Ranks Held | Captain, Lieutenant Colonel, Major, Temporary Lieutenant Colonel, Temporary Major, Air Marshal, Air Vice Marshal, Group Captain |
---|---|
Birth Date | 1890-08-03 |
Birth Place | Australia: South Australia, Moonta Mines |
Death Date | 1980-02-07 |
Death Place | Australia: Victoria, Melbourne |
Final Rank | Air Marshal |
Service | Australian Imperial Force |
Units |
|
Places | |
Conflict/Operation | First World War, 1914-1918 |
Gazettes |
Published in London Gazette in 1920-04-01 Published in London Gazette in 1918-01-12 Published in London Gazette in 1918-01-16 Published in London Gazette in 1919-01-01 Published in London Gazette in 1920-01-12 Published in London Gazette in 1927-06-03 Published in London Gazette in 1935-06-03 Published in London Gazette in 1917-08-16 Published in Commonwealth Gazette in 1920-04-01 Published in Commonwealth Gazette in 1919-07-23 Published in Commonwealth Gazette in 1917-12-20 Published in Commonwealth Gazette in 1918-05-23 Published in Commonwealth Gazette in 1918-05-23 Published in Commonwealth Gazette in 1920-07-08 |
Air Marshal Richard Williams
Regarded as the father of the Royal Australian Air Force, Richard Williams was born on 3 August 1890 at Moonta Mines, South Australia. He enlisted in the South Australian Infantry Regiment at the age of 19 and gained a commission in 1911.
On 17 August 1914 he attended a war flying course at Point Cook, Victoria; upon completion he resumed his post as a lieutenant on the Administrative and Instructional Staff. In July 1915 he returned to Point Cook for advanced aviation training and in August married Constance Griffiths.
On 5 January 1916 Williams was appointed captain and posted as a flight commander to No. 1 Squadron, AFC. The squadron began operations in December that year in support of ground forces advancing into Palestine. In May 1917 Williams took command of the squadron, having been awarded the Distinguished Service Order for rescuing a pilot shot down behind enemy lines. In June 1918 he was promoted to temporary lieutenant colonel and given command of a Royal Flying Corps wing comprising three British squadrons and his own.
Williams was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1919 in recognition of his war service. He spent much of 1919 as Staff Officer, Aviation, at AIF headquarters in London. On returning to Australia, Williams was heavily involved in establishing the RAAF, which came into being in March 1921. In 1922 Williams became Chief of Air Staff but faced many difficulties in establishing the new service. Williams was promoted to group captain in July 1925. In 1926 he flew a seaplane on a trip to the islands north of Australia to study the region as a possible theatre of operations and was made air commodore the following year.
In 1935 Williams was appointed air vice marshal and continued to represent the Air Force's interests against the competing demands of the other services. He was attached to Britain's Air Ministry and in early 1939 was given charge of administration in the RAF's Coastal Command before returning to Australia in 1940 as Air Member for Organisation and Equipment. Williams did not support the integration of Australian airmen into the RAF but was overruled by his superiors; in October 1941 he was sent to England to establish and command RAAF Overseas Headquarters to administer the thousands of RAAF personnel then arriving there.
Williams subsequently served as the RAAF representative in Washington from 1942 until the end of the war. In 1946 he became Director General of Civil Aviation and retired from the RAAF that September. He oversaw the expansion of domestic and international aviation and the creation of a network of airfields and associated infrastructure around Australia.
Williams died in Melbourne on 7 February 1980.
