Allan Walters

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 and raised in Western Australia, 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, No. 72 Wing in Dutch New Guinea, and Northern Command in Papua New Guinea. He was decorated with the Air Force Cross in 1941 for his work with No. 1 Squadron, and mentioned in despatches in 1944 for his service with No. 72 Wing.

Allan Leslie Walters
Group Captain Allan Walters, 1942
Nickname(s)"Wally"
Born2 November 1905
Ascot Vale, Victoria
Died19 October 1968(1968-10-19) (aged 62)
Heidelberg, Victoria
AllegianceAustralia
Service/branchRoyal Australian Air Force
Years of service1923–62
RankAir Vice Marshal
Commands heldNo. 22 Squadron (1937–38)
No. 3 Squadron (1938–39)
No. 1 Squadron (1940–41)
RAAF Station Laverton (1941–42)
No. 1 Wing (1942–43)
No. 72 Wing (1943–44)
Northern Command (1945–46)
Southern Area Command (1948–50)
RAAF Overseas HQ (1951–52)
Home Command (1954–57)
Support Command (1959–62)
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsCompanion of the Order of the Bath
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Air Force Cross
Mentioned in Despatches

Walters was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1946 for his service with Northern Command. Already marked out for senior roles in the post-war RAAF, his positions during the 1950s included Air Officer Commanding (AOC) Southern Area Command, AOC RAAF Overseas Headquarters in London, Head of the Australian Joint Services Staff in Washington, D.C., AOC Home Command, Air Member for Personnel, and AOC Support Command. He was promoted acting air vice marshal in 1952 (substantive in 1954), and appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1956. Popularly known as "Wally",[1] he was twice a candidate for Chief of the Air Staff, and twice passed over. He retired from the RAAF in 1962 and made his home in Melbourne, where he died in 1968 at the age of sixty-two.

Early career

Allan Leslie 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.[1] At Duntroon he specialised in field artillery, and excelled at athletics.[2] Graduating as a lieutenant in December 1927, he transferred to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) on 1 February 1928.[1][3] Walters' preferred career path in the military was engineering, and it was only when he failed to gain selection for this field after his graduation that he applied to transfer to the Air Force, which, having no cadet college of its own, had arranged with Duntroon to take one of its artillery specialists each year for secondment as a pilot.[4] He commenced his course at RAAF Point Cook, Victoria, in mid-1928, and graduated as a flying officer in March 1929.[1][4] Walters showed an aptitude for instruction, and after further training was graded an 'A1' flight instructor, a rare distinction. Posted to No. 3 Squadron at RAAF Station Richmond, New South Wales, operating Westland Wapitis, he also made a name for himself performing aerobatics at air shows throughout the country.[1][5] 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; their daughter Robin was born in Richmond.[1][6]

Westland Wapitis of No. 3 Squadron in the Richmond area, October 1932

Walters was granted a permanent commission in the Air Force in 1930.[2] On 5 January 1931, by now promoted flight lieutenant, he 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.[7] He temporarily commanded No. 3 Squadron during October 1933, in the absence of Squadron Leader Bill Bostock. At the time, the commanding officer of No. 3 Squadron also held command of RAAF Station Richmond.[8] 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][9] He also undertook a naval reconnaissance course at RAF Manston. Returning to Australia in May, he took command of No. 22 Squadron in June, flying Hawker Demons and Avro Ansons out of Richmond until February 1938.[2][10]

Between 6 and 23 February 1938, Walters 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.[11] He returned to Richmond in May 1938 to lead No. 3 Squadron, operating Demons, and again took part in aerobatic displays.[8][12] On 25 October 1938, his Demon crashed in scrub at Tumbi Umbi, New South Wales, when the engine failed shortly after taking off for Richmond, but he was not injured.[13] Completing his Richmond appointment in May 1939, Walters transferred to Melbourne as Director of Staff Duties at RAAF Headquarters.[8][9] Later that month, he joined Group Captain Henry Wrigley as an expert assessor on the panel of an inquiry into a recent series 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.[14]

