Garing: A Biography of Air Commodore WH Garing details of every flight made 1931-46

By Jim Turner

Bill Garing joined the RAAF (Royal Australian Air Force) as a Cadet at the Royal Military College Duntroon in 1929. He made his first flight as a pilot at Point Cook two years later in 1931 in a DH60X Moth. Over the next 15 years as pilot in command he flew almost every type of trainer, fighter, bomber and seaplane used by the RAAF close to 50 different types of aircraft in all.

This book includes every flight Bill made from January 1931 until December 1946, with details of aircraft type and serial number, names of crew, and reason for the flight. Bill also flew in aircraft operated by the RAF including in 1935 the giant six engine biplane flying boat the Sarafand and later the Spitfire, Hurricane and Lancaster bomber. He flew aircraft operated by the USAAF including the B17, B18, A24, P38, P39, P40, P47, P51B, P63 and also the Boeing B29 Superfortress in 1945.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Mar 28, 2014
• ISBN: 9780992432669

Book preview

---ooOoo---

---ooOoo---

Chapter One

Early Years

1910-1928

On the July 26, 1910 William Henry Garing was born at Corryong in country Victoria. A midwife Nurse Rawes assisted his mother Amy with the birth, a common practice in those days with few doctors available especially in country areas.

His father George Garing was a farmer and he was working for a farmer when Bill was born. However George and his brother Edwin discovered a rich vein of gold at the bottom of Mount Elliot. They called their mine the Bread and Sugar Mine because they were down to their last loaf of bread and last pound of sugar and were about to quit when they discovered a rich peppering of gold in the quartz.

With proceeds from the sale of the mine his father bought a ‘square mile’ cattle property alongside the mine and became a cattle farmer. From the age of four Bill was given the job of tending the herd of 20 cattle barefooted, while his father was away doing odd jobs such as the local mail run. The family followed the old custom of ‘breeching’ which meant that boys were dressed as girls for their first few years to fool the Devil.

At age four he saw his first car; he was walking along a track and heard a loud roaring noise behind him so he hid behind a gum tree. Around the corner came a De Dion Boulton tourer with a very noisy one cylinder six horse power engine.

He rose early each morning to carry out his farm chores and had boiled wheat and honey for breakfast. From the age of six Bill rode his horse to Thougla State School it was at 15 minute trip each way.

There was only one class at the school which began at nine o’clock; they had a short morning recess then an hour for lunch when he ate his plain sandwiches and then joined in playtime, he enjoyed his school days and interaction with the other bush kids. Then there was a short afternoon recess and classes finished at four in the afternoon.

On returning home after school he had more farm chores to do such as tending the chooks the vegetable garden and the bees. Bill had two animals to assist him with his farm chores, his Fox Terrier bitch named ‘Pearly’ went everywhere with him and collected the rabbits he shot.

His palomino horse ‘Sovereign’ was not a docile and easily dominated animal but Bill had a way with animals he treated them kindly and they showed a special devotion to him. This was much to his father’s annoyance for even though he himself was a good horseman; he took strong exception to being thrown by his son’s pony every time he attempted to ride him.

His father had been brought up in the strict Victorian period with few labour saving devises and an unrelenting Protestant work ethic. During this period the father was the absolute head of the house and could be a hard and cruel man. He had a frighteningly bad temper and Bill often felt the belt wielded by his displeased father usually for a trivial offence.

His mother was an excellent country style cook and the family ate well with the food that was available to them. She was warm and protective of Bill and if he had been sent to bed by his father without his evening meal she would sneak a meal in to him later. Bill remembered his mother with love and warmth and while he respected his father he never felt the same love for him that he felt for his mother.

When Bill was nine years old George Garing bought another property called ‘Springvale’ which was about six miles from Corryong. It was a picturesque setting; the homestead was built on an escarpment near a 1,500 foot mountain. He still rode a horse to school but now he had a longer journey to reach the Corryong Higher Elementary School.

When he was eleven years old his mother Amy Garing died of Pneumonia and it then fell to his elder sister Muriel who was sixteen years older than him to take over the role of mother to Bill and his sister Eleanor who was five years younger.

While at school Mr Miller the headmaster took an interest in him; he could see his potential and Bill did well in his studies. Another teacher Mr Tyler made point of using a knotted length of timber as a cane usually for minor or imagined offences with the punishment administered out in front of the class.

One day Bill was singled out for punishment and having long felt this use of the cane was not acceptable for such minor offences Bill stood his ground. He was not frightened by the punishment for he had endured far worse from his father. However he felt his hands were too important to risk having them being damaged by this method of punishment.

