Beyond borders and generations

A name lost beneath the passage of time. But a service that deserves to be remembered.

For 63 years, SGT Ernest Ellerston-Jones lay in an unmarked grave in Canada, far from the country he served.

However, this Remembrance Day, SGT Ellerston-Jones’ name can now form part of Australia’s collective memory in solemnly reflecting on the sacrifices made by so many. 

SGT Ellerston-Jones served as a pilot during World War II with 7 Service Flying Training School, helping train the aviators who would shape Australia’s wartime air power. 

He survived the conflict, but in 1963, his life was cut short when a Canadian aircraft crash claimed all 118 people on board.

He left behind his wife and four children, all under the age of eight.

A life of service would go on without him, with his own sacrifice unknown and forgotten. 

However, that changed in August through the work of the Canadian volunteer organisation, the Last Post Fund. The Last Post Fund identified SGT Ellerston-Jones and arranged for his service to be honoured with a permanent military grave marker.

Now, Veterans Affairs Canada will care for SGT Ellerston-Jones in perpetuity, ensuring his service remains recognised for generations to come.

Retired CPL Kyle Scott, a volunteer with the Last Post Fund, offered a simple assurance: “He is well cared for moving forward by your Canadian friends.”

Across the distance between Australia and Canada, this act of care carries a meaning beyond one grave. It shows that honouring those who served is a responsibility that crosses borders and outlasts generations.

GPCAPT Jason Pont, the Defence Attaché in Canada, recently visited SGT Ellerston-Jones to pay his respects.

“Nearly 10,000 Australian aviators trained in Canada during WWII. It is incumbent upon us to remember those who served to protect the freedoms we enjoy today,” GPCAPT Pont said. 

CAF AIRMSHL Stephen Chappell said preserving the memories of those who served is crucial to ensuring their sacrifice is not forgotten by future generations.

“While far from his homeland, it is fitting that his service as an Australian aviator is now permanently commemorated and that his final resting place will be cared for in perpetuity,” AIRMSHL Chappell said. 

SGT Ellerston-Jones’ story reminds us that the passage of time should never diminish the lives behind the sacrifice.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning,

We will remember them.