Northbridge Uniting Church Memorial Gates, Flying Officer John Hartley Middleton

The entrance gates to the Northbridge Uniting Church (formally the Northbridge Methodist War and Peace Memorial Church) are dedicated to the memory of 423153 Flying Officer John Hartley Middleton, Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Flying Officer Middleton was serving with 207 Squadron, Royal Air Force (RAF) on a mission over Bremen, Germany on the night of 6 October 1944 when the Lancaster Bomber he was flying crashed, killing him and the seven other members of the crew. This is a stepped brick entranceway with metal lanterns mounted on the top of the plinths on either side and hinged black painted metal gates in the centre. The brass dedication plaque is attached to the left hand side of the gateway.

The current Northbridge Uniting Church building was erected in 1954-1955 as the Northbridge Methodist War and Peace Memorial Church and replaced the former church which had been built on the site in 1924. During the dedication ceremony on 19 June 1955 the Governor of New South Wales, Sir John Northcott, dedicated the church as “a memorial to all who served and suffered in the cause of peace… and to one such person, Flying Officer John Hartley Middleton RAAF who lost his life over Germany on 6 October 1944”.  It appears that the entranceway had been constructed at the same time as the new church and was chosen by the Middleton family as a memorial to their son and brother following its completion. The entranceway was officially dedicated to Flying Officer Middleton on 17 July 1955 by Reverend S Bostock-Jones and the plaque was erected by his parents and sisters. The church was renamed the Northbridge Uniting Church by the late 1980s.