He told Mr Tyler respectfully ‘Sir, you are not going to hit me anymore.’ The astonished teacher was further surprised when another pupil Andrew McIntyre stood up from his desk and walked to the front of the class and said ‘And you are not going to hit me anymore either’. Neither boy was hit again by that teacher.

Bill and Andrew then began a long friendship they played football together and went on hunting trips with pack horses up into the mountains hunting kangaroos and fishing.

They also got into trouble from time to time as well; for doing things like uncapping a large beer bottle in the school grounds and drinking from it even though it only contained water.

Bill was a methodical and orderly student with neat and meticulous handwriting and he could also see the implications of what he saw happening around him. In an essay dated October 27, 1927 he wrote that ‘the unrestrained cutting down of bush trees was actually destroying the Australian River Systems’ and that ‘Some day I suppose they will have to introduce the remove a tree, plant a tree system and have more timber reserves.’

In a statement made by local Corryong store keeper Mr Ray Vickery, Bill was described as ‘A born leader, he was captain of the football team, leader of all the mischief around the place when he was young and yet brilliant in his studies and he knew the mountains like a book.’

His work at school was so good that at age fifteen he successfully applied for a Scholarship to the Junior School of the Working Men’s College in Melbourne. It was a technical college and Bill applied for the course in electrical and mechanical engineering. His father would only have to pay for his board and lodging at a guest house.

Once in Melbourne he found a guesthouse run by two old ladies and teamed up again with his friend Andrew who joined him at the guesthouse. They were well fed and taken care of while living at Dorcas St. in South Melbourne and the tram to college stopped right outside their front door.

After some initial trouble with maths he progressed well in all his studies and in his time off, sport was his main interest. A member of the College football team he travelled with them to play in matches as far away as Adelaide. He excelled in Rowing with the Richmond Rowing Club and competed in the pairs, fours and eights.

In 1926 compulsory military training was part of the Australian defence scene and at age sixteen he began serving part time with the 6th Battalion City of Melbourne regiment. Private Garing was a marksman with the .303 Short Magazine Lee Enfield service rifle. The trainee solders were issued with Army rail warrants to the rifle range at Williamstown. Bill could easily put nine out of ten shots into the bull’s eye at 600 yards and ten out of ten into the centre of the target at 300 yards. He won many prizes, such as silver spoons, for his marksmanship.

Then in 1927 when the air force called for recruits at Laverton he transferred from the Militia to the Citizen Air Force. Bill had already been doing an extra course a College called ‘Wireless’ which referred to using Morse code and the three students in his class were soon able to send and receive at 30 words per minute. They then each applied for and were granted a Post Master General’s Amateur Wireless Operator’s Licence.

Keen to use their new qualification all three applied to join the Citizen Air Force at the West Melbourne Drill Hall. They were immediately accepted and applied to serve part time at Laverton. Bill enjoyed air force life right from the start. He was proud of his uniform which included back shoes and socks, black leather leggings, cavalry jodhpurs and a smart jacket. The air force food at Laverton was superb but more importantly Bill was to fly as a wireless operator in a De Havilland DH9A World War 1 vintage bomber.

A two-seat day bomber, built of wood and fabric covered. Power Plant: a 400hp Liberty engine. Wing span: 46 feet. Length: 36 feet Height: 10 feet 9 inches. Wing area: 488 square feet. Maximum Speed: 114 mph. Armament: On Vickers forward and one Lewis gun aft. Bomb load 450lb.

The primitive airborne wireless sets then in use were unreliable and Bill was to find that the equipment usually broke down after about 15 minutes of operation. The DH9A was one of those aircraft which formed part of the Imperial Gift in 1921.

In 1919 the British Under Secretary of Sate of Air proposed that when the Air Council had in excess of 500 aircraft or engines over and above those required for active and reserve RAF squadrons, this surplus number should at made available to each Dominion free of cost.

The aircraft Australia received as part of this Imperial Gift along with spare parts and hangers were the Sopwith Pup, SE5A, DH9, DH9A and Avro 504K. All of these aircraft types were still flying at Laverton when Bill was doing his part time duty there.

His instructor at Laverton was Squadron Leader Johnny Summers and the two men got on well together. Bill asked him about joining the Permanent Air Force he responded by saying ‘So you want to join the Permanent Air Force, eh? Well let me think.’ He was told to bring some of his College work with him when he was next at Laverton.

