Henry Wrigley
Encyclopedia
Air Vice Marshal Henry Neilson Wrigley CBE
, DFC
, AFC
(21 April 1892 – 14 September 1987) was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force
(RAAF). A pioneer aviator
and theorist, he piloted the first trans-Australia flight from Melbourne
to Darwin
in 1919, and subsequently laid the groundwork for the RAAF's air power doctrine. During World War I
, Wrigley saw combat with No. 3 Squadron
of the Australian Flying Corps on the Western Front
, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross
; he later commanded the unit and published a history of its wartime exploits. He was awarded the Air Force Cross
for his 1919 cross-country flight to Darwin.
Wrigley was a founding member of the RAAF in 1921 and held a variety of staff posts in the ensuing years. In 1936, he was promoted to Group Captain
and took command of RAAF Station Laverton. Raised to Air Commodore
soon after the outbreak of World War II
, he became Air Member for Personnel (AMP) in 1940. As AMP, Wrigley was responsible for organising the newly established Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force
and selecting its Director, Clare Stevenson
, in 1941. He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire the same year. Wrigley served as Air Officer Commanding
RAAF Overseas Headquarters
, London, from 1942 until his retirement from the military in 1946. He died in 1987, at the age of ninety-five.
, a suburb of Melbourne
, to Henry and Beatrice Wrigley. Educated at Melbourne High School
, he was a state school teacher when he joined the Australian Flying Corps (AFC) on 5 October 1916. Wrigley underwent pilot training under the tutelage of Lieutenant
Eric Harrison
at Central Flying School
in Point Cook, Victoria
, before departing Melbourne aboard HMAT A38 Ulysses on 25 October, bound for Europe.
After further training in England, Wrigley was posted to France and flew with No. 3 Squadron AFC
(also known until 1918 as No. 69 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps
) on the Western Front
. Operating R.E.8s
, the unit was engaged in reconnaissance
, artillery-spotting
and ground support
duties. Wrigley was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross
for his "exceptional devotion to duty", in particular his persistence in pressing home an attack against enemy infantry on 29 October 1918 in the face of "intense machine gun and rifle fire"; the honour was promulgated in the London Gazette
on 3 June 1919. He was subsequently promoted Captain and became No. 3 Squadron's Commanding Officer
. Wrigley later observed that most wartime aircraft were "impossible to fight in", and that senior officers were "too occupied with coaxing aeroplanes into the air and teaching pilots to bring them down again without breaking their necks" to consider the wider implications of air power.
Wrigley returned to Australia on 6 May 1919. Later that year he took part in the first transcontinental flight across Australia, from Melbourne
to Darwin
, designed to cooincide with the first England to Australia flight
. Accompanied by his mechanic and former schoolmate, Sergeant
Arthur "Spud" Murphy
, Wrigley departed Point Cook on 16 November and arrived in Port Darwin on 12 December, having travelled some 4500 kilometres (2,796.2 mi) in forty-seven flying hours. The men flew in a single-engined B.E.2 biplane
, with no radio, over unmapped and often hazardous terrain, and surveyed seventeen potential landing fields along the way. Wrigley considered the choice of Murphy as his cohort "a particularly happy one" but called the aircraft they were assigned "an obsolete type, even for training purposes", while conceding that "it was structurally sound and airworthy." The men were each awarded the Air Force Cross
in recognition of their achievement. Such was the perceived danger of the expedition that while making preparations for the return flight they received a telegram from the Defence Department ordering them to desist, arrange for the B.E.2 to be dismantled and shipped back, and themselves to travel southwards by steamer.
