| Allan Leslie Walters | |
|---|---|
Group Captain Allan Walters, 1942 |
|
| Nickname | "Wally" |
| Born | 2 November 1905 Ascot Vale, Victoria |
| Died | 19 October 1968 (aged 62) Heidelberg, Victoria |
| Allegiance | Australia |
| Service/branch | Royal Australian Air Force |
| Years of service | 1923–1962 |
| Rank | Air Vice Marshal |
| Commands held | No. 22 Squadron (1937–1938) No. 3 Squadron (1938–1939) No. 1 Squadron (1940–1941) RAAF Station Laverton (1941–1942) No. 1 Wing (1942–1943) No. 72 Wing (1943–1944) Northern Command (1945–1946) Southern Area (1948–1950) RAAF Overseas HQ (1951–1952) Home Command (1954–1957) Support Command (1959–1962) |
| Battles/wars |
World War II |
| Awards | Companion of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Order of the British Empire Air Force Cross Mentioned in Despatches |
Air Vice Marshal Allan Leslie Walters CB, CBE, AFC (2 November 1905 – 19 October 1968) was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Born in Victoria, he graduated from the Royal Military College, Duntroon, before transferring to the RAAF in 1928. He was considered one of the service's leading flying instructors and aerobatic pilots between the wars, and was appointed to his first squadron command in 1937. Over the course of World War II, Walters led No. 1 (General Reconnaissance) Squadron in Singapore, No. 1 (Fighter) Wing in Darwin, Northern Territory, and No. 72 Wing in Dutch New Guinea. He was decorated with the Air Force Cross in 1941, and Mentioned in Despatches in 1944.
By 1945, Walters had risen to the rank of Air Commodore, and the following year was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Already marked out for senior roles in the post-war RAAF, his positions from 1950 onwards included Air Officer Commanding (AOC) RAAF Overseas Headquarters in London, Head of the Australian Joint Services Staff in Washington, D.C., AOC Home Command (later to become Air Command), Air Member for Personnel, and AOC Support Command. He was promoted to Air Vice Marshal in 1954, and appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1956. Popularly known as "Wally",[1] he retired from the military in 1962 and was living in Melbourne when he died in 1968 at the age of sixty-two.
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Allan Walters was born on 2 November 1905 in Ascot Vale, Victoria, to schoolteacher Ferdinand Walters and his wife Edith. The family soon moved to Perth, Western Australia, and Allan completed his education at Perth Modern School, where he joined the cadets. After leaving school and spending eight months in the militia, he entered the Royal Military College, Duntroon, in February 1924. Graduating as a Lieutenant in December 1927, he transferred to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) on 1 February 1928.[1][2] Ranked Flying Officer, Walters graduated as a pilot in March 1929. He showed an aptitude for instruction, and after completing further training he was graded an 'A1' flight instructor, a rare distinction. Posted to No. 3 Squadron at RAAF Station Richmond in New South Wales, operating Westland Wapitis, he also made a name for himself performing aerobatics at air shows throughout the country.[1][3] Walters put this particular talent to use in pursuit of his wife-to-be, Jean Manning, stunt flying above All Saints Church, North Parramatta, where her father was rector. Reverend Manning married the couple there on 30 June 1930; they later had a daughter.[1]
On 5 January 1931, the now-Flight Lieutenant Walters won a trophy in an air obstacle race at the Cootamundra Air Pageant. In May the following year, he took out the NSW Air Derby and Evening News Cup.[4] He temporarily held command of No. 3 Squadron during October 1933, in the absence of Squadron Leader Bill Bostock.[5] Walters was posted to Britain in 1936 to attend the Royal Air Force Staff College, Andover, and was promoted to Squadron Leader in March 1937, while still overseas.[1][6] Returning to Australia, he took command of No. 22 Squadron on 30 June, operating Avro Ansons out of Richmond until 3 February 1938.[7] Between 6 and 23 February, he piloted the first overseas flight in an aeroplane designed and built in Australia when he flew the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Richard Williams, to Singapore in a Tugan Gannet.[8] Walters returned to Richmond to lead No. 3 Squadron from 10 May 1938 until 12 May 1939, flying Hawker Demons.[5] From there he transferred to Melbourne as Director of Staff Duties at RAAF Headquarters.[6] Later that month, he joined Group Captain Henry Wrigley as an expert assessor on the panel of an inquiry into a recent spate of three Anson accidents; the full report handed down in October found human error the likely explanation for at least one crash and that training on the type followed the syllabus laid down, but that pilots needed more practical experience in dealing with potential in-flight incidents.[9]
Walters' first operational appointment following the outbreak of World War II was as Commanding Officer of No. 1 (General Reconnaissance) Squadron, which he led to Sembawang, Singapore in July 1940. Deployed in response to fears of Japanese expansion in Malaya, the squadron was the first Australian unit equipped with Lockheed Hudson light bombers, which were employed primarily in maritime patrol work.[10][11] Promoted to temporary Wing Commander, Walters was awarded the Air Force Cross for his "very active part in all operations" and for training his unit to "a particularly high standard"; the honour was gazetted in the 1941 King's Birthday Honours.[1][12] He was appointed Commanding Officer of RAAF Station Laverton, Victoria in May the same year. By April 1942, he had been promoted to temporary Group Captain and joined Allied Air Forces Headquarters, South West Pacific Area (SWPA) in Melbourne as Director of Operations. In September, he was transferred to Headquarters RAAF Command as Senior Air Staff Officer.[1][13]
