ANZAC Stories - William James Atkinson

This post may feel a little odd, a little dry - facts and figures and not much else. Just about all the information from it has been taken from a WWII service record. It took some time to decipher all the acronyms and abbreviations and to then work out where the different training camps and postings were. One thing that comes through loud and clear is the huge investment in time and teaching that went into creating a fighter pilot. Months and months, and they were doing well to last six to eight weeks once they got operational. William Atkinson lasted six months.

William James Atkinson was born on 14 August 1922 to Clifford C. Atkinson and Elsie May ni O'Toole (the daughter of William O'Toole and Emily ni Butler, if you are trying to work out a connection). He grew up in Cremorne on Sydney's lower North Shore and attended North Sydney Boys' High School from 1934 to 1938. He studied English, Maths I & II, Geography, French, Elementary Science, Latin and History for his Intermediate certificate and achieved a first-class pass in Maths I and Geography. William went on to his Leaving Certificate, continuing the English, both Maths, Geography and French and adding Chemistry and Economics.

On graduation, William went to work for the National Bank of Australasia (now the NAB). He was a teller's clerk in the North George Street branch in the city.

In late 1940, aged 18, William enlisted, joining the 1st Machine Gun Regiment. He was stationed in Newcastle, patrolling the northern beaches, but by August of 1941 he had decided he wanted something more. He applied for the Air Force and on the 17th of that month passed his medical and was accepted. William was described as 5 foot 9 inches and 10 stone exactly (140lb, about 63 1/2 kg). His chest was 33 inches (36 on expansion), his complexion medium, with blue eyes and brown hair. His mother, Elsie, was listed as his next of kin.

Photograph of William James Atkinson from his service file. Don't blame me for the resolution.

Usually I am looking at WWI Enlistment papers, but time had moved on. After so many years, it is to be expected that enlistment papers would change, however there are particular changes that stand out, such as questions on education (not present on WWI papers). The most striking, however, is the addition of a question regarding race. In the first World War, race did not seem to be an issue. The emphasis was on able-bodiment, health and previous experience, even if it was just with a rifle club. Health and experience were still important in World War II, but suddenly there was this race question.

WWI Enlistment form:

3. Are you a Natural born British subject or a Naturalised British Subject?

WWII Enlistment form:

3. Are you a British Subject or a Naturalised British Subject of pure European descent?

The Air Force had their own questions when William applied for Air Crew:

7. Are you a British subject? Of pure European descent?

8. State the Nationality of your Parents.

The best answer to 8 was "British". I understand the correct answer to "British subject" is "yes", but William and Clifford and Elsie were all born here, in Australia. Their nationality, looking on it with modern eyes, should be Australian, yet it is "British".

William joined the Empire Air Training Scheme and was first sent to 2ITS (Initial Training School) at Lindfield, more commonly referred to as Bradfield Park. Recruits were taught the basics of military life, along with maths, navigation and aerodynamics. In November he was moved to the 10 Elementary Flight Training School in Temora, where he began initial flight training with Tiger Moths. In February William was transferred to 2 Embarkation Depot back at Bradfield Park for medical and training assessment, where he remained for four weeks before being sent to No.2 Service Flight Training School outside Wagga Wagga on 8 April, 1942. He was to undertake 16 weeks of intermediate and advanced courses, training in CAC Wirraway single-engine aircraft, but the RAAF decided to change the organisation of its flight schools. 2SFTS was disbanded and the staff and students split between 5 SFTS at Uranquity and 7 SFTS at Deniliquin. William went to Deniliquin.

Wirraway training at Wagga, c.1941. From Wikicommons

His course included instrument flying, night flying, advanced aerobatics, formation flying, dive bombing, and aerial gunner training. William was being trained as a fighter pilot. In his service record there are two dates given for the awarding of his Flying Badge, 28 April 1942 and 2 May, 1942. He passed the intermediate course on 2 May 1942 and the advanced course on 25 June, 1942,. He headed back to Bradfield Park on 8 July to await further assignment.