On 1 January 1920, Wrigley transferred to the Australian Air Corps (AAC), a temporary organisation formed by the Army following disbandment of the wartime AFC. He was appointed adjutant
at Central Flying School the following month. In 1921, Wrigley joined the newly established Royal Australian Air Force
. Ranked Flight Lieutenant
, he was one of the original twenty-one officers on the Air Force's strength at its formation that March, and became known as "Wrig". For the next two years he was staff officer to the Director of Personnel and Training at RAAF Headquarters, Melbourne. On 5 July 1922, Wrigley married Marjorie Rees; the couple would have a son and a daughter. He served as the RAAF's Training Officer from March 1923 to April 1925—during which time he was promoted to Squadron Leader
—before being appointed Director of Organisation and Staff Duties at RAAF Headquarters. In November 1927, he took part in another pioneering effort, aiming to make the first night flight from Sydney to Melbourne. Having taken off from RAAF Station Richmond
in a DH.9
, Wrigley and his co-pilot had been in the air for six hours and covered 345 miles (555.2 km) when a broken fuel line forced them to land for repairs; they completed the journey the following day.
Wrigley travelled to England in 1928 to attend RAF Staff College, Andover
, becoming one of the first RAAF officers to complete the course. He also served as Air Liaison Officer in London, initiating correspondence with the British Air Council in 1929 to discuss a proposal for the RAAF to adopt as its own the RAF's motto Per Ardua Ad Astra
. Returning to Australia, he became Director of Operations and Intelligence at RAAF Headquarters in 1930, and then Director of Organisation and Staff Duties the following year. He published his history of No. 3 Squadron, The Battle Below, in 1935. Promoted Group Captain
, he took over as Commanding Officer
(CO) of RAAF Station Laverton, Victoria, from Group Captain Frank McNamara
in October 1936. Wrigley handed over the station's command to Group Captain Adrian Cole
in February 1939.
As part of the RAAF's reorganisation following the outbreak of World War II
in September 1939, No. 1 Group was formed in Melbourne on 20 November, with Wrigley in command. Promoted Air Commodore
, in 1940 he served briefly as Air Officer Commanding
Southern Area, the successor organisation to No. 1 Group, before taking up the position of Air Member for Personnel (AMP) later that year. He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1941 New Year Honours
. As AMP, Wrigley was responsible for organising the Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force
(WAAAF), established on 25 March 1941 as the first uniformed women's branch of an armed service in the country. He believed that recruiting servicewomen was essential to augment the large number of ground staff required to support the war effort, and considered that while such an organisation should be constitutionally separate to the RAAF, its members should be closely integrated within the current force structure. On 21 May, he selected the WAAAF's Director, corporate executive Clare Stevenson
, over temporary appointee Mary Bell
, wife of a serving RAAF Group Captain. Wrigley chose Stevenson on the basis of her management background and because she was not a "socialite". Bell, who was offered the position of Deputy Director, chose to resign from the WAAAF on learning of Stevenson's appointment, but Wrigley later convinced her to rejoin. He had earlier argued successfully with the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal
Sir Charles Burnett
, RAF
, against naming Burnett's daughter Sybil-Jean as Director, declaring that there would be "a public outcry" if anyone other than an Australian was appointed.
In late 1942, Wrigley was promoted acting Air Vice Marshal and took over from Frank McNamara as Air Officer Commanding RAAF Overseas Headquarters in London. In this position he was responsible for looking after the interests of RAAF aircrew stationed in Europe and the Middle East, liaising between the British Air Ministry
and the Australian government regarding technical developments and information on the war in the Pacific
, and negotiating revisions to the terms of the Empire Air Training Scheme
(EATS). The role had little influence on the deployment of Australian personnel, who were subject to Royal Air Force
policy and strategy for the air war in Europe even when they belonged to RAAF squadrons. According to the official history of Australia's part in the conflict, Wrigley and his predecessors could hardly do more than "retard the centrifugal forces affecting Australian disposition, and repair the worst administrative difficulties arising from wide dispersion". Nevertheless, Wrigley became a familiar and popular figure to the thousands of Australian airmen who passed through London during the war, and was known to take off his jacket and tend bar at Codgers, the headquarters' watering hole. An EATS graduate later remarked that "...under Air Vice-Marshal Wrigley we got tremendous service... I was in North Africa, Italy, Sardinia, Corsica and then back in the United Kingdom. We got our mail, we got our comforts and we got tremendous service. Not only that, when some cow went and pinched 100 quid from me when I was on leave in London, the next day, with a shaking hand, I was able to sign for another 100 quid and have a good time."
