The Last Navigator: From the Queensland bush to Bomber Command and Pathfinders . . . a true story of courage and survival against the odds

by Paul Goodwin, Gordon Goodwin

An extraordinary first-person story of a boy from the Queensland bush who survived the dangers of Bomber Command to become Qantas' last navigator.'A wonderful book that tells a remarkable and heroic story.'AIR CHIEF MARSHAL SIR ANGUS HOUSTON AK, AFC (RET'D)The choking, chest-tightening feeling of being trapped in a burning Lancaster, enduring the uncertainty, you count down the requisite 60 seconds for the tanks to blow. Your skip has thrown off the fighters with yet another brilliant corkscrew manoeuvre but will you get your badly wounded bomber home?Gordon Goodwin was a decorated airman and an inspired leader. During World War II he served in probably the most dangerous occupation of all, flying with the Pathfinders as they led bombing raids into Germany. He undertook 32 Pathfinder missions, including nine over Berlin, and 65 missions over enemy territory with Bomber Command. But to survive his childhood was perhaps a greater achievement. Raised in harsh and loveless circumstances outside Brisbane during the Depression, his accomplishments were remarkable. This is the powerful first-hand account of Gordon's dangerous and brave war experiences as recalled for his son Paul. 'My father told me that to survive you had to surrender all hope.' That extraordinary formula followed by the men of Bomber Command allowed Gordon to not only come through the war, but to find a successful career with Qantas, finishing as its chief, and possibly last, navigator. The Last Navigator is an illuminating, compelling and ultimately uplifting insight into a time that should not be forgotten.

Genres: Biography

353 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 2, 2020

About the author

Various authors

Reviews

[John Reid · Rating 4 out of 5]

It will be sad if any browse past The Last Navigator by Paul Goodwin with Gordon Goodwin, thinking it ‘just another war story,’ because, although from necessity, Gordon Goodwin’s war exploits are an essential ingredient, it’s how they were the foundation of his post-war profession with Qantas that make them important.

Gordon Goodwin’s story, although written by his son, Paul, is autobiographical. As Paul says, “...this is a collaboration between father and son. It is written in his voice, as it is his story.”

Coming from a penurious background on a failing citrus farm at Montville, with a cruel father unable to provide suitable support or guidance, Gordon Goodwin was to find help from others outside the family home. Keen to do well, the assistance he gained proved helpful, and provided a form of educational direction.

His Uncle Stan got him a job at the sugar refinery in Bundaberg. Given ever greater responsibility, he soon learnt the process of raw sugar mixing. Despite his truncated education, he found classes stimulating and passed a chemistry examination. Then, early in WWII, he enlisted in the RAAF, training at first in Australia and, later, more intensively in Canada under the Empire Air Training Scheme.

Gordon became a navigator, finding the need to be totally attuned to its intricacies perfectly suited his temperament. He proved that, despite little familial assistance in his past, he continued to adapt well to new learning regimes, especially those that activated his mind. Tellingly, one of these was celestial navigation.

During training, and later through the war, he was to meet percipient fellow-Australian, Don Bennett, the ‘consummate navigator’ whose direction would have great bearing on the younger man’s future. Following his first full tour of duty, with 31 flights over wartime Europe (a member of the first 460 Squadron crew to manage this feat intact) he was to become part of the elite Pathfinder Force. Bennett was initiator and leader of the Pathfinders.

The necessity to lead bombing attacks accurately to target through night skies was honed to a fine degree and his skills developed proportionately. One of the most important tasks of a navigator was to help his aircraft to the target and home again, but it was not simply a matter of following a line on a map. As well as guiding his pilot clear of flak and fighter locations, there was the need to make allowance for wind drift and - hated by fellow crew - straight and level flight for suitable star sightings.

Through a busy schedule of operational flying and heading navigation training courses, Gordon managed leave passes. On one of these he met and was enchanted by Joy. They would marry late in the war, in a ceremony at St Mary’s in Wimbledon Village. At the end of the war, chosen by Qantas to be a navigator leader, he flew home to be demobbed so he could join the airline.

In peacetime, Gordon became head of navigation for Qantas, flying in and guiding aircraft from the crude Lancastrians, through Empire flying boats and Lockheed Constellations, through to the introduction of the jet age and Boeing 707s. He was literally The Last Navigator, taking his company to the point where modern electronics now navigate aircraft by instruments not dissimilar to that in the centre of your car’s dashboard.

This is a lovingly written work by a son telling his father’s remarkable story. A convincing and historically significant read.

