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Group Captain Alan GroomPrint Page Print this page

03-December-2020
03-December-2020
Photographs supplied by John Huth

The plaque commemorates Group Captain Alan Douglas Groom D. S. O. who served in the Royal Air Force.  He was killed in August 1956 while flying a Royal Air Force fighter aeroplane.

Groom was the first Queenslander to win the Sword of Honour at Point Cook. He was a Prisoner-of-War in World War Two and won his Distinguished Service Order (DSO) late in 1945 when at the end of the war he defied the Indonesians and arranged truces which saved the lives of thousands of British soldiers. Group Captain Groom who was the brother of Brisbane's Lord Mayor (Alderman T. Groom), was killed in a Vampire Jet crash in the Welsh mountains on the 23rd August 1956. 

Location

Address:24 Gregory Terrace, Brisbane Grammar School Memorial Library, Spring Hill , 4000
State:QLD
Area:AUS
GPS Coordinates:Lat: -27.459866
Long: 153.018498
Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate.
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Details

Monument Type:Plaque
Monument Theme:People
Sub-Theme:Military
Actual Event Start Date:23-August-1956
Actual Event End Date:23-August-1956

Dedication

Front Inscription

In memoriam

Group Capt. Alan Douglas Groom D. S. O; R. A. F.

The first Queenslander to win the Sword of Honour at Point Cook

He was commissioned as an officer in the R. A. F. and soon made his mark by his high ideals.

Captured in Java in 1942, he was a Prisoner of War for 3½ years.

In the Indonesian unrest at the end of the war, by his great courage, he was responsible for ending a massacre.

For this, he was awarded the D. S. O.  the citation stating : -

"By his sustained gallantry and resolution, he saved many lives and set an example that was an inspiration to all.:

He was killed on 23 - 8 - 56, while flying a R.A.F. jet fighter 

A gallant officer, he added his sgare of glory to the bays of B. G. S.

Erected by a friend

Source: MA
Monument details supplied by Monument Australia - www.monumentaustralia.org.au