Stories from the ACT Memorial

contributed by Michael Hall

On 21 April 1918 the German air ace, Manfred von Richthofen died near Corbie in the Somme valley. Dubbed the “Red Baron”, von Richthofen shot down 80 Allied planes before his death. But who shot the Red Baron?

Von Richthofen had been chasing a Canadian flyer (Lieutenant May) along the Somme valley when they flew low over Australian positions to the east of Corbie. Australian gunners fired at the Red Baron as he passed overhead when suddenly his plane banked to the right and crashed near the Bray-Corbie road. Initially another Canadian pilot Roy Brown, who was above and to the rear of von Richthofen, was given credit but later investigations showed that he was unlikely to have fired the fatal shot. In his Official History Charles Bean suggests that it was probably Cedric Popkin who killed the Red Baron, but there are least two other possibilities favoured by some historians; Gunners Robert Buie and Snowy Evans of the 53rd Battery, 14th Field Artillery Brigade who were manning Lewis guns when von Richthofen flew by them.

Buie was in Canberra in 1930 operating a crane during the construction of the Institute of Anatomy (now the Australian Film and Sound Archive) and he recalled seeing von Richthofen clearly. “His helmet covered most of his head and face and he was hunched in the cockpit aiming over his guns at the lead plane (May). At 200 yards, with my peep sight directly on Richthofen’s body I began firing with steady bursts. Then, just before my last shots finished at a range of 40 yards, Richthofen’s guns stopped abruptly. The thought flashed through my mind – I’ve hit him! – and immediately I noticed a sharp change in engine sound as the red triplane passed over our gun position at less than 50 feet”.

Unfortunately not much is known about William John ‘Snowy’ Evans except that he was born in the Queanbeyan area in 1894. His father also came from Queanbeyan and his mother died in 1903 in Yass from blood poisoning, so the family had a long association with the district. Evans was a shearer working in outback Queensland when he enlisted in 1914 and he served on Gallipoli with the 5th Light Horse Regiment. He did not get to tell his version of the story before he died in 1925. However, a 2002 documentary aired on the Discovery Channel, used a computer simulation to conclude that it was probably Snowy Evans who fired the fatal shot.

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The ACT Memorial honours men and women who have an association with the ACT and who served in conflicts, peacekeeping missions and related service throughout the world.  To be eligible for inclusion on the ACT Memorial, the individual must have been associated with the ACT prior to enlistment.  If you consider that you, a family member, or someone you know should be included on the ACT Memorial, data can be provided on-line using the nomination form on the ACT Memorial website page or by contacting the ACT Heritage Library.