Ross Stanford joined the RAAF in 1941 and was sent to England, where he trained to fly Lancaster bombers.
He flew 23 operational trips before being selected to fly in the legendary Dambuster Squadron, undertaking a further 25 missions. Also involved with the Dambuster raid was Alfred Day (1910 - 1984), who attended PAC 1918 to 1927, who received the DFC in recognition of his skills as a navigation supervisor. Stanford played for the RAAF cricket team and played Tests against England and India for the Australian Services Cricket Team in 1945.
Ross Stanford was a well-known face in the ANZAC Day march and was actively involved with the Ryder Cheshire Foundation for which he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 1991.