Having seen some of his College work books including essays and Bill’s engineering drawings which he was especially impressed by. He said he would have to apply to the Air Board and then told him how to do it. He said ‘Well if you want to join the Permanent Air Force you had best go to the Royal Military College Duntroon. I’ll tell you it’s the only way to get into the Permanent Air Force. At the moment we’re only getting officers from Duntroon transferring to the RAAF. Yes, go to Duntroon’ but having said that he added ‘I hate Duntrooners!’

After having completed the entry tests Bill’s letter of application to the Secretary of the Air Board dated October 20, 1928 was successful. The letter of acceptance also included a list of clothing he would need. His no doubt quietly proud father now the licensee of a Bendigo Hotel ensured that a local menswear shop properly outfitted his son.

It was his final year at College and he was awarded an ‘A’ in every area of assessment. The Headmaster of the College, Mr J.P. Phelan wrote ‘Excellent results throughout the Final Exam, a Splendid English’ he also wrote a reference for Bill.

‘His year’s work was considered to be one of the finest performances ever recorded at the College in view of the fact that the scope of the work encompassed by him for this Certificate (Intermediate Technical Training) is much greater that that of the ordinary Intermediate Certificate of the University.’

‘He is an excellent fellow who shows most encouraging promise of a splendid manhood. His loyalty, dependability, integrity and seal stamp him as a student far above the ordinary and as one destined to make a very honourable, mark in this world.’

During his part time duty at Laverton he may have seen some of the seaplanes that were based at Point Cook during 1927. However by the time he returned as a Cadet in 1931 a number of these older aircraft had been withdrawn from service so he never had the opportunity to fly the Fairy IIID, Wackett Widgeon II or the DH50A.

---ooOoo---

Chapter Two

Duntroon

1929-1930

A former sheep station homestead ‘Duntroon’ had been bought for the Royal Military College in 1911. It was one of the few old buildings standing in Canberra and located two miles from the city centre. In May 1927 a temporary air base had been established in Canberra for the opening of Parliament House on May 9, 1927.

Canberra in May 1927 consisted of cleared paddocks with few buildings apart from the new Parliament House which sat by itself in the middle of paddocks and bushland. While some building work would have taken place by 1929, the Canberra Bill Garing saw would still have been very much under construction and isolated from the rest of the country.

Suitably outfitted in clothes supplied by his father Staff Cadet Garing began his career in the Permanent Air Force as a cadet at the Royal Military College Duntroon on February 13, 1929. He was one of four cadets who joined Duntroon that year specifically to become air force officers.

Bill enjoyed his time at Duntroon he found his studies and training interesting. The air force cadets excelled in horsemanship which included all the cavalry skills such as tent pegging which in turn upset the army cadets. Bill’s horse was a mare called ‘Hilary’ and while she had a hard mouth from bad handling he could ride her without any problem. This special bond and his riding skill were noted and commented on in years to come by his riding instructor Captain Henry Wells.

He also came in for his share of what would now be called ‘bastardry’ or initiation ceremonies and extra drills conducted by senior cadets who in turn admired the juniors who showed that they could take it. While it was a tough life at Duntroon he was never one to complain about hardships and took everything in his stride.

His fitness and tough bush upbringing had prepared him well for the rigours of stringent officer cadet training. It meant that punishments such as doing push-ups were done with ease. The instructors also imposed their own strict discipline on cadets and Bill came under special notice from the captain in charge of drill training for his preference for things air force.

He only received on formal punishment at Duntroon and this was in fact the only charge laid against him during his long service career. His offence was ‘Un-attention on Parade (Talking)’ For this the subordinate commander awarded Number 500 Staff Cadet Garing, William Henry, two days confinement to barracks.

Bill found his academic studies rewarding and while at Duntroon he learnt to speak German and under his mathematics instructor Mr T A Sutherland, he for the first time in his life truly appreciated the use of mathematics. His love of sport continued and he took up playing hocky while at Duntroon.

During his time at Duntroon, Amy Johnston completed her record breaking England to Australia flight in her DH60 Moth G-AUFR and Bill was asked to guard her aeroplane whilst it was in Canberra.

During 1930 the Federal Government decided to temporarily move the staff and cadets from Duntroon to Victoria Barracks in Sydney as a cost cutting measure. Seeing what was about to take place the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Commodore Richard Williams intervened and according to legend he said ‘My boys are not going to that sinful city of Sydney.’

