but he nonetheless determined to fly his crippled aircraft home, and return his crew to safety. During the return flight he frequently said over the intercom "I'll make the English Coast. I'll get you home". After four hours of agony and having been further damaged by flak over France, Middleton reached the coast of England with five minutes of fuel reserves. At this point he turned the aircraft parallel to the coast and ordered his crew to bail out. Five of his crew did so and landed safely, but his front gunner and flight engineer remained with him to try to talk him into a forced landing on the coast, something he must have known would have risked extensive civilian casualties. He steered the aircraft out over the sea, off Dymchurch, and ordered the last two crew to bail out. They then too bailed out, but did not survive the night in the English Channel. Middleton stayed with the aircraft, which crashed into the Channel. His body was washed ashore on 1 February 1943. The last line of his Victoria Cross citation reads: "His devotion to duty in the face of overwhelming odds is unsurpassed in the annals of the Royal Air Force". Middleton was posthumously promoted to pilot officer, and is buried at Beck Row, [Mildenhall], Suffolk. His Victoria Cross and uniform are displayed at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. Pilot Officers George Royde (navigator) and Norman Skinner (wireless operator) were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, while Flight Sergeant Leslie Hyder (2nd pilot), Flight Sergeant Douglas Cameron (mid-upper gunner) and Sergeant H.W. Gough (rear gunner) each received the Distinguished Flying Medal. Coincidentally, Cameron (as a flying officer) would be a member of Squadron Leader Ian Willoughby Bazalgette's crew when the Canadian would be awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross in 1944. Legacy Middleton has been honoured by the naming of the mess, the 'Middleton VC Club' at 1 RAAF Recruit Training Unit, RAAF Base Wagga. He was on one of 1995 Australia Remembers 45c stamps. The dining hall located at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk is named after Middleton. In Parkes NSW, there is a street and Middleton Public School named for him In Gilgandra NSW, the road that leads to the local Aerodrome - Middleton Memorial Drive - is named in his honour. In Dubbo NSW, in Victoria Park adjacent to the Cenotaph, there is a bronze bust of