John Lloyd Waddy
As a fighter pilot during World War II, he shot down 15 enemy aircraft during the North African campaign, becoming one of Australia's top-scoring aces and earning the Distinguished Flying Cross.Discharged from the Permanent Air Force at the end of the war, Waddy took a commission in the RAAF Reserve and led the organisation as a group captain in the early 1950s.Edgar had taken a short-service commission with the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the 1930s, and Richard trained in Canada with EATS during the war before active duty in Britain, where he was killed flying a single-engined fighter in 1941.[1][4] Waddy's elder sister, Lett, was commissioned into the Women's Volunteer Naval Reserve, and his younger brother Rowen served as an officer with Z Special Unit in the South West Pacific.[6] Waddy's first operational sortie was as Caldwell's wingman; he found the ensuing dogfight so fast and confusing that he had no idea what was happening and afterwards had to ask the more experienced pilot how things had gone.Promoted flying officer, he achieved four "kills" in a single sortie on 12 May 1942, destroying two Junkers Ju 52 cargo planes and two escorting Bf 110s from a German air transport convoy operating between Crete and North Africa.His final tally of fifteen and a half victories made him one of the most successful Allied fighter pilots in the Desert War, and second only to Caldwell among the RAAF contingent.[4] He was quoted in The Canberra Times that April offering his message of congratulation to the RAF on the 25th anniversary of its foundation: "You should not have many more birthdays before 'Jerry' and the Japs are shot clean out of the skies.OTU before their combat postings in the South West Pacific; in December 1943, Caldwell and Waddy nearly collided when they crossed paths during an aerobatics display at No.[6][23] At the subsequent inquiry into events on Morotai, Justice John Vincent Barry cleared the pilots of fault over the incident, finding their motives in tendering their resignations to be sincere.[4] He joined the Rose Bay branch of the Liberal Party, and accepted a commission in the RAAF Reserve, also known as the Citizen Air Force (CAF).[27][29] During his tenure, CAF squadrons continued to operate aircraft and were expected to act as home defence in the absence of PAF units serving overseas, roles they would lose by the end of the 1950s.[39] Described by one of his parliamentary colleagues as a "mixture of bon vivant and conservatism", Waddy was also known for an occasionally quick temper; his staff were said to "start making motions as though they were bombing and strafing the enemy" when their boss got "wound up".[1] Charles Cutler, New South Wales Deputy Premier from 1965 to 1975, reflecting on the bond between ex-servicemen in the political arena, recalled Waddy as "a great bloke, but inclined to be a bit pompous when speaking in the house ...",[40] and John Booth found him to have an "old-fashioned sense of service to the community".[43] After eleven years in power in New South Wales, the sitting Liberal government itself lost office in the 1976 poll, to Neville Wran's Labor Party.
Group CaptainNew South Wales ParliamentKirribilliBruce McDonaldSydneyGoulburnLiberal PartyRoyal Australian Air ForceNo. 250 Squadron RAFNo. 260 Squadron RAFNo. 4 Squadron SAAFNo. 92 Squadron RAFNo. 2 OTUNo. 80 SquadronMiddle Eastern theatreDesert WarSouth West Pacific theatreNew Guinea campaignBorneo campaignOfficer of the Order of the British EmpireDistinguished Flying CrossMentioned in DespatchesAir MedalNew South Wales Legislative AssemblyNew South Wales governmentWorld War IINorth African campaignNo. 80 SquadronSouth West PacificMorotai MutinyMember for KirribilliMinister for HealthMinister for PoliceServicesfirst-class cricketerRose BayKing's School, ParramattaEmpire Air Training SchemeSouthern RhodesiaRoyal Air ForcefighterZ Special UnitPilot OfficerNorth African theatreNo. 250 (Fighter) Squadron RAFP-40 TomahawksClive "Killer" CaldwellsortiewingmanMesserschmitt Bf 110El Ademflying officerJunkers Ju 52gazettedMesserschmitt Bf 109No. 260 SquadronNo. 4 SquadronSouth African Air ForceSpitfire VsNo. 92 Squadron RAFNo. 2 Operational Training UnitMilduraThe Canberra TimesWilf ArthurBobby GibbesinstructorsaerobaticsNo. 5 Service Flying Training SchoolUranquintysquadron leaderNoemfoorDutch East IndiesNo. 78 (Fighter) WingAustralian First Tactical Air ForceHarry CobbystrafingJohn Vincent BarryWorld Veterans Federationwing commanderAir BoardChief of the Air StaffHonorary Aide-de-campthe QueenNew Year HonoursAustralian Flying CorpsSir Richard WilliamsSir George JonesLord Mayor of SydneyLabor PartyPat HillsNorth ShoreParliamentary SecretaryMinister for EducationMinister of the CrownPremierRobert AskinFrederick HewittportfolioAboriginal affairsIndigenous Australiansfreehold titleland rightsDick HealeyHarry JagoMinister for ServicesTom LewisCharles CutlerJohn BoothFreeman of the City of LondonAustralian Father of the Year1976 contestIan ArmstrongNeville WranBeechcraft King AirturbopropSt Andrew's Cathedral, SydneyQueen's CounselFamily Court of AustraliaAustralians for Constitutional MonarchyParliament of New South WalesThe London GazetteAustralian War MemorialFlightWayback MachineWho's Who in Australia 1950Odgers, George