Mr Nicholas Aitken ‘72 (aka Wilbur Wilde)
3 June 2019
Ray served in the Royal Australian Navy from 1928-1946. During World War II, he saw action at the battles of Matapan, Greece, Crete and Malta, and later at the battles of the Java Sea and Sunda Strait. He was held Prisoner of War (1942-45) in Java, on the Burma-Siam Railway and in the Coal Mines of Japan. Post War, he worked as a Shipping Clerk on the Melbourne waterfront, during which time he wrote his memoirs which were republished in 1999 as ‘Ray Parkin’s Wartime Trilogy’, and awarded Book of the Year. He also received the NSW Premier’s Literary Award (Douglas Stewart Prize). His history of H.M Bark “Endeavour” was published in 1997. In 2000, he was made a Member of the Order of Australia General Division and, in the following year, Melbourne University bestowed on him a Doctor of Letters (Honoris Causa).
Fidelis Usque ad Mortem
