Sir Richard Williams (1890–1980) is regarded as the "father" of the
Royal Australian Air Force. He was the first military pilot trained in
Australia, and commanded fighter units in World War I. A proponent of
independent air power, Williams played a leading role in the
establishment of the RAAF and became its first and longest-serving
Chief of the Air Staff (CAS). Born into a working class family, he was
an Army Lieutenant when he learned to fly in 1914. As a pilot with the
Australian Flying Corps in World War I, Williams commanded No. 1
Squadron and later 40th Wing RAF, earning the Distinguished Service
Order. Afterwards he campaigned for an Australian Air Force separate
from the Army and Navy, and this came into being on 31 March 1921. The
fledgling RAAF faced challenges to its existence for the next decade,
and Williams was credited with maintaining its independence. However an
adverse report on flying safety saw him dismissed as CAS prior to World
War II. Despite promotion to Air Marshal in 1940, he never again
commanded the RAAF. After the war he was forcibly retired and took up
the position of Director-General of Civil Aviation. He was knighted
shortly before his retirement in 1955.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Williams_%28RAAF_officer%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1146:
French abbot Bernard of Clairvaux made a sermon to a crowd at Vézelay,
with King Louis VII in attendance, urging the necessity of a Second
Crusade.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_of_Clairvaux>
1822:
Greek War of Independence: Ottoman troops began the massacre of over
20,000 Greeks on the island of Chios.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chios_Massacre>
1854:
U.S. Navy Commodore Matthew C. Perry and the Tokugawa shogunate signed
the Convention of Kanagawa, forcing the opening of Japanese ports to
American trade.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_of_Kanagawa>
1910:
The six English towns of Burslem, Tunstall, Stoke-upon-Trent, Hanley,
Fenton and Longton, amalgamated to form a single county borough.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federation_of_Stoke-on-Trent>
1942:
World War II: Because of a mutiny by Indian soldiers against their
British officers, Japanese troops captured Christmas Island without any
resistance.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Christmas_Island>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
even Homer nods (proverb):
Not even the most vigilant and expert are immune from erring
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/even_Homer_nods>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
History will judge societies and governments — and their institutions —
not by how big they are or how well they serve the rich and the
powerful, but by how effectively they respond to the needs of the poor
and the helpless.
--Cesar Chavez
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cesar_Chavez>