In March 1943, following negotiations that had begun the previous year, Wrigley signed a revision of EATS that finally recognised Australia's "national aspirations" regarding concentration of her airmen in RAAF squadrons as opposed to them being scattered throughout RAF units, reasonable prospects of promotion and rotation for staff, and pay and other conditions of service confirmed as being per RAAF stipulations. However, contended the official history, "for the most part Australia was still left chasing a dream rather than a reality", as many clauses in the agreement were "subject to operational exigencies" and to be adhered to only "as far as possible". Wrigley toured the Mediterranean in September, visiting No. 459 Squadron
in the Middle East, and travelling to Sicily
to interview ground staff of No. 450 Squadron
over their grievances concerning lack of promotion and leave; his presence was considered to have defused the latter situation. The end of hostilities in Europe on 7 May 1945 raised a major logistical challenge for Wrigley as the senior officer responsible for some 13,500 RAAF personnel spread across Britain, the Mediterranean and the continent, only a minority of whom were in nominally Australian squadrons, with the bulk serving with RAF establishments. "The task was energetically met", however, according to the official history, with fewer than 1,000 RAAF personnel still remaining in RAF units by 1 September, although repatriation continued through into the new year.
in 1969. In March 1971, he was among a select group of surviving founder members of the RAAF who attended a celebratory dinner at the Hotel Canberra
to mark the service's Golden Jubilee
; his fellow guests included Air Marshal
Sir Richard Williams, Air Vice Marshal Bill Anderson
, Air Commodore Hippolyte De La Rue
, and Wing Commander Sir Lawrence Wackett
. After the death of his first wife, Marjorie, Wrigley married Zenda Edwards on 5 January 1972. He wrote a history of the Victorian branch of the United Services Institution in 1980. Aged ninety-five, he died in Melbourne on 14 September 1987.
Throughout his life, Wrigley was an "inveterate note-taker" who compiled extensive documentation concerning the theory and practice of air power, on which he lectured among colleagues in the RAAF during the 1920s. The concepts that he propagated included air superiority, the need for an air force to be separate to the other branches of the armed services, control of the air as a means of carrying out offensive strikes, and the substitution of aerial forces for ground troops. While arguing for the independence of the air arm, Wrigley was quick to dispel any notion that it would simply "arrive from God knows where, drop [its] bombs God knows where, and go off again God knows where"; rather it should act in concert with the army and navy in furtherance of government policy. He is thus credited with laying the foundations for the RAAF's modern air power doctrine, which would eventually be codified as the Air Power Manual in 1990. Wrigley's widow bequeathed twenty volumes of his writings, maps and photographs to the RAAF Museum
at Point Cook after his death; they were edited and published by Air Commodore Brendan O'Loghlin and Wing Commander Alan Stephens in 1990 as The Decisive Factor: Air Power Doctrine by Air Vice-Marshal H.N. Wrigley. In 1996, Wrigley's former residence as CO of RAAF Station Laverton prior to World War II was christened Wrigley House in his honour. His name is also borne by Henry Wrigley Drive, approaching Darwin International Airport
.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, DFC
Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against...
, AFC
Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)
The Air Force Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom Armed Forces, and formerly also to officers of the other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying, though not in active operations against the enemy"...
(21 April 1892 – 14 September 1987) was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
(RAAF). A pioneer aviator
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
and theorist, he piloted the first trans-Australia flight from Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
to Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
in 1919, and subsequently laid the groundwork for the RAAF's air power doctrine. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Wrigley saw combat with No. 3 Squadron
No. 3 Squadron RAAF
No. 3 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force fighter squadron. It was first formed in 1916 and currently operates F/A-18 Hornet aircraft from RAAF Base Williamtown, near Newcastle, New South Wales.-World War I:...
of the Australian Flying Corps on the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against...