On 7 October 1942, Walters took command of a new formation, No. 1 (Fighter) Wing, at RAAF Station Richmond. Established to boost the air defence capability of Australia's North Western Area, the wing comprised No. 54 Squadron RAF, No. 452 Squadron RAAF and No. 457 Squadron RAAF, all operating Supermarine Spitfires and fresh from combat in Europe. With Wing Commander Clive Caldwell, Australia's top-scoring flying ace of the war, as his wing leader, Walters began transferring aircraft and men to Darwin, Northern Territory in December, providing a filip for morale in the region.[14][15] Proudly declaring himself Australia's oldest fighter pilot, Walters took every opportunity to join his men in aerial combat.[1] He flew as Caldwell's wingman in No. 1 Wing's first major action against the Japanese over Darwin on 2 May, narrowly avoiding being shot down when he warned his companion of an attacking enemy fighter, to the detriment of his own safety. After they landed, Caldwell chided his commander, "You silly old so-and-so. You want to look after your own skin instead of worrying about someone else's!"[16] On 20 June, Walters participated in his wing's most successful day against the Japanese to that date, personally accounting for one of fourteen raiders brought down by the Spitfires, for the loss of two of their own number.[17] He posted out of Darwin a few days later, having earned the admiration of Caldwell and the rest of the wing's personnel.[18]
Walters assumed command of No. 5 Service Flying Training School in Uranquinty, New South Wales on 30 June, but the next month was posted to Merauke in Dutch New Guinea to take over No. 72 Wing following reassignment of its founding commander, Group Captain Charles Eaton.[10][19][20] Comprising No. 84 Squadron (flying CAC Boomerang fighters), No. 86 Squadron (P-40 Kittyhawk fighters), and No. 12 Squadron (A-31 Vengeance dive bombers), No. 72 Wing came under the control of RAAF North Eastern Area Command, and undertook air defence and patrol tasks in and around western New Guinea.[21] Walters was Mentioned in Despatches on 28 October 1944 for "Gallant & distinguished service" in North Eastern Area, the award being promulgated on 9 March 1945.[22][23] He was promoted to acting Air Commodore in February 1945, and became Air Officer Commanding (AOC) Northern Command, based at Madang in north-eastern New Guinea.[1][24] Northern Command had previously been a large mobile strike force known as No. 9 Operational Group, but had evolved into a static area command with its mobile function taken over by No. 10 Operational Group (later First Tactical Air Force). Walters directed Northern Command's operations in New Guinea, New Britain and Bougainville until the end of the war, and represented the RAAF at the Japanese surrender ceremonies held in Wewak that September.[1][25]
Walters was among a small coterie of highly regarded operational commanders, including Air Commodores John McCauley and Frederick Scherger, earmarked by the Australian Air Board in October 1945 for senior leadership roles in the post-war Air Force. In the short term, however, he reverted to his substantive rank of Group Captain, as the officer corps shrank drastically with demobilisation.[26][27] In 1946, Walters became Director of Air Staff Plans and Policy at RAAF Headquarters, and was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the King's Birthday Honours for his "conspicuous service in operations against the Japanese" while in charge of Northern Command during the war.[28][29] The following year, he attended the Imperial Defence College, London. Raised to Air Commodore, he served as AOC Southern Area from 1948 to 1950, and then as AOC RAAF Overseas Headquarters in London through 1951. In December that year, he was part of the Australian contingent at the Commonwealth Air Forces Conference, where an RAAF presence was sought in the Middle East; this eventually led to No. 78 Wing being reformed and deployed to RAF Hal Far, Malta, in July 1952. Although Walters was keen to use the opportunity to acquire the RAAF's first F-86 Sabres, political realities led him to negotiate a deal whereby the wing was equipped with leased British Vampire FB.9s.[6][30]
After completing his tour in London, Walters was posted to Washington, D.C. to head up the Australian Joint Services Staff during 1952–53.[6] He was promoted to acting Air Vice Marshal in October 1952; this rank was made permanent in January 1954, when he succeeded Air Vice Marshal McCauley to become AOC Home Command (later Operational Command and now Air Command). Walters held this post for three years, his tenure witnessing the introduction of the CAC Sabre to operational service in the RAAF, when No. 3 Squadron took delivery of its first machine in March 1956.[1][31] In the New Years Honours that year, Walters had been appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB).[32][33] In March 1957, he was one of three candidates, along with Air Vice Marshals Fred Scherger and Val Hancock, touted as possible successors to Air Marshal Sir John McCauley as Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), the RAAF's senior position. Scherger gained the appointment, and Walters became Air Member for Personnel in October.[34][35] He served in this position until August 1959, when he was appointed AOC Support Command.[6][35] When Scherger's term as CAS was due to complete in May 1961, Walters and Hancock were once more put forward to the Minister for Air as potential replacements. "Walters was again unlucky", in the words of RAAF historians Alan Stephens and Keith Isaacs, Hancock's "professional ability, operational experience and personal qualities" being deemed more appropriate for the role.[36] Walters retired from the military on 16 May 1962, after completing his term at Headquarters Support Command.[2] He followed horse racing in private life. Survived by his wife and daughter, Walters died from cardiorenal failure in Heidelberg, Melbourne, on 19 October 1968. He was accorded an Air Force funeral and cremated.[1]
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Air Vice Marshal John McCauley |
Air Officer Commanding Home Command 1954–1957 |
Succeeded by Air Vice Marshal Douglas Candy |