my hometown,” he said.
Peter will be giving the Anzac Day address. His wife Helen of 52 years and their children Emma and Nathan along with other family and friends will be there.
And Gordon too, in all his glory, will have his medals on the right hand side of Peter’s chest.
Peter is bringing his uncle home.
and then