On 24 August, 1942 William left Australia to complete his training in Britain in preparation for operational flying. He arrived in the UK on 18 November 1942 and was sent to the No.11 Personnel Despatch and Reception Centre at Bournemouth¹. This was where all RAAF aircrew would wait, some for months, to be assigned to units. The accommodation was made up of seconded hotels, stripped of their luxury fittings and furnishings and decked out with basic beds and lockers. But there were plenty of dance halls, and lots of girls, so it wouldn't have been dull². Bournemouth was, however, a target for German bombing raids, and 11 PDRC was later moved to Brighton where it was subject to fewer attacks. William waited at Bournemouth until 2 February, 1943, when he got his appointment – 5 (Pilot) Advanced Flying Unit.

5 (P) AFU operated out of Ternhill in Shrophsire and Clavely in Cheshire, and specialised in single-engine craft. William trained with the unit for five weeks before been assigned to 58 Operational Training Unit at Grangemouth in Stirlingshire, Scotland. Grangemouth specialised in training Spitfire pilots and had simulated night flying exercises (using special darkened goggles)³. On assignment to 58 OTU, William was a sergeant and a pilot, rather than just a Trainee Pilot. He finished his training in early July and spent ten days at 1 Personnel Despatch Depot, West Kirby, Cheshire (now Merseyside). And then he was off to North Africa to fly air support for the invasions of Sicily and Italy.

On 27 September, 1943 William was back in at West Kirby, again awaiting assignment. He held tight until 1 November, 1943 when he was sent to 2 Tactical Exercise Unit. This was really the 58 OTU, re-organised and re-named while William had been in North Africa. The 2 TEU operated out of Balado Bridge, Kinross. There was a temporary surplus of pilots and 2 TEU was designed to give pilots as much air warfare experience as possible while they were waiting to go into combat⁴.

Finally, on 4 December, 1943 William was assigned to a squadron – the 131, flying Spitfires over occupied Europe. At the time that William joined 131 Squadron they were flying Mark IX Supermarine Spitfires, but later he flew Mark VII. 131 Squadron was based at various locations throughout the war, from Scotland to India. During William's time it was operating out of south-west England, providing fighter cover for convoys and flying offensive missions over north-western France⁵.

131 Squadron badge. From RAFweb

William flew as part of 131 Squadron from 4 December 1943 to 1 June 1944⁶ and achieved the rank of Warrant Officer. There would have been many missions, but I only have documentation for his last - 265 Rhubarb Mission. Rhubarb missions were fighter sweeps against targets of opportunity. They formed part of the “softening up” of German forces in anticipation of D Day. There is a full account of this mission and transcripts from the subsequent investigation here. (Google translate or similar may be needed, depending on the level of your French)

There were four Spitfires assigned to 265 Rhubarb mission, Flying Officer Stanley Catarall in command, with William flying Red 4 in Spitfire Mk VII MB 887. They took off from Taunton, Somerset at 11.43 in the morning and flew across the channel⁷. They flew in low just south of Saint Brieuc in the Côtes d'Armor in Britanny, diving to zero feet then climbing to about 800 feet. Catarall noticed a train just west of the town. He ordered the attack and all four planes headed in, firing on the train from the side. At the end of the train was a flak wagon with a 20mm quad mount flak gun, or flugabwehrkanone. Flak is not an ammunition type, it is an action, specifically ground fire on aircraft. The flak gun opened fire.

Catarall was hit. He could see Red 2, but Red 3 and 4 were behind, so he called them. Red 3 replied, but there was no answer from Red 4.

Flight Lieutenant Richard Paget de Burgh was in Red 3. He had seen Red 4 just before the attack. When Catarall put out his call, Paget de Burgh turned to look for his team member. There was no sign of him. After repeated calls Red 1 made the decision to turn for home. The three remaining Spitfires landed back at base at 13.20. William was recorded as “Missing Presumed Dead”. It was five days before D-Day.

