Sergeant Robert Maxwell Allott – Second World War
RSL Victoria remembers the sacrifice of Sergeant Robert Maxwell “Max” Allott who gave his life in service of his country on 27 May 1943 during the Second World War.
Robert, known as Max, was born on 29 September 1921 to George and Ruby Allott. He was raised in the small Victorian town of Swanpool, just south of Benalla. He and parents welcomed his brother Laurence into the world four years later in October 1925.
His father ran the local store and was a prominent figure in the Swanpool community, being President of the local football league and the Swanpool Cricket District Association. George was also the founding secretary of the Wangaratta Hospital Committee and life Governor of the same hospital.
Max and his brother attended Benalla High School where they were popular students, taking their place on both the cricket and football teams.
Max worked for his father in the family store during his High School years and briefly joined the 59th Battalion militia but had to get a discharge when he took up a job as a clerk with the Union Bank of Australia and moved to live with his grandparents in Benalla.
The early 1940’s was a turbulent time for the Allott family. Max’s father, George, became seriously ill just as the Second World War broke out in Europe and struggled with his health over the next two years.
Meanwhile Max applied to join the RAAF in June 1940, answering the call as continental Europe fell to Nazi Germany and the Battle of Britain began.
Max began various training courses with the RAAF in bases around Australia, first as a wireless operator and then navigator. Sadly, in September 1941 his father succumbed to his illness and died in Beechworth.
For Max, 1942 saw the completion of his training in Wagga where he also met the love of his life Loretta Cupples. They married in October 1942, and The Benalla Ensign reported that:
“The bride was attended by her sister, Noelene, and Miss Beryl Reid, who wore a pale blue satin taffeta with short tulle veils and coronets of pink and blue flowers. They carried bouquets of pink carnations and sweet peas, the gift of the bridegroom.
Sergeant Brooks was best man and Sergeant Lutwych groomsman. The breakfast was held in St. Martin’s Hall, where Mrs Cupples assisted. Owing to travelling restrictions, it was regretted that the bridegroom’s mother and brother were unable to be present. After the honeymoon the happy couple left for Wagga, where they will reside.”
But there time together in Wagga would prove to be short lived. In early 1943 Max was briefly posted to Townsville, before being attached to the 30 Squadron and deploying to New Guinea in April 1943 as a Navigator.
Sadly, his time in the war zone would be brief.
On 27 May 1943 Max was the Navigator on a Beaufighter bomber which took part in an attack on Lae Airfield and a nearby plantation. They were met by intense anti-aircraft fire from Japanese ground forces.
The pilot, Flight Lieutenant Edward Eddison, was leading other Australian Beaufighters across the airfield when it was hit and crashed in flames at the north-east end. Both the pilot and Sergeant Robert Maxwell Allott were killed instantly. It was reported that the anti-aircraft barrage was the most intense experienced for some time.
The news was a bitter blow for his young bride but her connection to her late husband’s family remained strong in the years following the war. She regularly spent extended holidays with Max’s mother in Swanpool and never remarried. She died in Sydney in 2004 still bearing her late husband’s last name.
Max’s mother passed away in Benalla in 1972, her other son Laurence going on to become Reverand Laurence Allott and a father of three and grandfather of six before he finally passed away in Yackandandah in 2013, aged 87.
RSL Victoria pays tribute to Sergeant Allott, his family and all those who have sacrificed in the service of their country.
Lest we forget.
