text: william anderson ( raaf officer ) air vice - marshal william hopton ( bill ) anderson , cbe , dfc ( 30 december 1891 – 30 december 1975 ) was a senior commander in the royal australian air force ( raaf ) . he flew with the australian flying corps in world war i , earning the distinguished flying cross and the belgian croix de guerre , and leading nos. 3 and 7 squadrons . anderson commanded the australian air corps during its brief existence in 1920 , before joining the fledgling raaf the following year . the service 's third most senior officer , he primarily held posts on the australian air board in the inter - war years . he was appointed a commander of the order of the british empire in 1934 , and promoted to air commodore in 1938 . when world war ii broke out , anderson was air member for supply . in 1940 he acted as chief of the air staff between the resignation of air vice - marshal stanley goble in january and the arrival of air chief marshal sir charles burnett , raf , the next month . he led the newly formed central and eastern area commands between december 1940 and july 1943 , briefly returning to the air board as air member for organisation and equipment in 1941 – 42 . anderson was founding commandant of the raaf staff school from july to november 1943 , and held this post again from october 1944 until his retirement in april 1946 . known to his colleagues as " andy " or " mucker " , he died on his birthday in 1975 . early life and world war i born on 30 december 1891 in kew , victoria , bill anderson was the third son of surveyor edward anderson , from england , and his wife florence , a native victorian . the youth was educated at melbourne church of england grammar school , where he joined the cadet corps . he began his professional military career as a royal australian ( garrison ) artillery officer in december 1910 , before transferring to the australian naval and military expeditionary force , based at rabaul in what was then german new guinea , in march 1915 . the following january , anderson joined the australian flying corps ( afc ) as a captain , serving with no. 1 squadron in palestine . he was posted to no. 3 squadron ( designated no. 69 squadron royal flying corps by the british ) in august 1917 , operating royal aircraft factory r.e.8 two - seat reconnaissance aircraft on the western front . from october 1917 , no. 3 squadron was heavily involved in artillery ranging , activity that left the slow r.e.8s vulnerable to attack by german fighters . twice that month anderson 's plane was dived upon by multiple enemy aircraft . he was , in his own words , " too scared to think " on the first occasion , but both times held his nerve and manoeuvred his plane so that his observer could hold off their opponents with lewis gun fire while other r.e.8s came to their aid . anderson was spotting for artillery near the messines ridge on 6 december when he engaged a german two - seat dfw that observer john bell was able to shoot down ; it was no. 3 squadron 's first confirmed aerial victory . in january 1918 , anderson was given the temporary rank of major and posted to england to take charge of no. 7 ( training ) squadron afc . he was recommended for the military cross ( mc ) on 12 march for his achievements with no. 3 squadron in france , the citation noting his " resolute fight " and " cool and capable flying " in evading attacks by enemy aircraft and successfully carrying out his reconnaissance missions . in the event , he was awarded the distinguished flying cross ( dfc ) in the king 's birthday honours promulgated in the london gazette on 3 june , becoming the first australian to receive the newly created decoration . he was also awarded the belgian croix de guerre , gazetted on 9 july . anderson went back to france in october 1918 as commanding officer of no. 3 squadron . his service earned him a mention in despatches on 11 july 1919 . inter - war years anderson relinquished command of no. 3 squadron in january 1919 and returned to australia two months later . in december that year the australian flying corps was disbanded , to be replaced on 1 january 1920 by the short - lived australian air corps ( aac ) , which was , like the afc , a branch of the army . the afc 's senior officer , lieutenant colonel richard williams , was still in england , and major anderson was appointed commander of the aac , a position that also put him in charge of central flying school ( cfs ) at point cook , victoria . on 31 march 1921 , he joined the newly formed australian air force ( the " royal " prefix being added in august ) as a squadron leader , becoming its third most senior officer after williams and former royal naval air service pilot stanley goble , both now wing commanders . during 1921 , anderson headed up the raaf 's point cook base and its two major units , no. 1 flying training school ( no. 1 fts ) — the successor to cfs — and the newly established no. 1 aircraft depot ( no. 1 ad ) . over the next four years he acted as director of personnel and training , chief of the administrative staff , and second air member on the raaf 's controlling body , the air board , when goble was away on overseas postings . in april 1922 , he took part in the new service 's first army co - operation exercise , piloting an airco with flight lieutenant adrian cole , who spotted for artillery firing from an emplacement at queenscliff , victoria . a year later , anderson proposed a special raaf workshop for research and development , which was duly