; he later commanded the unit and published a history of its wartime exploits. He was awarded the Air Force Cross
Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)
The Air Force Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom Armed Forces, and formerly also to officers of the other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying, though not in active operations against the enemy"...
for his 1919 cross-country flight to Darwin.
Wrigley was a founding member of the RAAF in 1921 and held a variety of staff posts in the ensuing years. In 1936, he was promoted to Group Captain
Group Captain
Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. It ranks above wing commander and immediately below air commodore...
and took command of RAAF Station Laverton. Raised to Air Commodore
Air Commodore
Air commodore is an air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
soon after the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he became Air Member for Personnel (AMP) in 1940. As AMP, Wrigley was responsible for organising the newly established Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force
Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force
The Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force was formed in March 1941 after considerable lobbying by women keen to serve and by the Chief of the Air Staff who wanted to release male personnel serving in Australia for service overseas. The WAAAF was the first and largest of the World War II...
and selecting its Director, Clare Stevenson
Clare Stevenson
Clare Grant Stevenson AM, MBE was the inaugural Director of the Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force . As such, she has been described as "the most significant woman in the history of the Air Force"...
, in 1941. He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire the same year. Wrigley served as Air Officer Commanding
Air Officer Commanding
Air Officer Commanding is a title given in the air forces of Commonwealth nations to an air officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, an air vice marshal might be the AOC 38 Group...
RAAF Overseas Headquarters
RAAF Overseas Headquarters
RAAF Overseas Headquarters was a Royal Australian Air Force administrative unit located in London. It was formed on 1 December 1941 to oversee the welfare of RAAF personnel posted to Royal Air Force units as well as the Australian squadrons which were planned to be formed as part of the RAF in...
, London, from 1942 until his retirement from the military in 1946. He died in 1987, at the age of ninety-five.
Early life and World War I
Wrigley was born on 21 April 1892 in CollingwoodCollingwood, Victoria
Collingwood is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Yarra...
, a suburb of Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, to Henry and Beatrice Wrigley. Educated at Melbourne High School
Melbourne High School
Melbourne High School is a selective entry state school for boys in years 9 to 12 located in the Melbourne suburb of South Yarra. Being a selective school, it is known mainly for its strong academic reputation...
, he was a state school teacher when he joined the Australian Flying Corps (AFC) on 5 October 1916. Wrigley underwent pilot training under the tutelage of Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Eric Harrison
Eric Harrison (RAAF officer)
Eric Harrison was an Australian aviator who made the country's first military flight, and helped lay the foundations of the Royal Australian Air Force . Born in Victoria, he was a flying instructor in Britain when he answered the Australian Defence Department's call for pilots in 1911...
at Central Flying School
Central Flying School RAAF
The Central Flying School RAAF is a Royal Australian Air Force training establishment, based at RAAF Base East Sale. It was formed in March 1913, and during the First World War it trained over 150 pilots, who fought in Europe and the Middle East....
in Point Cook, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, before departing Melbourne aboard HMAT A38 Ulysses on 25 October, bound for Europe.
After further training in England, Wrigley was posted to France and flew with No. 3 Squadron AFC
No. 3 Squadron RAAF
No. 3 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force fighter squadron. It was first formed in 1916 and currently operates F/A-18 Hornet aircraft from RAAF Base Williamtown, near Newcastle, New South Wales.-World War I:...
(also known until 1918 as No. 69 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps
Royal Flying Corps
The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...
) on the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
. Operating R.E.8s
Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8
The Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8 was a British two-seat biplane reconnaissance and bomber aircraft of the First World War designed by John Kenworthy. Intended as a replacement for the vulnerable B.E.2, the R.E.8 was more difficult to fly, and was regarded with great suspicion at first in the Royal...
, the unit was engaged in reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
, artillery-spotting
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
and ground support
Close air support
In military tactics, close air support is defined as air action by fixed or rotary winged aircraft against hostile targets that are close to friendly forces, and which requires detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movement of these forces.The determining factor for CAS is...
duties. Wrigley was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against...
for his "exceptional devotion to duty", in particular his persistence in pressing home an attack against enemy infantry on 29 October 1918 in the face of "intense machine gun and rifle fire"; the honour was promulgated in the London Gazette
London Gazette
The London Gazette is one of the official journals of record of the British government, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are required to be published...
on 3 June 1919. He was subsequently promoted Captain and became No. 3 Squadron's Commanding Officer
Commanding officer
The commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...
