Donnybrook Anzac honoured at Australian War Memorial

A Donnybrook sergeant whose plane was believed to have been shot down in World War II has been honoured at the Australian War Memorial. The Australian War Memorial in Canberra commemorated the service and sacrifice of Donnybrook resident Sgt Russell Seymour Trigwell at the Last Post ceremony on Sunday. During the memorial reading on Sunday, Australian War Memorial director Matt Anderson told Sgt Trigwell’s story, starting with his birth in Bunbury and his childhood in Donnybrook. “He was one of four children born to farmers Sydney and Ethel Trigwell,” he said. “In England, Russell trained in night-bombing in the new heavy bombers such as the Halifax and the Lancaster. 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, Sgt Trigwell took part in an attack on Berlin followed by a raid on the German submarine base at Saint Nazaire in France. “After his first raids, Sgt Trigwell’s squadron took part in a bombing offensive against Germany’s industrial heartland in the Ruhr Valley,” Mr Anderson said. “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 Sgt 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. It is believed their plane was shot down during the raid on Essen and crashed into the ocean. “Russell Trigwell was only 22 years old,” Mr Anderson said. “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 4.30pm every day except on Christmas Day in the commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial. Each ceremony shares the story behind one of the names on the Roll of Honour. To date the memorial has delivered more than 3800 ceremonies and it would take more than 280 years to read the story behind each of the 103,000 listed. Sgt Trigwell was honoured previously at the War Memorial in 2021 during the centenary of the Royal Australian Air Force. His nephew — named Russell after his uncle — spoke to the Times then about how important it is to remember the sacrifices which were made. “It’s sad when you think of how young they were, but what happened to Uncle Russ would’ve happened time after time to other RAAF members,” he said. “I visited the Belgian war memorial at the Menin Gate for Australians and Commonwealth soldiers who couldn’t be found and hundreds turn out when they play the Last Post each night. “It’s important to see the memories are not lost of what the Australians have done.”