The Australian War Memorial commemorated the service and sacrifice of Donnybrook resident Sergeant Russell Seymour Trigwell at the Last Post Ceremony on Sunday 15 September 2024.
“Russell was born in Bunbury, Western Australia, and grew up in nearby Donnybrook. He was one of four children born to farmers Sydney and Ethel Trigwell,” Australian War Memorial Director Matt Anderson said.
Russell worked as a clerk for the Western Australian government’s lands department before he enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force in June 1941.
“All four of the Trigwell sons, Elliot, Russell, Reveley and Murray, enlisted in the RAAF in the Second World War,” said Russell’s nephew and namesake Russell Trigwell. “Russell was the only son that did not make it home.”
After training in Australia Russell qualified as an air gunner before being sent to England in August 1942.
“In England Russell trained in night bombing in the new heavy bombers such as the Halifax and the Lancaster,” said Matt Anderson. “He was finally allocated to an operational unit, the No. 156 Squadron operating out of Cambridgeshire, in March 1943.”
Within two days of joining his new unit, Russell Trigwell took part in an attack on Berlin, followed soon after by a raid on the German submarine base at Saint Nazaire in France.
“After his first raids Sergeant Trigwell’s squadron took part in a bombing offensive against Germany’s industrial heartland in the Ruhr Valley,” said Matt Anderson. “Their next raid was against the city of Essen, including the Krupps factory which produced steel, artillery, and armaments.”
The attack was largely successful but Trigwell’s Lancaster bomber never returned.
Nothing was heard from Trigwell and his comrades for seven months when the remains of one of the crew washed ashore in Holland.
“Wreckage of the plane was found by fisherman near Texel Island, Holland, 53 years after the crash,” said Russell Trigwell. “It is believed they were shot down by German fighters on their way home.”
“Russell Trigwell was only 22 years old,” said Matt Anderson. “His name is among 40,000 Australians on the Roll of Honour who died while serving in the Second World War.”
The Last Post ceremony is held at 4.30 pm every day except Christmas Day in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial.
Each ceremony shares the story behind one of 103,000 names on the . To date, the Memorial has delivered more than 3,800 ceremonies, each featuring an individual story of service from colonial to recent conflicts. It would take more than 280 years to read the story behind each of the 103,000 names listed on the Roll of Honour.
“The Last Post Ceremony is our commitment to remembering and honouring the legacy of Australian service,” Memorial Director Matt Anderson said.
“Through our daily Last Post Ceremony, we not only acknowledge where and how these men and women died. We also tell the stories of who they were when they were alive, and of the families who loved and, in so many cases, still mourn for them.
“The Last Post is now associated with remembrance but originally it was a bugle call to sound the end of the day’s activities in the military. It is a fitting way to end each day at the Memorial.”
“The Trigwell family is spread out now but many of us are still in the Bunbury area,” said Russell Trigwell. “We will be watching the service on-line and remembering the sacrifice of our relative with great pride.”
The Last Post Ceremony honouring the service of Sergeant Russell Seymour Trigwell can be seen on the Australian War Memorial’s YouTube page:
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The Last Post Ceremony livestream is made possible by the support of RSL & Services Clubs and RSL Australia.
The stories told at the Last Post Ceremony are researched and written by the Memorial’s military historians, who begin the process by looking at nominal rolls, attestation papers and enlistment records before building profiles that include personal milestones and military experiences.