. Wrigley later observed that most wartime aircraft were "impossible to fight in", and that senior officers were "too occupied with coaxing aeroplanes into the air and teaching pilots to bring them down again without breaking their necks" to consider the wider implications of air power.
Between the wars
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
to Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
, designed to cooincide with the first England to Australia flight
England to Australia flight
In 1919 the Australian government offered a prize of £A10,000 for the first Australians in a British aircraft to fly from Great Britain to Australia. Of the six entries that started the race, the winners were two brothers and their two crew in a Vickers Vimy....
. Accompanied by his mechanic and former schoolmate, Sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
Arthur "Spud" Murphy
Arthur William Murphy
Air Commodore Arthur William Murphy DFC, AFC, FRAeS was a senior engineer and aviator in the Royal Australian Air Force . He accompanied Captain Henry Wrigley on the first trans-Australia flight from Melbourne to Darwin in 1919, a feat that earned both men the Air Force Cross...
, Wrigley departed Point Cook on 16 November and arrived in Port Darwin on 12 December, having travelled some 4500 kilometres (2,796.2 mi) in forty-seven flying hours. The men flew in a single-engined B.E.2 biplane
Biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two superimposed main wings. The Wright brothers' Wright Flyer used a biplane design, as did most aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a biplane wing structure has a structural advantage, it produces more drag than a similar monoplane wing...
, with no radio, over unmapped and often hazardous terrain, and surveyed seventeen potential landing fields along the way. Wrigley considered the choice of Murphy as his cohort "a particularly happy one" but called the aircraft they were assigned "an obsolete type, even for training purposes", while conceding that "it was structurally sound and airworthy." The men were each awarded the Air Force Cross
Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)
The Air Force Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom Armed Forces, and formerly also to officers of the other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying, though not in active operations against the enemy"...
in recognition of their achievement. Such was the perceived danger of the expedition that while making preparations for the return flight they received a telegram from the Defence Department ordering them to desist, arrange for the B.E.2 to be dismantled and shipped back, and themselves to travel southwards by steamer.
On 1 January 1920, Wrigley transferred to the Australian Air Corps (AAC), a temporary organisation formed by the Army following disbandment of the wartime AFC. He was appointed adjutant
Adjutant
Adjutant is a military rank or appointment. In some armies, including most English-speaking ones, it is an officer who assists a more senior officer, while in other armies, especially Francophone ones, it is an NCO , normally corresponding roughly to a Staff Sergeant or Warrant Officer.An Adjutant...
at Central Flying School the following month. In 1921, Wrigley joined the newly established Royal Australian Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
. Ranked Flight Lieutenant
Flight Lieutenant
Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries. It ranks above flying officer and immediately below squadron leader. The name of the rank is the complete phrase; it is never shortened to "lieutenant"...
, he was one of the original twenty-one officers on the Air Force's strength at its formation that March, and became known as "Wrig". For the next two years he was staff officer to the Director of Personnel and Training at RAAF Headquarters, Melbourne. On 5 July 1922, Wrigley married Marjorie Rees; the couple would have a son and a daughter. He served as the RAAF's Training Officer from March 1923 to April 1925—during which time he was promoted to Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. In these...
—before being appointed Director of Organisation and Staff Duties at RAAF Headquarters. In November 1927, he took part in another pioneering effort, aiming to make the first night flight from Sydney to Melbourne. Having taken off from RAAF Station Richmond
RAAF Base Richmond
RAAF Base Richmond is one of Australia's oldest and largest air force bases. It is located within the City of Hawkesbury in the north-western fringe of Sydney, New South Wales, between the towns of Windsor and Richmond. The base is home to the Royal Australian Air Force's transport headquarters,...
in a DH.9
Airco DH.9
The Airco DH.9 - also known after 1920 as the de Havilland DH.9 - was a British bomber used in the First World War...
