‘I couldn’t find my family’s long-lost Anzac on the Roll of Honour’

On Thursday, April 11, 1918 the Sydney Morning Herald ran a story about an airman who had died in France on April 1, 1918. The airman was Norman Roy Joyce, my grandfather’s cousin. Norman had no descendants, but with the focus on the centenary of the Western Front, which was a success and took longer to win than Gallipoli, it feels appropriate to share his story and recognise his honour.

How fortunate we are not to see many notices in our newspapers and from media outlets like the ones from the war. Instead, we live in a time that commemorates the sacrifice of our soldiers in World Wars I and II. Yet, how can we commemorate if we do not know what happened — especially within extended families?

As a teenager, Norman Roy Joyce trained in the Cadets. It was compulsory military training for all young men aged between 14 and 26 years, introduced under the Federal Defence Act 1910. When the war started, Norman continued his training and passed his military exams in late-1915. When he turned 21 in August 1916, Norman made his own way to England to train as a Royal Flying Corps pilot. Later in his training, Norman flew in RFC squadrons that defended southern England against German balloons and planes.

In mid-January 1918, and now a second lieutenant, Norman was assigned to 23 Squadron in France. It was the same squadron Sir Charles Kingsford Smith had flown with six months earlier. The 23rd had been equipped with the new SPAS S-XIIIs, and six weeks after joining Norman Roy Joyce was out on an offensive and reconnaissance mission near the Hindenburg Line. His throttle broke, but he was able to make a safe, forced landing near Peronne. The plane was damaged beyond repair.

On March 21, Germany launched its spring 1918 offensive with Operation Michael on the Somme. The RFC pulled its squadrons and their planes back, fighting offensively as they withdrew. The Germans almost reached the Allied transport hub, and gateway to Paris, at Amiens. One of the last Allied actions to stop the German advance was at Moreuil Wood, south-east of Amiens. From March 29 until April 4, the area swapped between Allied and German control, while overhead battles raged involving three RFC squadrons — of which one was the 23rd. How well do we remember, like the French, the hard-won success of the Anzac-Allies in the defence of Amiens in 1918.

The RFC became the Royal Air Force on April 1, 1918 and Norman was promoted to lieutenant. The Canadian cavalry fought back and took Moreuil Wood with support from heavy air fighting.

It was while out on reconnaissance and offensive patrol on April 1 that Norman Joyce died. His plane was seen by the 24 Squadron to crash just north of Moreuil Wood, thought to have been brought down by an unidentified enemy aircraft.

Ten days later, Norman’s brother put the news of his sacrifice in the Sydney Morning Herald. He left no children, but seven siblings, several nephews and a niece. Of the two brothers in France, one would die in August on the Somme and the other would be gassed on the Somme. The three sisters never married. On April 12, 1918 in the newspaper’s Roll of Honour, friend W. Colbert called him “a soldier. Hero. Man.”

Norman Roy Joyce is family. My family are descendants of First Fleet sailor Frederick Meredith. While trying to honour the memory of our Great War family members by revealing the detail of who they were and what they did, I discovered that — 100 years on — the Australian RFC/RAF members’ names are not found on the Roll of Honour of the Australian War Memorial (they are however, on the supplementary Commemorative Roll), nor in the Australian list on the Arras Flying Services Memorial.

Yet, these men came from a time when they would have enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force as British, and not Australian; their airbase at Richmond, New South Wales, had only just been established. It highlights a difficulty in being able to acknowledge some Australians’ contributions because they cannot be found as Australians. The RAF Roll of Honour at its Museum Story Vault website gives people the opportunity to dedicate poppies to remember such servicemen. Norman Roy Joyce currently has 10 poppies on his memorial page — one for every decade since his death, but it is my hope that that number should reach 22, one for each year of his life.

Lest we forget hidden Australian fliers like RFC/RAF Lt. NR Joyce, who I think should also be a part of those we commemorate on Anzac Day.

Have you ever looked into your family history and been surprised by what you uncovered? Do you agree with this author that all Australians who served in the wars should be recognised and commemorated?

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