Sir Norman Brearley, (22 December 1890 – 9 June 1989) was a commercial and military pilot and one of the pioneers of the airline industry within

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Early life

Born in

Geelong, Victoria Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, a ...

on 22 December 1890, Brearley moved to Perth, Western Australia in 1906.Tucker 1990.

Aviation career

First World War

In April 1915, after undertaking a 5-year apprenticeship as a mechanic, Brearley worked his way to the United Kingdom and subsequently enlisted in the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

and trained as a pilot. 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 ...

, he was posted initially to No. 6 Squadron, but transferred to No. 29 Squadron, where he flew

Airco DH.2 The Airco DH.2 was a single-seat pusher biplane fighter aircraft which operated during the First World War. It was the second pusher design by aeronautical engineer Geoffrey de Havilland for Airco, based on his earlier DH.1 two-seater. The d ...

scouts (including patrols flown alongside Sergeant

James McCudden James Thomas Byford McCudden, (28 March 1895 – 9 July 1918) was a British flying ace of the First World War and among the most highly decorated airmen in British military history. Born in 1895 to a middle class family with military traditi ...

). However, in November 1916 he was shot down and badly wounded, with bullets perforating both lungs: he landed in

no man's land No man's land is waste or unowned land or an uninhabited or desolate area that may be under dispute between parties who leave it unoccupied out of fear or uncertainty. The term was originally used to define a contested territory or a dump ...

, but managed to crawl back to

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

lines.Bunbury 2007. He returned to Western Australia to recover. He subsequently returned to Britain where he became a flying instructor, initially at

Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan borough on the south coast of Hampshire, South East England. At the 2011 Census, its population was 82,662. Gosport is situated on a peninsula on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour, opposite t ...

and then as commander of the school of special flying at Lilbourne.

Post-war

Following the end of hostilities, Brearley bought two Avro 504 aircraft (plus a spare engine), which he had shipped to Australia. In 1921, he founded Western Australian Airways Ltd., based at Geraldton. In the same year, he was issued with Australia's first civil pilot's licence, under the 1921 Air Navigation Regulations. His licence was numbered as licence No. 2, but there was no licence No. 1 at the time: a licence of that number was not issued until 1930, when it was presented to Amy Johnson in honour of her record flight from London to Australia. In 1927, Brearley opened the Perth Flying School at Maylands. He retired from commercial aviation in 1936 when he merged his airline with Australian National Airways.

Later life

Brearley later served with the

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

during World War II, commanding No. 4 Service Flying Training School at Geraldton from October 1942 to March 1944. Brearley was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in 1971. He died on 9 June 1989.

Personal life

Brearley married Violet Claremont Stubbs at Christ Church,

Claremont Claremont may refer to: Places Australia *Claremont, Ipswich, a heritage-listed house in Queensland * Claremont, Tasmania, a suburb of Hobart * Claremont, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth ** Claremont Football Club, West Australian Footba ...

on 5 July 1917, when he was recovering from his injuries. She died in 1982, aged 85. The couple had a son and a daughter.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brearley, Norman 1890 births 1989 deaths Australian aviators People from Geelong Recipients of the Military Cross Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Australian Knights Bachelor Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) Fellows of the Royal Aeronautical Society