There were already a number of air force cadets at Duntroon when Bill arrived and as a result of the intervention of Air Commodore Williams all twelve air force cadets were transferred to Point Cook on December 9, 1930 to complete their officer training there. On arrival at Point Cook he didn’t begin flying immediately but instead had two weeks of instruction most if consisting of drill. The twelve trained pilots from Duntroon had concluded their time in Canberra with a large ceremonial parade and their foot and rifle drill was immaculate. The emphasis soon shifted to more interesting things such as inspections of the hangers and workshop areas with lectures to increase the cadet’s knowledge of the workings of the air force.

Instructors trained the cadets in a variety of subjects to fit them for officer duties including Air Force Law, RAAF administration, history and strategy and organisation. They lived and dined in the Officer’s Mess and were treated as equals by the officers they mixed with, this included the Mess where World War 1 veterans would talk of their experiences of flying and fighting in the Great War.

---ooOoo---

---ooOoo---

Chapter Three

EFT Point Cook

1931

De Havilland DH60X

On January 26, 1931, Cadet Garing donned his flying overalls and F/L Waters lined up the 12 Duntroon trainee pilots who were about to undertake their first flight at the controls of a DH60X Moth. It was a fine day with a clear blue sky and F/L Charles ‘Moth’ Eaton was Bill Garing’s flying instructor and A7-9 was their aircraft. Bill was to fly this same aircraft for almost a month and went solo for the first time while flying it on February 19, 1931 but that was a few weeks away.

Following the pre-flight inspection the cadets climbed onto the lower wing and got into the rear cockpits of their aircraft where they each strapped themselves in under the watchful eye of an NCO, when all was ready the instructor then climbed into the front seat.

Then it was time to start the engine which followed a strict procedure. Having checked that the chocks were in place a call of ‘Switches Off’ was made. This was repeated back by the pilot as he checked that the switches were in fact ‘Off.’ After having confirmed that it was now safe to do so an airman pulled the propeller through to prime the engine. With the engine primed a call of ‘Switches On’ was made which was repeated back by the pilot as he checked that the switches were ‘On.’ Taking the propeller in his hand the airman then swung it firmly downwards moving his hand and himself away from the prop as part of the movement.

Once the engine had started the pilot called ‘Chocks Away’ and the airman removed the chocks from the wheels. The instructor then opened the throttle and taxied the Moth into position ready for take-off. As he taxied along the bumpy grass field the instructor was constantly looking forward out of each side of the cockpit to ensure that there were no other aircraft or obstacles were in the way.

With only a light breeze blowing the instructor lined up for take-off, then applied full power and as the Moth gathered speed the tailplane lifted and for the first time Bill could see the airfield in front of him and then they lifted off. This was a 30 minute ‘local’ flight to get Bill used to the controls and instruments and only straight and level flight was permitted. However Bill had been reading up on flying and was keen to try something so when he applied a little rudder he was promptly rebuked with a gruff command of ‘Straight and Level.’

Over the following days he made a number of flights, learning to ‘Climb and glide and stall,’ followed by ‘Turns and banks.’ Next it was ‘Landings and takeoffs’ where Bill would have his hands lightly on controls to get a feel the aircraft as the instructor carried them out. Bill was surprised at how steeply the Moth glided before landing.

One of the most important lessons was how to judge distances especially when landing. When was the right time to close the throttle during the landing approach so that he could still reach the airfield, a whole week was spend just on take-offs and landings and judging distance. Up until, February 19, 1931 Bill had only flown A7-9 and he had gone up at 0920 hours with F/L Eaton for a 15 minute flight that morning. At 1110 hours he went up with S/L Jones in A7-22 for 15 minutes, this was his ‘Ten Hour Test’ for which he received an assessment of ‘Satisfactory.’

After they landed at 11.25 hours S/L Jones told Bill what he thought of his flying. He said ‘The rest of your flying is all right Garing but you are not doing too well on your landings.’ Bill then had to explain that he was not sure he had actually been doing them himself. ‘What!’ snapped S/L Jones.

However a few minutes later at 11.30 hours S/L Jones let Bill take off in A7-9 for his first solo flight which lasted 30 minutes. Later that day, he did a 10 minute flight with his instructor followed by a 25 minute solo flight. After his comment about not knowing who was landing the aircraft, S/L Jones decided that a change of instructor was called for.

