FOR all his courage under fire and service to the community, World War II Lancaster bomber tail gunner Ray Kelly’s deepest emotions belonged to his family, especially his wife of 66 years, Marion.
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Marion died in 2013, and two years later Mr Kelly’s love for his wife still burned so strong he had a love letter for her published in The Daily Advertiser on Anzac Day.
He ended the letter with: “Till we meet again Your loving husband, Ray.”
Mr Kelly was reunited with his beloved wife on Monday, dying peacefully aged 95.
A Requiem Mass to celebrate Mr Kelly’s life will be held at Sacred Heart Catholic Church on Friday at 11am followed by an RSL burial service at the Wagga Lawn Cemetery involving RAAF personnel.
Ray Kelly, raised at Ganmain, joined the RAAF aged 21 with the ambition of becoming a pilot.
But the authorities valued his skills more as a wireless operator and gunner and plonked him in the tail of an Avro Lancaster bomber in England.
Mr Kelly earned the nick-name Cat Eyes Kelly for his extraordinary sight that could spot an enemy plane in the dark before other crew members.
He was a member of 463 Squadron and survived a job that generally had a life expectancy of two flights.
Ray and Marion Kelly met at a social for servicemen and women at Potts Point in Sydney while they were in training before active service. As their romance blossomed and Ray was posted overseas they kept in touch by letters and married in 1947.
Post war, Mr Kelly worked for a while in the family business at Ganmain before taking up farming and then joining the Department of Education and moving into Wagga, his daughter Jan Powell said.
Ray and Marion Kelly had five children, 13 grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren.
“Dad was very loyal, courageous, loving, hard working and patriotic,” Mrs Powell said.
She said after retirement, Mr Kelly still wanted to learn, studying geography, French and information technology.
Several years ago, Mr Kelly wrote his autobiography A Tail Of A Frustrated Gunner for his family and later published an abridged version for wider reading.
He later wrote a book about Marion, herself a distinguished servicewoman.
The RAAF honoured Mr Kelly’s service by naming a room after him at RAAF Base Wagga.