Rolls
-
Honours and Awards:
- Unit
- No. 1 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps
- Conflict
- First World War, 1914-1918
- Rank
- Captain
- London Gazette
- 16 August 1917 on page 8353 at position 5
- Commonwealth Gazette
- 20 December 1917 on page 3372 at position 24
-
Honours and Awards:
- Conflict
- Period 1920-1929
- Rank
- Group Captain
- London Gazette
- 03 June 1927 on page 3611 at position 1
-
Honours and Awards:
- Unit
- Australian Flying Corps
- Conflict
- First World War, 1914-1918
- Rank
- Lieutenant Colonel
- London Gazette
- 12 January 1920 on page 507 at position 16
- Commonwealth Gazette
- 01 April 1920 on page 545 at position 33
-
Honours and Awards:
- Unit
- Australian Flying Corps
- Conflict
- First World War, 1914-1918
- Rank
- Temporary Lieutenant Colonel
- London Gazette
- 01 April 1920 on page 4022 at position 1
- Commonwealth Gazette
- 08 July 1920 on page 945 at position 9
-
Honours and Awards:
- Unit
- Royal Australian Air Force
- Conflict
- Period 1930-1939
- Rank
- Air Vice Marshal
- London Gazette
- 03 June 1935 on page 3596 at position 1
-
First World War Nominal Roll:
- Unit
- Australian Flying Corps
- Conflict
- First World War, 1914-1918
- Rank
- Lieutenant Colonel
-
Honours and Awards (Recommendation):
- Unit
- No. 1 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps
- Conflict
- First World War, 1914-1918
- Rank
- Captain
-
Honours and Awards:
- Unit
- Australian Flying Corps
- Conflict
- First World War, 1914-1918
- Rank
- Temporary Lieutenant Colonel
- London Gazette
- 01 January 1919 on page 94 at position 1
- Commonwealth Gazette
- 23 July 1919 on page 1167 at position 1
-
Honours and Awards:
- Unit
- Australian Flying Corps
- Conflict
- First World War, 1914-1918
- Rank
- Major
- London Gazette
- 16 January 1918 on page 937 at position 20
- Commonwealth Gazette
- 23 May 1918 on page 1125 at position 52
-
Honours and Awards (Recommendation):
- Unit
- No. 1 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps
- Conflict
- First World War, 1914-1918
- Rank
- Major
-
Honours and Awards:
- Unit
- Australian Flying Corps
- Conflict
- First World War, 1914-1918
- Rank
- Temporary Major
- London Gazette
- 12 January 1918 on page 804 at position 17
- Commonwealth Gazette
- 23 May 1918 on page 1122 at position 31
-
First World War Embarkation Roll:
- Conflict
- First World War, 1914-1918
- Rank
- Captain
Timeline
Date of birth | 03 August 1890 | Moonta Mines, SA. |
---|---|---|
Date and unit at enlistment (ORs) | 1909 | Enlisted in the South Australian Infantry Regiment. |
Date commissioned | 1911 | Appointed to a permanent commission in the Australian Army. |
Other | 1914 | Attended a war flying course at Point Cook, Victoria. |
Other | 1914-11 | Qualified for a pilot licence. |
Other | 1915-07 | Passed an Advanced Flying Course. |
Other units | 05 January 1916 | Appointed flight commander with No 1 Squadron, AFC, the first complete flying Corps to be formed in Australia. |
Date of enlistment | 01 March 1916 | |
Date of embarkation | 16 March 1916 | |
Date of recommendation honour or award | 1917 | |
Other | 1917-05 | Williams took command of No. 1 Squadron with the rank of major. |
Date of honour or award | 16 August 1917 | Distinguished Service Order (DSO), for rescuing a pilot shot down behind enemy lines. |
Date of recommendation honour or award | 1918 | |
Date promoted | 1918-06 | Promoted to temporary lieutenant colonel and given command of 40 Wing, Royal Flying Corps. |
Other | 1919 | Staff officer, aviation, at AIF Headquarters in London. |
Date of honour or award | 01 January 1919 | Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). |
Date returned to Australia | 1919-10 | Recalled to Australia for duty as Director of Air Services at Army Headquarters. |
Date returned to Australia | 30 October 1919 | |
Other | 1920-11 | Became senior member of the Air Board. |
Other | 1922 - 1939 | Became chief of air staff, RAAF. |
Other | 1923 | Graduated from the British Army Staff College in Camberley, England. |
Other | 1924 | Graduated from the RAF Staff College. |
Date promoted | 1925-07 | Promoted to captain. |
Date of honour or award | 03 June 1927 | Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). |
Other | 1933 | Graduated from the Imperial Defence College. |
Date promoted | 1935 | Williams was appointed air vice marshal. |
Date of honour or award | 03 June 1935 | Companion of the Bath (CB). |
Other | 1939-02 | Attached to Britain's Air Ministry as Air Officer in Charge of Administration of Coastal Command of the RAF. |
Date returned to Australia | 1940 | Returned to Australia with the rank of air marshal. |
Other | 1941-12 | He established Overseas Headquarters, RAAF, in London and became its commander. |
Other | 06 July 1942 | Went to Washington as the RAAF representative in with the Combined Chiefs of Staff. |
Other | 1946 | Transferred to the Retired List. |
Other | 1946-06-11 - 1955-12-31 | Appointed Director-General of Civil Aviation. |
Date of honour or award | 01 January 1954 | Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE). |
Date of death | 07 February 1980 | Melbourne, VIC |
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