Air Marshal Ian Barrington "Barry" Gration (born 30 June 1936) is a former senior officer in the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

(RAAF), whose career culminated with his appointment as Chief of the Air Staff from 1992 to 1994.

Early life

Gration was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Victoria, on 30 June 1936 to David Roy Gration and his wife Margaret (née Fleming). David, a dental mechanic, had served in the First World War as a

sapper A sapper, also called a pioneer (military), pioneer or combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefie ...

on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

and later enlisted in the Volunteer Defence Corps during the Second World War, discharging with the rank of

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non ...

in 1945. Like his elder brother,

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

, Barry was educated at

Scotch College, Melbourne (For God, for Country, and for Learning) , established = , type = Independent, day and boarding , gender = Boys , denomination = Presbyterian , slogan = , ...

Service career

Gration joined the RAAF in 1953, graduating with distinction from

RAAF College "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

, Point Cook in 1956 as a

pilot officer Pilot officer (Plt Off officially in the RAF; in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly P/O in all services, and still often used in the RAF) is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countri ...

, General Duties Branch. He served in a variety of flying and staff appointments from 1957 including a tour as flying instructor. In 1965, Gration graduated from the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

with a

Bachelor of Commerce A Bachelor of Commerce (abbreviated BComm or BCom; also, ''baccalaureates commercii'') is an undergraduate degree in business, usually awarded in Canada, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Ireland, New Zealand, Ghana, South Africa, Myanmar, ...

degree. In June 1970, Squadron Leader Gration was awarded the Air Force Cross for his services to No. 34 Squadron as training officer and VIP captain. He was subsequently appointed Station Commander at

RAAF Base Fairbairn Fairbairn (), formerly RAAF Base Fairbairn, is a former Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) military air base, located in Australia's national capital, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. Over the years the name of the establishment, and the ...

in the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. ...

, Director of Operations for the Air Force and then Station Commander at

RAAF Base Richmond RAAF Base Richmond is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) military air base located within the City of Hawkesbury, approximately North-West of the Sydney Central Business District in New South Wales, Australia. Situated between the towns of W ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. He went on to be Director General Joint Operations and Plans at Australian Defence Force Headquarters in

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

and then Head of the Australian Defence Staff and Defence

Attaché In diplomacy, an attaché is a person who is assigned ("to be attached") to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency. Although a loanword from French, in English the word is not modified accor ...

at the Australian Embassy in

Washington D. C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

He was appointed Air Commander Australia in 1990 and Chief of the Air Staff in 1992 before he retired from the RAAF in 1994. Gration was appointed an

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in 1988. He also holds the

Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air The Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air, formerly the King's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air, was a merit award for flying service awarded by the United Kingdom between 1942 and 1994. It was replaced by the Queen’ ...

in recognition of his role in flying training and air transport. His brother General

Peter Gration General Peter Courtney Gration (born 6 January 1932) is a retired senior Australian Army officer who served in the positions of Chief of the General Staff (1984–87) and Chief of the Defence Force (1987–93), the professional head of the Au ...

was

Chief of the Australian Defence Force The Chief of the Defence Force (CDF) is the highest-ranking and most senior military officer in the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and is the principal military advisor to the National Security Committee and the Minister for Defence. The c ...

Honours and awards

Australian Defence Medal (Australia) ribbon

Notes

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Gration, Barry 1936 births Australian aviators Living people Military personnel from Melbourne Officers of the Order of Australia People educated at Scotch College, Melbourne Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) Recipients of the Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air Royal Australian Air Force air marshals University of Queensland alumni