Tag found on beach returned to family
CONOR BYRNE | August 14th, 2011
Walter John Lay with his grandmother Jessie. Mr Lay's dog tag was found by Grant Ashford on Nightcliff beach last Christmas and a Sunday Territorian story about it has helped locate the Digger airman's sister in Victoria.
A WORLD War II airman's dog tag found on Nightcliff beach is on its way to his family after almost 70 years.
It has revealed a remarkable story.
Sergeant Walter John Lay of Victoria was killed in a plane crash near Laha, off Ambon Island, Indonesia, when the engine failed on News Year's Day 1942 - six weeks before the Bombing of Darwin.
Sgt Lay had only been married six months to Vera Rosier of Tasmania.
The tag was found by mine rescue worker Grant Ashford, 49, of NSW - formerly of Darwin - last Christmas.
He said eroded cliffs revealed a WWII dump from the old Nightcliff hospital - and lots of memorabilia including the mysterious tag.
Sunday Territorian reader Maree Donovan of Larrakeyah recognised the name of Sgt Lay's sister - Jessie Macaulay, 95, of Wonthaggi, Victoria - in the paper in July and contacted her.
The story matched, but unfortunately Sgt Lay's brother Peter had died only weeks earlier in Tasmania and his family said he always wanted to know more about Walter.
Sgt Lay was born in Bunyip, Victoria, in 1915 and was a pharmacist in Hobart before joining the RAAF 13th (City of Darwin) Squadron in 1940.
On the day he died, they were flying 100m over the sea when the engine failed. The pilot tried to jettison the bombs of the Lockheed Hudson Bomber but was unsuccessful. One person survived.
Read more on this story in your copy of today's Sunday Territorian.
Posted:
http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2011/0 ... tnews.html
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