Portrait of Wing Commander Archibald Robert Tindal

[Copy of original] portrait of 76 Wing Commander Archibald Robert "Archie" Tindal, RAAF. Archie Tindal was born on 18 January 1916 at Fir Grove in Eversly, England to Archibald Arthur and Hilda Dorothy Tindal. The year previously, Archibald Arthur, a pastoralist in Australia returned to the Tindal family seat of Fir Grove with his wife and daughter Elizabeth in response to newspaper advertisements for English Army Reservists living in New South Wales to join the Expeditionary Forces in Europe. Eight months after his son’s birth, Second Lieutenant Archibald Arthur Tindal 177th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery was killed at the Battle of Guillemont on 18 September 1916. His widow returned with her children to Armidale, New South Wales. Archibald Robert completed his education at The Armidale School and joined the Royal Australian Air Force on 16 July 1934 as an Air Cadet. He was promoted to Pilot Officer (1 July 1935), Flying Officer (1 July 1936), Flying Lieutenant (1 January 1938), Squadron Leader (1 June 1940) and finally Wing Commander (1 January 1942). During this time, he served with No. 3 Squadron, No. 24 Squadron, and HQ Northern Area, in addition to attending several different RAAF training schools. In January 1942, he was posted to HQ North Western Area, Darwin, as Area Armament Officer. Wing Commander Archibald Robert Tindal died aged 26 on 19 February 1942 when manning a Lewis machine gun against attacking Japanese aircraft at RAAF Base Darwin. Believed to be the first Air Force casualty on mainland Australia during the Second World War, he was buried at the Adelaide River War Cemetery. In 1946, Carson's Airfield near the town of Katherine was renamed in Wing Commander Tindal's honour, firstly as Tindal Airfield, and subsequently RAAF Base Tindal.