Date of birth:

April 24th, 1921 (Annandale Sydney / New South Wales, Australia)

Date of death:

August 9th, 1989 (Newport / New South Wales, Australia)

Service number:

O21972

Nationality:

Australian

Leonard Huon Williamson (1921-1989), air force officer, was born on 24 April 1921 in Annandale, Sydney. He joined the Militia in February 1939 and enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force on 18 September 1940.

After training as a pilot in Australia and England, Williamson was commissioned into the RAF in May 1941 and posted to No.107 Squadron of the Royal Air Force in December that year, flying Bristol Blenheim bombers from Malta. In January 1942, he was transferred to another Blenheim-equipped unit, No.211 Squadron, RAF, based in Cairo. The squadron was immediately deployed to the Dutch East Indies, where it suffered heavy losses and was disbanded.

Williamson was evacuated to Australia and arrived in Perth on 20 March. He performed flying duties and, after operational training, was posted to No.22 Squadron, RAAF, as flight commander in November 1943. From airfields on the islands of Kiriwina and then Noemfoor, he flew Boston light bombers on low-altitude attacks against Japanese forces. Twelve months later, he returned to Australia and at the end of hostilities in 1945 was a test pilot at No.2 Aircraft Depot in Richmond, New South Wales.

After the war, he continued to serve in the RAAF and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in 1950 for carrying out 44 missions under difficult conditions against communist insurgents in Malaysia.

He retired with after various positions within the RAAF in 1976 and then continued his career within aviation-related business.

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• Photo 1: Shane Williamson
• - Lennard Williamson during his posting in Singapore.
  - DFC citation 22-01-1952.
  - Biography - Leonard Huon Williamson - Australian Dictionary of Biography
  - 30 Jan 1952 - Awards To Three Airmen - Trove