10/11/2025
As the only remaining veteran from his RAAF Unit, November will be a month of both reflection and celebration for Bolton Clarke Moreton Shores resident Lewis as he marks Remembrance Day and celebrates his 101st birthday on 20th November.
Born and raised in Brisbane, Lewis’ family tree runs back through Queensland history. He is the great great grandson of Sir James Robert Dickson, who served as Premier of Queensland in 1898 and was appointed Australia’s first Federal Minister of Defence.
“I was born in and raised in the Albion region and when I returned from World War II I bought a property in Tarragindi and lived there for 70-odd years,” Lewis said.
In January of 1943, Lewis enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force where he would go on to train for 12 months and become an aircraft electrician with the 107 Squadron’s Operational Base Unit.
From there he was transferred to 61 Operational Base Unit at Townsville and then served at Morotai, Indonesia and at Tarakan in Borneo.
In January 1946, Lewis was discharged from the RAAF when the war had ended and says the best thing about his service was the travel and the friendships he made.
“When I got back, I knew I didn’t want to go back to the job I was doing before the war and the closest thing to an aircraft electrician was an automotive electrician.
“That’s when I worked for my cousins the Markwell brothers who had motorcycles and cars.”
Now, every Remembrance Day, Lewis still makes his way to the Annerley RSL to lay a wreath with his family and this year it will be followed by his 101st birthday celebrations.
“I am very excited to celebrate my 101st birthday, I didn’t ever think about getting to this stage but as it got closer and closer I started to believe it would happen.
“I have given it a bit of thought to why I might have lived this long and I think I must have inherited very good genes from mum and dad – I was always fit as a kid.
“I also had an aunt who always told me to chew my food thoroughly and not to shovel everything down which I think has helped my health.”