William Atkinson's plane and body have never been found. However, while checking up on references for this post I came across a new development. There were only three Mark VII Spitfires shot down over Britanny, all from 131 Squadron. In November 2012 the wreckage of one was located and it is hoped it will recovered and properly identified sometime during this year. I hope it is Spitfire Mk VII MB 887 and that William can finally be laid to rest.

1It took a while to work this out. On William's service record it looks like “GDRC”. Only by greatly enlarging it was it seen, finally, to be PDRC. Others in the Air Force thought it was GDRC and this error has been copied across to his Service And Discharge papers.

2For an account of life in 11PDRC Bournemouth, see WW2 People's War, BBC Home, http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/44/a2307944.shtml
358 Operational Training Unit (OTU) RAF Grangemouth & Balado Bridge, Wallace Shackleton, Kinross, http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/wwshack/Misc/Grangemouth.htm
4Clegg Eric “A Pilot's View”, http://homepage.ntlworld.com/colin.clegg1/page9.html
5Royal Air Force, History RAF Formations, http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/131squadron.cfm; Rickard, J (17 December 2010), No. 131 Squadron (RAF): Second World War, http://www.historyofwar.org/air/units/RAF/131_wwII.html
6I can apply to the RAF for William's full flight log, which will give details of his missions, but as it attracts a £30 fee it will have to wait a while.
7I wonder if William knew that his great great grandmother, Anne Allen, was born in Taunton.

For more ANZAC Stories, see ANZAC Stories, ANZAC Stories- Stanley Archer O'Toole, ANZAC Stories - The Lincoln Brothers, ANZAC Stories - The Kerswell Family
 

William O'Toole - His Antic Disposition

William O'Toole and asylums, the reason for my trek into the wilds of Kingswood. And by the way, don't rely on Whereis.com for directions to NSW State Records Office. It hasn't a clue. Just go down the Great Western Highway until you get to the intersection with O'Connell St, turn left and follow the road around. There. Is that so difficult? Next time I need to go somewhere new I shall revert to my usual practice and use a map.

There is also the matter of closed and open files. Mental Health files in NSW are closed for 110 years. So I could publish the entirety of William's file prior to 1904 if I so desired, but anything after that is another matter. I may not mention the names of doctors or staff, I may not mention the names of other patients. I may not publish documents on a public space. I have to be circumspect in what I mention, reveal or discuss. Hopefully the last part of this post will not be too disjointed.
Mental Health is never straight forward, and the picture from William's files is incomplete, but there is enough to work out what was going on. William had been suffering from epilepsy from the age of 21. Initially it was just fits, but somewhere between 1879 (when they started) and 1891 that changed. He was fine when he wasn't fitting, but after each seizure he was violent, aggressive and manic. William also became very restless, roaming the streets and pacing wildly, often with Bible in hand. I don't know if the change was gradual or sudden. What I do know is that he was admitted to Callan Park Asylum on 2 Aug 1894 for "Epileptic Insanity". On admission he was violent and threatening, shouting, and claiming that he was speaking with the voice of God. Archer went with William and Emily to Callan Park and helped with the admission process and said that William had “been this way for hours”. William assaulted one of the doctors, pinching and kicking him and ejecting him from the room. He claimed he was subject to a miracle, his epilepsy was cured. This was not a desperate bid to be freed. He really did believe this.

Over the next few weeks he showed improvement and despite still fitting from time to time was not violent or threatening after seizures. The fitting effected his memory and made him "dull and stupid". At the "request of friends" he was discharged on 18 September 1894, against the better judgement of the doctors and, it later turned out, Emily's wishes. He was readmitted for assessment on 6 March 1896.

When I found the newspaper advertisement seeking a hairdresser for O'Toole Bros., dated 6 Oct 1894, I had initially thought it was just to replace Benjamin (whose story I WILL get to). Now I wonder if it was for another purpose as well. The ad is not for an assistant, but for a hairdresser. Had it been deemed wise for someone else to take over the whole scissors and cut-throat division of the business?

