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.

Early life

Born in Geelong, Victoria on 22 December 1890, Brearley moved to

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

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 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and subsequently enlisted in the Royal Flying Corps and trained as a pilot. On the Western Front, he was posted initially to No. 6 Squadron, but transferred to No. 29 Squadron, where he flew Airco DH.2 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 traditions ...

). However, in November 1916 he was shot down and badly wounded, with bullets perforating both lungs: he landed in no man's land, but managed to crawl back to Allied lines.Bunbury 2007. He returned to Western Australia to recover. He subsequently returned to Britain where he became a flying instructor, initially at Gosport and then as commander of the school of special flying at

Lilbourne Lilbourne is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire in England. It is close to the M1 motorway which runs east of the village, and the A5 road, west of the village which marks the boundary with Warwickshire, slightly to the north i ...

Post-war

Following the end of hostilities, Brearley bought two

Avro 504 The Avro 504 was a First World War biplane aircraft made by the Avro aircraft company and under licence by others. Production during the war totalled 8,970 and continued for almost 20 years, making it the most-produced aircraft of any kind tha ...

aircraft (plus a spare engine), which he had shipped to Australia. In 1921, he founded

Western Australian Airways West Australian Airways was an Australian airline based in Geraldton, Western Australia. Established on 5 December 1921 as Western Australian Airways by World War I pilot Norman Brearley, it was the first airline in Australia to establish a sche ...

Ltd., based at

Geraldton Geraldton ( Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West region of the Australian state of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. At June 2018, Geraldton had an urban population of 37,648. ...

. 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 Amy Johnson (born 1 July 1903 – disappeared 5 January 1941) was a pioneering English pilot who was the first woman to fly solo from London to Australia. Flying solo or with her husband, Jim Mollison, she set many long-distance records du ...

in honour of her record flight from

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

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 Australian National Airways (ANA) was Australia's predominant aerial carrier from the mid-1930s to the early 1950s. The Holyman's Airways period On 19 March 1932 Flinders Island Airways began a regular aerial service using the Desoutter Mk.I ...

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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, commanding No. 4 Service Flying Training School at Geraldton from October 1942 to March 1944. Brearley was knighted in 1971. He died on 9 June 1989.

Personal life

Brearley married Violet Claremont Stubbs at Christ Church, Claremont 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