When Bill next flew; which was a few days later, on February 23, 1931 he stood to attention beside A7-9 waiting for his instructor. Until now he had only flown A7-9, it felt almost his personal aircraft but this was the last day that would happen. Soon after Sgt. Francis Callopy arrived and said ‘Cadet Garing, S/L Jones has asked me to make sure your landings and take-offs are good. Let me assure you that you are going to do take-offs and landings now until you are sick and tired of them. But by heavens you’ll be able to do them when I’ve finished with you.’

March 1931

Over the following few weeks he flew A7-16, A7-35 A7-47, A7-48 and A7-13 and apart from ‘Take-offs and landings’ he was given instruction in ‘Turns over 45 degrees with and without an engine, gliding turns, side slipping, advanced forced landing’ as well as ‘Aerobatics.’ During his flights with Sgt. Callopy he was given instruction on a specific skill such as advanced forced landing. Bill was then sent off on two usually longer solo flights to practice what he had been shown before again flying with his instructor who could then assess his progress.

He was assessed as ‘Satisfactory’ during his second ‘Ten Hourly Test’ with F/L Eaton on March 16, 1931. As the weeks went by he was instructed in ‘Formation flying, cross wind landings’ on March 31, he attempted a ‘Height Test.’ in A7-9 but failed however the following day.

April 1931

April 1, flying A7-48 he passed the ‘Height Test.’ On April 16, he passed his ‘Air Pilotage Test’ with a flight from ‘Point Cook to Kirk’s Bridge to Beatty’s Bridge to Craigieburn and back to Point Cook.’

On April 20, 1931 he flew in A7-9 with S/L Jones for his ‘30 Hourly Test’ and was assessed as ‘Above Average.’ His training continued with new skills to master including air gunnery, air bombing, deflection gunnery, air and cloud flying.

May 1931

On May 4, he flew with F/L Eaton in A7-5 and was given a Pass for his ‘40 Hourly Test.’ Over the coming weeks he continued to practice a variety of skills with the flights lasting around 40 minutes. On the May 18, Bill passed his ‘Cloud Flying Test’ in A7-9 with Sgt. Callopy.

His final test with ‘Advanced forced landings’ appears to have been on May 21, 1931 when he was again flying A7-9 with Sgt. Callopy. Bill was to land the Moth in a little paddock just south of Laverton railway line. It was about 300 yards (274 metres) long and about 100 yards (91metres) wide. A landing here was only possible with the strong north wind which was blowing that day. Having successfully landed, he and Sgt Callopy then climbed out and lifted up the tail and pulled the aircraft back to the downwind end for take-off.

With the Moth pointing into the north wind Bill opened the throttle and the tail lifted as the wall quickly came closer, then the north wind picked them up and lifted them over the wall at the end of the field. Bill saw little more of Sgt. Callopy after that day but felt he owed him his flying career because of his good instruction.

A few days later on May 25, 1931, while flying A7-16 with S/L Jones, Bill passed his ‘50 Hourly Test’ with an ‘Above Average’ assessment. His total flying time on May 31, 1931 was 50 hours and 10 minutes which included 23 hours 10 minutes of dual instruction and 27 hours of solo flight. This ended his initial period of training on Moths, and he went on leave, staying several weeks with his sister Muriel and her husband WW1 veteran Charles Lebner.

--oOo--

Instructors who flew with Bill Garing in the DH60X

between 26/1/31 and 25/5/31

F/L Eaton

Group Captain Charles ‘Moth’ Eaton OBE AFC No.24 was born in London December 12, 1895 and served in the RAF whilst in the RAAF he served at 1 FTS Point Cook, RAAFHQ, 1 FTS Point Cook, 1 AD Laverton. In WW2 Command of 21 Squadron 1937-39, Command of 12 Squadron 1939-40, Darwin 1940-41, 2 FSTS 1941-42, 2 BAGS 1943, 79 Wing 1943-44 and HQSA 1945.

S/L Jones

Air Marshal Sir George Jones KBE CB DFC was born in Rushworth, Victoria November 22, 1896 and served in the AIF, 67 Squadron Royal Flying Corps, 71 Squadron Royal Flying Corps/4 Squadron Australian Flying Corps, 1 FTS Point Cook, RAAFHQ, CFI 1 FTS Point Cook 1930-32, RAAFHQ Director Training & Director Personnel. In WW2 he served as A/CAS 1939-40, RAAFHQ Director Training, Chief of Air Staff 1942-52.

Sgt Collopy

Sergeant Francis W Collopy No 588 was born in Melbourne November 23, 1904 and served at 1 AD Laverton and 1 FTS (5 Course 1927).

The effects of the Great Depression had resulted in Government cutbacks which