Sydney Morning Herald, 6 October 1894, p.16. From Trove

The files for what was to be William's lasting institutionalisation make up the vast bulk of his records. Basically, despite showing improvement in hospital, once out William deteriorated. He became more deranged and aggressive after fits and more easily agitated between them. Noise and movement were big triggers for him. Elsie was three when William was admitted this time. I cannot imagine how awful life must have been for Emily. She was living with a time bomb that could be triggered by their infant child merely behaving as children will.

I now have a better idea of the timetable for William's mental illness. There are police reports contained therein stating that William had been known to them in direct relation to his mental health for the five years previous to his 1896 admission. I quote directly:

"Wm Sinclair, Senior Constable NSW Police Force states: He has known patient for the last five years to be the subject of severe epileptic fits. He becomes abusive and quarrelsome without cause and on one occasion two policemen had to be left with him all night to prevent him from injuring his wife and child. After a fit he wanders from home and becomes violent"¹.

The doctors at Callan Park listed William as being a danger to himself and others and likely to commit a criminal act. He was rambling and incoherent and again claiming to be the voice of God. His tongue and body were covered in scars caused by injury during seizures.

Anyone who has had to deal with mental illness, either directly or because of family members, will tell you that by the time police are involved there is a lot that has gone on at home, contained behind closed doors, often for years. Mental illness had an even bigger stigma attached to it back then than it does now, so everyone would have worked to keep things quiet, all the while with William's best interests at heart, including Emily. It would have been a heartbreaking decline and in the end it would have been a living hell for everyone, but especially for Emily and for William when he was lucid, and, my god, for Elsie. She was only a small child. It must have been terrifying for her.

So there was William in Callan Park. He was a danger, he did need containment. But he also needed treatment, which is where it got complicated. Believing himself to be cured, he saw no need for treatment. He often ignored doctors, and refused all medication. William firmly believed that he “is put away so that his wife may spend his money” and he was very suspicious of “everyone about him”. Prior to his certification on 20 March, 1896 he was having three to four seizures a day, some listed as severe². He wrote long, rambling letters full of “incoherent statements and exclamations”. On 24 March 1896 William O'Toole was formally admitted as a patient at Callan Park and placed in Ward 4.

The family was split over what to do. Emily, understandably, wanted William kept where he was. She was the one on the front line, she had a child to think of, and I absolutely back her to the hilt. Annie, on the other hand, wanted her boy released. I think she was wrong, and so did the doctors, thank goodness. However, I can see it from her point of view. She had already lost two infant children, she had only recently nursed an adult son as he died a slow and hideous death, her first husband had died of disease in a far off place, and her second husband had gone into Callan Park, where William now was, and had come out, three weeks later, in a box. She must have been terrified for William. There is a letter in the file from Annie, requesting interviews with William's doctors, and notes between doctors discussing her interviews with them. On the reverse of Annie's letter is scribbled (as only doctors can) “I have seen Mrs Leake & explained to her that Mr O'Toole is not safe to be at large”. There is also a file note:

"On the first occasion, pressure was brought to bear on wife by his relations to induce her to take him out, which she did with much misgiving, after two months residence here.

His wife and mother appear not to agree very well and the old trouble is brewing again. They meet here occasionally and squabble over him in his presence.

Dr. Manning"³

As far as I can glean, Archer thought William was where he should be, but some others in the family were siding with Annie (I don't know whom). James wrote years later saying that there was still disagreement in the family over William's situation. Smart man, he requested, in writing, a final ruling so as to settle the matter for everyone concerned. The doctor patiently explained that William's release was highly unlikely and there was no more correspondence on the matter. I doubt that did really settle things, but it would have made further family discussion pointless, which is a resolution in its own way.