, Wrigley and his co-pilot had been in the air for six hours and covered 345 miles (555.2 km) when a broken fuel line forced them to land for repairs; they completed the journey the following day.
RAF Staff College, Andover
The RAF Staff College at RAF Andover was the first Royal Air Force staff college to be established. Its role was the training of officers in the administrative, staff and policy apects of air force matters.-Foundation:...
, becoming one of the first RAAF officers to complete the course. He also served as Air Liaison Officer in London, initiating correspondence with the British Air Council in 1929 to discuss a proposal for the RAAF to adopt as its own the RAF's motto Per Ardua Ad Astra
Per ardua ad astra
Per ardua ad astra is the motto of the Royal Air Force and other Commonwealth air forces such as the RAAF, RCAF, and RNZAF. It dates from 1912 and was used by the newly formed Royal Flying Corps.-Origin:The first Commanding Officer of the Royal Flying Corps was Colonel Frederick Sykes...
. Returning to Australia, he became Director of Operations and Intelligence at RAAF Headquarters in 1930, and then Director of Organisation and Staff Duties the following year. He published his history of No. 3 Squadron, The Battle Below, in 1935. Promoted Group Captain
Group Captain
Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. It ranks above wing commander and immediately below air commodore...
, he took over as Commanding Officer
Commanding officer
The commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...
(CO) of RAAF Station Laverton, Victoria, from Group Captain Frank McNamara
Frank Hubert McNamara
Air Vice Marshal Francis Hubert McNamara VC, CB, CBE was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for valour in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to a member of the British and Commonwealth forces...
in October 1936. Wrigley handed over the station's command to Group Captain Adrian Cole
Adrian Cole (RAAF officer)
Air Vice Marshal Adrian Lindley Trevor Cole, CBE, DSO, MC, DFC was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force . Joining the army at the outbreak of World War I, he transferred to the Australian Flying Corps in 1916 and flew with No. 1 Squadron in the Middle East and No. 2...
in February 1939.
World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in September 1939, No. 1 Group was formed in Melbourne on 20 November, with Wrigley in command. Promoted Air Commodore
Air Commodore
Air commodore is an air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
, in 1940 he served briefly as Air Officer Commanding
Air Officer Commanding
Air Officer Commanding is a title given in the air forces of Commonwealth nations to an air officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, an air vice marshal might be the AOC 38 Group...
Southern Area, the successor organisation to No. 1 Group, before taking up the position of Air Member for Personnel (AMP) later that year. He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1941 New Year Honours
New Year Honours
The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, being a civic occasion on the New Year annually in which new members of most Commonwealth Realms honours are named. The awards are presented by the reigning monarch or head of state, currently Queen Elizabeth II...
. As AMP, Wrigley was responsible for organising the Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force
Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force
The Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force was formed in March 1941 after considerable lobbying by women keen to serve and by the Chief of the Air Staff who wanted to release male personnel serving in Australia for service overseas. The WAAAF was the first and largest of the World War II...
(WAAAF), established on 25 March 1941 as the first uniformed women's branch of an armed service in the country. He believed that recruiting servicewomen was essential to augment the large number of ground staff required to support the war effort, and considered that while such an organisation should be constitutionally separate to the RAAF, its members should be closely integrated within the current force structure. On 21 May, he selected the WAAAF's Director, corporate executive Clare Stevenson
Clare Stevenson
Clare Grant Stevenson AM, MBE was the inaugural Director of the Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force . As such, she has been described as "the most significant woman in the history of the Air Force"...
, over temporary appointee Mary Bell
Mary Bell (aviator)
Mary Teston Luis Bell was an Australian aviator and founding leader of the Women's Air Training Corps , a volunteer organisation that provided support to the Royal Australian Air Force during World War II...
