The Late Arrivals Club

The Story

In 1942, three Australian aircrew narrowly escaped death when their Mk. IV Bristol Blenheim came down in enemy territory. Stranded in the Libyan desert with limited food, water and inadequate clothing, they salvaged the plane’s heavy compass to guide them and walked 225 km, until finally 11 days later, on March 26th, they were rescued by a British Long Range Desert patrol. 

Despite seemingly insurmountable odds, Reginald ‘Mick’ Ey, Pommy Mills and Johnny Hunt embodied what it means to be Australian: mateship, courage, perseverance and the will to survive. For their remarkable feat, these men were inducted into the Late Arrivals Club – an exclusive group of Allied aircrew who crashed behind enemy lines during the Western Desert campaign and took more than 48 hours to walk to safety.