formed at point cook later that year . the young air force staged numerous public displays in its early years ; on one such occasion over the melbourne suburb of essendon in september 1924 , anderson , ray brownell and another pilot took part in a mock dogfight while ace harry cobby gave a demonstration of balloon busting . during 1925 – 26 , anderson again took command of no. 1 fts , as well as occupying a position on the air board as air member for personnel . he was posted to england between 1927 and 1929 , attending raf staff college , andover , and serving as air liaison officer ( ) to the british air ministry . on 23 march 1927 he was promoted to wing commander . as in 1928 , he provided information to the air board concerning shortcomings of the de havilland hound light day bomber , then being strongly considered for the raaf , that led to the westland wapiti being ordered instead . returning to australia in mid - 1929 , anderson was for a short time in charge of no. 1 ad , now based at raaf station laverton , victoria , before appointment to the air board as air member for supply in october . he spent most of the 1930s in this position , aside from an acting role as air member for personnel in 1933 – 34 , and attendance at the imperial defence college , london , the following year . anderson had no formal training in the supply field , and though regarded with affection was variously considered " not quite on the same wave length as others " and " so immersed in the minutiae of administration that some important policy matters languished " . his chronic shyness with women other than his unmarried sister also made him an object of fun in some quarters . he was raised to group captain in december 1932 and air commodore in january 1938 . appointed an officer of the order of the british empire ( obe ) in the 1933 king 's birthday honours , he was promoted commander in the same order ( cbe ) in the 1934 new year honours . world war ii anderson was still serving as air member for supply when australia declared war in september 1939 . on 9 january 1940 he was appointed acting chief of the air staff ( cas ) , following the resignation of the incumbent , air vice - marshal goble . anderson remained in the position until 10 february , when air chief marshal sir charles burnett , seconded from the royal air force , arrived to take over . the australian government at this stage had so little faith in the leadership of its air force that it had briefly considered offering temporary command of the service to a royal australian navy officer , second naval member commodore maitland boucher , before deciding against such a " monumental slight to the senior ranks of the raaf " and settling on anderson . after relinquishing his temporary position as cas , anderson briefly reverted to his previous role as air member for supply before taking over as air member for personnel ( amp ) in march 1940 ; he was succeeded in november by air vice - marshal henry wrigley . the next month , anderson took over from air commodore cole as air officer commanding central area , with responsibility for air defence , protection of adjacent sea lanes , and aerial reconnaissance for most of new south wales ; he remained at this post until it was disbanded in august the following year . promoted acting air vice - marshal in september 1941 , anderson resumed his position on the air board by replacing air marshal williams as air member for organisation and equipment . in may 1942 , he assumed command of the newly established eastern area , which was headquartered in sydney and controlled seven squadrons from southern queensland to southern new south wales . one of the area 's main roles was anti - submarine warfare ; its squadrons also included fighters and army co - operation aircraft . in july 1943 anderson became the inaugural commandant of the raaf staff school at mount martha , victoria . the school was instituted to further the training of officers at the squadron leader and wing commander level , whose basic education standards anderson , among others , found sadly lacking . in december 1943 he was again appointed air member for personnel , taking over from air commodore frank lukis , before returning to command the raaf staff school in september 1944 . he continued in the latter role until being forcibly retired , along with a number of other senior air force commanders , in april 1946 , ostensibly to make way for younger and equally qualified officers . a confidential report in september 1944 had found him " hard working , conscientious and loyal " but lacking in " constructive capacity and organising ability " . he was still four years below the statutory retirement age of fifty - seven for his substantive rank of air commodore . retirement following his discharge from the raaf as an honorary air vice marshal , anderson lived in east melbourne . a lifelong bachelor , he shared a house with his sister , who also never married . from 1947 until 1971 , he served as honorary chairman of the victorian branch of the services canteens trust fund . on 31 march 1971 , he was among a select group of surviving founder members of the raaf who attended a celebratory dinner at the hotel canberra to mark the service 's golden jubilee ; his fellow guests included air marshal williams , air vice - marshal wrigley , air commodore hippolyte ( frank ) de la rue , and wing commander sir lawrence wackett . bill anderson died on his birthday in 1975 , and was buried in boroondara cemetery , kew .