, wife of a serving RAAF Group Captain. Wrigley chose Stevenson on the basis of her management background and because she was not a "socialite". Bell, who was offered the position of Deputy Director, chose to resign from the WAAAF on learning of Stevenson's appointment, but Wrigley later convinced her to rejoin. He had earlier argued successfully with the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal
Air Chief Marshal
Air chief marshal is a senior 4-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
Sir Charles Burnett
Charles Burnett (RAF officer)
Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Stuart Burnett KCB, CBE, DSO was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force during the first half of the 20th century. During the Second World War, he served as Chief of the Air Staff of the Royal Australian Air Force.-Early life:Charles Burnett was born in Browns...
, RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
, against naming Burnett's daughter Sybil-Jean as Director, declaring that there would be "a public outcry" if anyone other than an Australian was appointed.
In late 1942, Wrigley was promoted acting Air Vice Marshal and took over from Frank McNamara as Air Officer Commanding RAAF Overseas Headquarters in London. In this position he was responsible for looking after the interests of RAAF aircrew stationed in Europe and the Middle East, liaising between the British Air Ministry
Air Ministry
The Air Ministry was a department of the British Government with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964...
and the Australian government regarding technical developments and information on the war in the Pacific
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
, and negotiating revisions to the terms of the Empire Air Training Scheme
British Commonwealth Air Training Plan
The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan , known in some countries as the Empire Air Training Scheme , was a massive, joint military aircrew training program created by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, during the Second World War...
(EATS). The role had little influence on the deployment of Australian personnel, who were subject to Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
policy and strategy for the air war in Europe even when they belonged to RAAF squadrons. According to the official history of Australia's part in the conflict, Wrigley and his predecessors could hardly do more than "retard the centrifugal forces affecting Australian disposition, and repair the worst administrative difficulties arising from wide dispersion". Nevertheless, Wrigley became a familiar and popular figure to the thousands of Australian airmen who passed through London during the war, and was known to take off his jacket and tend bar at Codgers, the headquarters' watering hole. An EATS graduate later remarked that "...under Air Vice-Marshal Wrigley we got tremendous service... I was in North Africa, Italy, Sardinia, Corsica and then back in the United Kingdom. We got our mail, we got our comforts and we got tremendous service. Not only that, when some cow went and pinched 100 quid from me when I was on leave in London, the next day, with a shaking hand, I was able to sign for another 100 quid and have a good time."
In March 1943, following negotiations that had begun the previous year, Wrigley signed a revision of EATS that finally recognised Australia's "national aspirations" regarding concentration of her airmen in RAAF squadrons as opposed to them being scattered throughout RAF units, reasonable prospects of promotion and rotation for staff, and pay and other conditions of service confirmed as being per RAAF stipulations. However, contended the official history, "for the most part Australia was still left chasing a dream rather than a reality", as many clauses in the agreement were "subject to operational exigencies" and to be adhered to only "as far as possible". Wrigley toured the Mediterranean in September, visiting No. 459 Squadron
No. 459 Squadron RAAF
No 459 Squadron RAAF was a Royal Australian Air Force squadron during World War II. It served from 1942 as a maritime patrol and bomber unit in the mediterranean theatre of war until disbanded in 1945.-History:...
in the Middle East, and travelling to Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
to interview ground staff of No. 450 Squadron
No. 450 Squadron RAAF
No. 450 Squadron was a unit of the Royal Australian Air Force during World War II. It was the second RAAF Article XV squadron formed for service with the British military, under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan...
over their grievances concerning lack of promotion and leave; his presence was considered to have defused the latter situation. The end of hostilities in Europe on 7 May 1945 raised a major logistical challenge for Wrigley as the senior officer responsible for some 13,500 RAAF personnel spread across Britain, the Mediterranean and the continent, only a minority of whom were in nominally Australian squadrons, with the bulk serving with RAF establishments. "The task was energetically met", however, according to the official history, with fewer than 1,000 RAAF personnel still remaining in RAF units by 1 September, although repatriation continued through into the new year.
