KBE neck decoration: Captain Sir Ross Macpherson Smith, Australian Flying Corps, AIF

Gilt and enamel neck decoration of a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (Civil) with original pre-1936 pattern purple suspension ribbon.

Awarded to Captain Ross Macpherson Smith, a highly successful AIF pilot, on 26 December 1919 in recognition of valuable service rendered to aviation by successfully flying from England to Australia.

In 1919 the Australian Government offered a prize of £10,000 for the first aviator to fly from England to Australia within 30 days. Smith began the attempt from Hounslow, England, on 12 November 1919 in a Vickers Vimy, supplied by the manufacturer, with his brother Lieutenant Keith Smith as assistant pilot and navigator, and two mechanics, Sergeants Walter Shiers and James Bennett.

They endured very poor and at times hazardous flying conditions until they reached Basra in Mespotomia [now Iraq] on 22 November. They then flew from Basra to Delhi in India, then on to Thailand [Siam], where torrential rain and a poor landing area at Singora almost caused a disaster.

At Sourabaya, Java, they took off from an improvised airstrip made of bamboo mats due to deep mud. By 9 December they had reached Timor and the next day crossed to Darwin, landing at 3.50pm. The flight covered 18,250 kilometres, and took just under 28 days with an actual flying time of 135 hours.

The Smith brothers were immediately knighted; Shiers and Bennett were commissioned and awarded bars to their Air Force Medals, and the £10,000 prize money was divided into four equal shares.

The brothers later travelled to England to prepare for another monumental challenge - to fly round the world in a Vickers Viking amphibian aircraft. However, on 13 April 1922 while test-flying the aircraft at Weybridge near London, it spun into the ground killing Sir Ross Smith and Lieutenant James Bennett. The flight around the world was abandoned.

Sir Ross Smith's and Lieutenant Bennett's bodies were brought home to Australia, and after a state funeral, Smith was buried in the North Road Anglican cemetery, Adelaide, on 15 June 1922.

The Vickers Vimy flown on the England-Australia flight is displayed at Adelaide airport at the Sir Ross & Sir Keith Memorial building.