Air Commodore William "Bill" Garing, (26 July 1910 – 1 January 2004) was a senior officer in the

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

Early life

William Henry Garing was born in Corryong, Victoria, on 26 September 1910 to parents George and Amy. His education included Corryong Higher Elementary School,

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology RMIT University, officially the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology,, section 4(b) is a public research university in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1887 by Francis Ormond, RMIT began as a night school offering classes in art, scienc ...

and

Royal Military College, Duntroon lit: Learning promotes strength , established = , type = Military college , chancellor = , head_label = Commandant , head = Brigadier Ana Duncan , principal = , city = Campbell , state = ...

. At Duntroon, he graduated as a cadet from the Flying-Training School at Point Cook in 1929.

Career

Garing later joined the RAAF after enlisting at Point Cook on 10 December 1930. In 1931 and 1939, Garing spent time in the UK and was there at the outbreak of World War II. He served with

No. 10 Squadron RAAF No. 10 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) signals intelligence squadron based at RAAF Base Edinburgh, South Australia. It is part of No. 42 Wing RAAF. The squadron was formed in 1939 as a maritime patrol unit. It saw active service ...

, flying Sunderlands as Flight Commander in the Coastal Command R.A.F. conducting anti-submarine operations and patrols from bases in the United Kingdom. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross after he held off three waves of German bombers, over 12 hours, that were attacking the Armed Merchant Cruiser ''Mooltan'' on 31 July 1940. Garing was also instrumental in ensuring that a final group of survivors of '' City of Benares'' were picked up on 25 September 1940. Garing returned to Australia in 1941 and commanded No.9 (Operational) Group R.A.A.F.. When ranked as a Group Captain, received the US Army Distinguished Service Cross for "extraordinary heroism in action in New Guinea, during the Papuan Campaign, 23 July 1942 to 8 January 1943". In 1948, Garing was at the Joint Services Staff College in the U.K and in 1953 would take command of the

RAAF Overseas Headquarters RAAF Overseas Headquarters was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) administrative unit established in London during World War II. Under Article XV of the Ottawa Agreement, signed in 1939, the Australian government agreed to form RAAF squadrons ...

in London. He retired in July 1964.

Personal life

Garing's first marriage ended in 1940 and produced two children. His second marriage in 1954 produced two more daughters. Garing died 1 January 2004, after a very long illness and was buried at the Northern Suburbs Crematorium one week later.

References

External links

Air Commodore William Henry (Bill) Garing
Interviews - Australian War Memorial
William Henry (Bull) GARING DFC, MID, USDFC, CBE
Virtual War Memorial Australia
The Aussie pilot who saved stricken kids after a U-Boat attack
In Black and White - podcast {{DEFAULTSORT:Garing, Bill 1910 births 2004 deaths People from Corryong Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) Royal Australian Air Force officers Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II