William struck a fellow patient on 31 March, but then settled down. The number of seizures went up and down. Sometimes he was agitated, sometimes quiet. But as the year wore on his condition worsened. On 26 November, 1896, William was sitting on a verandah at Callan Park. William was by this stage in a very bad way. He couldn't tolerate any noise, he was frequently violent to the other inmates and to the staff. He was suspicious of everyone and especially of Emily. There were other patients on the verandah that day, some sitting quietly, one sweeping, and amongst them Bartolomeo Vuskovitch.

The Kirkbride Complex at Callan Park, with verandah around. The smoke stack is for the laundry. Photo from Our Excursions blog by Kevin (http://sydneyexcursions.blogspot.com.au/2010/10/kirkbride-callan-park-2.html)

Vuskovitch was another manic and was pacing the verandah and muttering. William sat for a while and then suddenly jumped up, accusing the man of insulting him and grabbing the broom from the inmate who was sweeping. He hit Vuskovitch repeatedly with the broom and then tried to hit the staff member who had rushed over. William was subdued and placed in "seclusion" (I assume that means solitary confinement)⁴. Vuskovitch died as a result of his injuries on 4 December, 1896. An inquest deemed William guilty of wilful murder and on 8 December he was transferred to the Criminal Mental Hospital in Parramatta.

For the fortnight following the attack William was very agitated and “full of religious delusions”. He showed no remorse for his actions, stating that Vuskovitch was no longer dead as he (William) had seen and heard him, and anyway, William himself had been dead and was raised again by the Lord. He was also annoyed that he was not being taken to the gallows as it would have been a perfect opportunity to deliver a sermon on truth. He also believed it was “God's wish for him to put Vuskovitch out of his trouble”, and claimed he saw visions, including one on the parable of the fig tree⁵. He frequently smiled while discussing his attack on Vuskovitch⁶

By January 1897 William had settled down. He was very quiet. Emily visited regularly and William "anticipates her visits with pleasure". The seizures had for the time being lessened, but by October of that year they were increasing in frequency and William was again being described as abusive and dangerous.

Over the years Emily ceased to visit, as did many others in the family. Eventually his youngest brother, James, was the only regular visitor, and William wrote a directive in 1911 asking that his title deeds and his Bible be given to James. He didn't have control over any deeds but his letters in the files are often filled with delusions. Some are very hard to follow. In 1917 William was transferred to the free part of Parramatta, as it was recognised that he would never be fit to stand trial. Some of the entries after this state that he was single. The hospital records show him to be married, so I am guessing that these errors were made by staff who thought he must be thus because of Emily's absence. I in no way blame her or any of the O'Toole boys for this. William was frequently aggressive, threatening, violent, suspicious. He is described more than once as "untrustworthy", although without explanation of how or why (I don't doubt it, I am just curious). If you go to visit someone in this situation, you are subjected to rants, accusations, shouting, threats, and demands and/or begging to be released. I admire James for his ability to keep visiting. William was 37 when he went in the final time and 61 when he died. No wonder Emily stopped going. It would have been absolutely heartbreaking.

William went up and down. There were times when he was quiet, times when he was violent. He always refused to do any work and was very easily upset. At one point his tibea was fractured in a scuffle caused by another inmate offering him some bread (William threw a basin at him in response and then it was on for young and old). There are mad letters, difficult to follow, some short, some going on for pages. The sentences are often incomplete and William jumps from one subject to another, but the ghist is always the same – he is cured of his epilepsy, he needs to be released. In one letter, William offered the superintendant £5 along with an assurance to forgive and forget all he had visited on William.

In 1917 there was another assessment made of William's state and on 26 March it was decided that there would be no further proceedings against him. He had been in the hospital for 20 years and was still insane, so the prosecution for Vuskovitch's death was dropped. This must have caused anguish for Vuskovitch's family, but William was never going to be fit to stand trial. William was transferred to the free part of the Parramatta Hospital.

Parramatta Hospital for the Insane, c 1900 NRS 5598. NSW State Records

Over the next two years William's fits grew increasingly severe and his ability to recover from them grew less and less. He was clearly going downhill.