Retirement and legacy
Wrigley was summarily retired from the RAAF in 1946, along with a number of other senior commanders and veterans of World War I, ostensibly to make way for the advancement of younger and equally capable officers. Keenly disappointed with the decision, Wrigley was officially discharged on 6 June. In 1966 he became Executive Officer of the Victorian Overseas Foundation, and later a trustee. He published Aircraft and Economic Development: The RAAF Contribution through the Royal Aeronautical SocietyRoyal Aeronautical Society
The Royal Aeronautical Society, also known as the RAeS, is a multidisciplinary professional institution dedicated to the global aerospace community.-Function:...
in 1969. In March 1971, he was among a select group of surviving founder members of the RAAF who attended a celebratory dinner at the Hotel Canberra
Hotel Canberra
The Hotel Canberra, also known as Hyatt Hotel Canberra is in Yarralumla, near Lake Burley Griffin and Parliament House, in Canberra. It was built to house politicians when the Federal Parliament moved to Canberra. It was constructed by the contractor John Howie between 1922-1925. Originally...
to mark the service's Golden Jubilee
Golden Jubilee
A Golden Jubilee is a celebration held to mark a 50th anniversary.- In Thailand :King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest-reigning monarch, celebrated his Golden Jubilee on 9 June 1996.- In the Commonwealth Realms :...
; his fellow guests included Air Marshal
Air Marshal
Air marshal is a three-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
Sir Richard Williams, Air Vice Marshal Bill Anderson
William Anderson (RAAF officer)
Air Vice-Marshal William Hopton Anderson CBE, DFC was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force . He flew with the Australian Flying Corps in World War I, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Belgian Croix de guerre, and leading Nos. 3 and 7 Squadrons...
, Air Commodore Hippolyte De La Rue
Hippolyte De La Rue
Air Commodore Hippolyte Ferdinand De La Rue CBE, DFC was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force . Joining the Mercantile Marine as a youth, he became a pilot in the Royal Naval Air Service during World War I, and was given command of No. 223 Squadron RAF in 1918...
, and Wing Commander Sir Lawrence Wackett
Lawrence Wackett
Sir Lawrence James Wackett KBE, DFC, AFC is widely regarded as "father of the Australian aircraft industry". He has been described as "one of the towering figures in the history of Australian aviation covering, as he did, virtually all aspects of activities: pilot, designer of airframes and...
. After the death of his first wife, Marjorie, Wrigley married Zenda Edwards on 5 January 1972. He wrote a history of the Victorian branch of the United Services Institution in 1980. Aged ninety-five, he died in Melbourne on 14 September 1987.
Throughout his life, Wrigley was an "inveterate note-taker" who compiled extensive documentation concerning the theory and practice of air power, on which he lectured among colleagues in the RAAF during the 1920s. The concepts that he propagated included air superiority, the need for an air force to be separate to the other branches of the armed services, control of the air as a means of carrying out offensive strikes, and the substitution of aerial forces for ground troops. While arguing for the independence of the air arm, Wrigley was quick to dispel any notion that it would simply "arrive from God knows where, drop [its] bombs God knows where, and go off again God knows where"; rather it should act in concert with the army and navy in furtherance of government policy. He is thus credited with laying the foundations for the RAAF's modern air power doctrine, which would eventually be codified as the Air Power Manual in 1990. Wrigley's widow bequeathed twenty volumes of his writings, maps and photographs to the RAAF Museum
RAAF Museum
RAAF Museum is the official museum of the Royal Australian Air Force, the second oldest air force in the world, located at RAAF Williams Point Cook. The museum displays aircraft of significance to the RAAF from its inception as the Australian Flying Corps to the present...
at Point Cook after his death; they were edited and published by Air Commodore Brendan O'Loghlin and Wing Commander Alan Stephens in 1990 as The Decisive Factor: Air Power Doctrine by Air Vice-Marshal H.N. Wrigley. In 1996, Wrigley's former residence as CO of RAAF Station Laverton prior to World War II was christened Wrigley House in his honour. His name is also borne by Henry Wrigley Drive, approaching Darwin International Airport
Darwin International Airport
Darwin International Airport is the busiest airport serving the Northern Territory and the tenth busiest airport in Australia. It is the only airport serving Darwin....
.