Roberts Christian "Bob" Dunstan DSO (5 November 1922 – 11 October 1989) was an Australian soldier and aviator during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. He was notable, among other things, for: * serving with the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

(RAAF) as an air gunner, after losing a leg in action with the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (CA), wh ...

; * being the youngest Australian recipient of the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

(DSO), and; * being, at the time he was elected, the youngest ever member of the Legislative Assembly of Victoria. Dunstan was born in

Bendigo, Victoria Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban populat ...

on 5 November 1922 and attended

Geelong Grammar School , motto_translation = 1 Corinthians 1:30: "For us, Christ was made wisdom"( 1 Corinthians 1:30: Christ, who has been made for us in wisdom) , city = Corio, Victoria , country = Australia , coordinates = , ...

between 1934 and 1939.

Australian Army

On 3 June 1940, five months before his 18th birthday, Dunstan joined the Australian Imperial Force. After training with the

Royal Australian Engineers The Royal Australian Engineers (RAE) is the military engineering corps of the Australian Army (although the word corps does not appear in their name or on their badge). The RAE is ranked fourth in seniority of the corps of the Australian Army, b ...

, he was posted as a reinforcement to the 2/8th Field Company, in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

. In January 1941, during the Allied campaign to capture Tobruk, Dunstan was wounded in the knee; the wound became infected and later required the amputation of Dunstan's leg. After recuperating in Egypt, Dunstan was returned to Australia and medically discharged.

Royal Australian Air Force

After a brief return to civilian life, during which he studied law, Dunstan volunteered for service overseas with the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

. In 1942, he trained as an air gunner at

Port Pirie Port Pirie is a small city on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf in South Australia, north of the state capital, Adelaide. The city has an expansive history which dates back to 1845. Port Pirie was the first proclaimed regional city in South A ...

. At the end of his course, Dunstan embarked for the United Kingdom with the rank of sergeant. He was posted, as a

rear gunner A tail gunner or rear gunner is a crewman on a military aircraft who functions as a gunner defending against enemy fighter or interceptor attacks from the rear, or "tail", of the plane. The tail gunner operates a flexible machine gun or aut ...

, to No. 460 Squadron RAAF, an Avro Lancaster unit, at

RAF Binbrook Royal Air Force Binbrook or RAF Binbrook was a Royal Air Force station, now closed, located near Binbrook, Lincolnshire, England. The old domestic site (married quarters) has been renamed to become the village of Brookenby. RAF Binbrook was pri ...

, Lincolnshire. He flew his first operation, to

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second- ...

, on 11 June 1943 . In October, he was commissioned as a pilot officer. During a raid on Kassel on 22/23 October 1943, the plane in which he was flying was hit by two incendiary bombs dropped by another Lancaster, which was off course. The damage caused by this accident cut off the oxygen supply to Dunstan and the other gunner, Flight Sergeant Hegarty. As a result of the oxygen starvation that both men suffered, neither saw the approach of an enemy night-fighter, and its attack badly damaged the Lancaster, one cannon shell passing through the rear-gunner's turret. The aircraft managed to return home and make a crash-landing at

Bisham Bisham is a village and civil parish in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. The village is on the River Thames, around south of Marlow in the neighbouring county of Buckinghamshire, and around northwest of Maide ...

, the crew escaping unhurt. Dunstan completed a full tour of 30 operations and returned to Australia in August 1944. He was awarded the

for his efforts as a "cool and skilful Air Gunner despite handicap of one leg". He was discharged from the Royal Australian Air Force on 2 October 1945.

Politician, journalist and film critic

Dunstan attracted the attention of the media due to the unique nature of his experiences: an army and air force veteran, who had completed a full tour of 30 missions despite being an amputee. He wrote about his experiences in a book, ''The Sand and the Sky'', and took a job as a journalist and film critic with the ''

Melbourne Herald ''The Herald'' was a morning and, later, evening broadsheet newspaper published in Melbourne, Australia, from 3 January 1840 to 5 October 1990, which is when it merged with its sister morning newspaper ''The Sun News-Pictorial'' to form the '' ...

''. After serving as local councillor, Dunstan stood for the Victorian parliament as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

candidate. Between 1956 and 1982 he was the member for Mornington. Dunstan also held two ministerial posts, with responsibility for (firstly) water supply and (secondly) public works. Dunstan died in Melbourne on 11 October 1989.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunstan, Roberts 1922 births 1989 deaths Australian amputees Australian Army soldiers Australian film critics Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria People from Bendigo Royal Australian Air Force officers 20th-century Australian politicians People educated at Geelong Grammar School 20th-century Australian journalists Australian Army personnel of World War II The Herald (Melbourne) people Ministers for Public Works (Victoria) Australian politicians with disabilities