1919 was not a good year in New South Wales. The Great War had ended and soldiers were coming home to their families, but they brought with them the Spanish flu. The resulting epidemic killed about 6000 people in this state alone. In some areas the flu accounted for half of all deaths⁷. Parramatta Hospital was not immune. The flu raged through the wards, keeping doctors working around the clock. In the midst of all this, on the night of 26 June, 1919, William had yet another seizure. He was found dead about 8pm, his body on his bed, his head resting on his left elbow on the floor. His bed did not have a bedstead “for purpose of security”. There were no signs of foul play, no marks, no obstruction to his airways. The doctor who was called to William's room (from the influenza ward) suspected heart failure “at the beginning of an epileptic seizure”. He referred the matter to the Coroner. There was no post mortem and the Coroner decided against an inquest.

John O'Toole signed for the body of his brother, directing it to be given to Francis Morris and Company, Parramatta, for burial in Rookwood Necropolis, while James wrote to the Hospital asking for full details of William's death. William was buried next to his mother. There is no headstone on William's grave, although there is a lot of space on Annie's, so I wonder if the plan was to eventually put William's details there.

After William died, it took nine months for the Asylum to confirm his death in writing to Emily. She was by this time in the Church of England Home in Glebe Point (on Forsyth street. It is now a block of flats). There is a note on file, dated 9 September, 1913, listing the addresses of Emily and Elsie. Emily was at that time "C/- Mrs Grainger, Parramatta Road, Ryde" and Elsie was "C/- Mrs. James Killian, Manly" (ie, Fanny ni Butler, Emily's sister). The asylum sent a telegram to Emily care of Mrs Grainger and then left the matter. The doctor when he wrote to Emily explained about the flu epidemic and said that that was probably why he hadn't thought to chase the matter up. The poor woman found out because the Matron of the hospital rang the Asylum at Emily's request in March 1920 to find out how William was.

There are so many questions raised by this. I cannot work out why none of the O'Tooles had told her. Had they lost touch? Had they lost track? Was it deliberate? Was it accidental? Why was Emily in a Home with a Matron? Why had she not enquired after William for nine months? Why had Elsie and Fanny not told her? Had they been informed? Why was Elsie living with Fanny in 1913, rather than with Emily? Had the O'Tooles “given up” on her because she had “given up” on William? More questions than answers, and I doubt now that I will ever get to the bottom of this.

And it gets worse. While writing this last part I have realised that Emily died in Newington State Hospital, described in State Records as an “Asylum for the Destitute and Infirm”. So I shall be requesting permission to look at her files. At least I have proven my relationship to her, so it shouldn't take long. Why did everyone abandon Emily?

Elsie married Clifford Atkinson in Marrickville on 12 February, 1916. They had one child that I so far know of – William James Atkinson, born on 14 August, 1922 and named for Elsie's father and for the uncle who never gave up on him.

1  3/3339 no.3590 – 62 William O'Toole medical file. NSW State Records, accessed 1 March 2014

2 11/2160 Darlinghurst Medical Case Book no. 88, William O'Toole, 6 March 1896. NSW State Records, accessed 1 March 2014

3  3/3339 no.3590 – 62 William O'Toole medical file. NSW State Records, accessed 1 March 2014

4  3/7047 Medical Journal – confinement register. 26 November 1896 – 4 December 1896. NSW State Records, accessed 1 March 2014

5  Whether this is the parable of the budding fig tree (Luke 21:29-33, amongst others) or the barren fig tree (Luke 13:6-9) is not stated.

6  Medical Certificate to accompany Order or Request for Reception into an Hospital for the Insane or Licensed House, William O'Toole, 8 December 1896, conatined in 12/825 no.6643, Case Papers, Parramatta Hospital, from December 1896, NSW State Records, accessed 1 March, 2014

7  “Influenza Epidemic of 1919”, Online Museum and Archive, Sydney Medical School, the University of Sydney, 2014 (http://sydney.edu.au/medicine/museum/mwmuseum/index.php/Influenza_Epidemic_of_1919) accessed 23 March 2014