[Shreedevi Gurumurty · Rating 5 out of 5]

A true story of courage and survival against the odds.Gordon Goodwin was a decorated airman and an inspired leader.During WWII he served in probably the most dangerous occupation of all, flying with the Pathfinders as they led bombing raids into Germany. He undertook 32 Pathfinder missions, including 9 over Berlin, and 65 missions over enemy territory with Bomber Command."To survive you must surrender all hope." That extraordinary formula was followed by the men of Bomber Command and it allowed Gordon to not only come through the war, but to find a successful career with Qantas, finishing as its chief, and possibly last, navigator. His skill, courage and commitment were recognised with a Distinguished Service Order and a Distinguished Flying Medal. Ralph Gordon Goodwin was born in Brisbane on September 27th, 1917.He grew up on his parents' orchard, at Montville, north of Brisbane, and in 1931 went to Brisbane Boys' College. But the Depression came and in June the following year, his father pulled him out to work on the farm,despite the school's offer to discount his fees.His home life was very unhappy. In 1934, he left for Bundaberg to work in a sugar mill, qualified as a sugar boiler and showed an early desire to better himself by qualifying as an assistant sugar chemist.When war came,Goodwin applied for the RAAF and went to the Empire Training Scheme in Canada as a potential navigator/bomb aimer.While he was navigating a Hudson aircraft across the Atlantic,the plane struck engine trouble just before it reaches the point of no return,and Goodwin used his navigational skills to guide the crew back.Finally in Britain,Goodwin was posted to 460 Squadron at Brighton.He did 30 missions and his crew was the first to survive such a huge task unscathed.In June 1942,Goodwin was commissioned pilot officer,took up navigation instructor duties.In October 1943,he applied to return to operations and was directed to Navigation Training Unit,Pathfinder Force.He married Joyce Turner in 1944.He joined Qantas airways once demobilised and nearing the end of his career,assisted in the computerisation of his art,making his job obsolete.

[Peter Langston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paul Godwin has done a wonderful job in writing his father’s history in aviation, with a heavy emphasis in his time with Bomber Command. It’s an easy read, with its soul controversy being the significant moral dilemma of Area bombing which caused such huge loss of life in German cities. Bomber Command itself suffered the biggest losses of any branch of the British Armed Forces, with one of any two air crew not surviving. The inclusion of personal yarns of mate’s and Gordon’s meeting, wooing of Joy and their subsequent lives together, is respectfully told. Well worth the effort.

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written and interesting.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that this was a fantastic book which tells the life story of Australian Gordon Goodwin, very well written by first time author and son of the subject, Paul Goodwin. The author used memoirs written by his father about his life, particularly as a navigator in Bomber Command during WWII, as the basis for the book, with other published sources providing context to the story. Goodwin junior, writes the story from his father's perspective, as if his father was writing in the first person and has produced a very readable and interesting biography.

Gordon Goodwin grew up in Queensland in the interwar period, originally in the Sunshine Coast hinterland then moving to Bundaberg to start work there in a sugar mill. Early in the narrative we are introduced to the personal honesty of the subject when he describes the difficult relationship with his parents. This honesty about his personal life continues throughout the book as he discusses friends and lovers and the eventual meeting of the woman who he would marry in wartime England.

The controversary over the role of Bomber Command in the deliberate targeting of civilian housing areas is addressed a nuber of times during the book. Without entering into a debate on the morality of that, it has a special poignancy for Australian readers at this time as the war crimes in Afghanistan are made public. I've never been able to reconcile that what constitues a war crime for ground troops is combat for aircrew and was constantly reminded of this throughout the book. Paul Goodwin, and everyone in Bomber Command, would have had to rationalise their involvement in that bombing throughout their lives. The apparent snubbing of Bomber Command at the end of the War and in the awarding of medals is discussed and this is not something that I was previously aware of.

The bulk of the narrative centres on the many missions that Gordon Goodwin undertook as a navigator using celestial navigation to find their way from airbases in England across Europe to bomb targets and return to England. The final chapters deal with Goodwin's post-war career with Qantas with his retirement coinciding with the introduction of computerised navigation systems.

I highly recommend this book. I found it honest, interesting and easy to read. It is a fitting tribute by the authr to his father.

[Brian S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book which was not your average war reminisence. It did falter in my view somewhat as it relied on other authors for a lot of background rather than the rememberances of the principal. That said it is a good read. Obviously the poor treatment of the men of Bomber command by post war moralists and politicians is still raw as it would be for many who fort in the skies of Germany (on both sides).