World War II
Group Captain Walters (second from left) in May 1942 with members of HQ Allied Air Forces SWPA, including Group Captain Val Hancock (centre), Air Commodore Joe Hewitt (second from right), and newly appointed Chief of the Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal George Jones (right, seated)

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.[1][15] His promotion to temporary wing commander was announced the same month.[16] He had earlier travelled incognito to Singapore on a Qantas Empire flying boat, which had been specifically requested to deviate from its normal flight path so that he could reconnoiter airfields in the Dutch East Indies.[17] Deployed in response to fears of Japanese expansion in Malaya, No. 1 Squadron was the first Australian unit equipped with Lockheed Hudson light bombers, which were employed primarily for maritime patrol work.[15][18] 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][19] He succeeded Frank Lukis as commanding officer of RAAF Station Laverton, Victoria, in May the same year, and was promoted acting group captain.[2][20] In May 1942, he joined Allied Air Forces Headquarters, South West Pacific Area (SWPA), in Melbourne as Assistant Director of Operations.[21] He was made a temporary group captain in September, and transferred to Headquarters RAAF Command as senior air staff officer.[22][23]

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 three Supermarine Spitfire squadrons that had been transferred from Europe: No. 54 Squadron RAF, No. 452 Squadron RAAF and No. 457 Squadron RAAF. With Wing Commander Clive Caldwell, Australia's top-scoring flying ace of the war, as his wing leader, Walters began deploying aircraft and men to Darwin, Northern Territory, in December, providing a fillip for morale in the region.[24][25] Proudly declaring himself Australia's oldest fighter pilot, Walters was reported as taking every opportunity to join his men in the air.[1][26] He flew as Caldwell's wingman in No. 1 Wing's first major action against the Japanese over Darwin on 2 May 1943.[27] Eight Spitfires crashed and several others made forced landings, for the destruction of one Japanese bomber and five fighters.[28] Walters narrowly avoiding being shot down when he warned Caldwell 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!"[27] On 20 June, Walters participated in the wing's most successful combat against the Japanese to that time, personally accounting for one of fourteen raiders claimed by the Spitfires, for the loss of two of their own number.[29] He posted out of Darwin a few days later, having earned the admiration of Caldwell and the rest of the wing's personnel.[30]

Walters (right) as Officer Commanding No. 72 Wing in New Guinea, December 1943

Walters assumed command of No. 5 Service Flying Training School in Uranquinty, New South Wales, on 30 June 1943, but the next month was posted to Merauke in Dutch New Guinea to take over No. 72 Wing following reassignment of its original commander, Group Captain Charles Eaton.[15][31][32] Comprising No. 84 Squadron (flying CAC Boomerang fighters), No. 86 Squadron (Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk fighters), and No. 12 Squadron (Vultee 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.[33] Group Captain Bill Hely assumed command of No. 72 Wing in May 1944, and Walters was appointed Director of Staff Policy and Plans at RAAF Headquarters.[2][34] He was mentioned in despatches on 28 October 1944 for his "Gallant & distinguished service" in North-Eastern Area, the award being promulgated on 9 March 1945.[35][36]

In February 1945, Walters was promoted to acting air commodore and took over from Air Commodore Lukis as Air Officer Commanding (AOC) Northern Command, directing its operations in New Guinea, New Britain and Bougainville until the end of the war.[1][37] Headquartered at Madang in Papua New Guinea, Northern Command had previously been a large mobile formation known as No. 9 (Operational) Group but had evolved into a garrison force, its mobile function supplanted by No. 10 (Operational) Group (later First Tactical Air Force).[38][39] Northern Command's operational formations included No. 71 Wing in northern New Guinea, No. 74 Wing at Port Moresby, and No. 84 Wing on Bougainville.[40] No. 71 Wing, commanded by Group Captain Val Hancock, supported the Australian 6th Division during the Aitape–Wewak Campaign, despite ordnance deficiencies that at one stage led to its squadrons arming their Bristol Beauforts with captured Japanese bombs.[41] No. 84 Wing suffered shortages in pilots and equipment during the Bougainville Campaign, and morale problems following the end of the war owing to inactivity and the uncertainties of demobilisation; as a result, the wing's commanding officer sent Northern Command headquarters a frank report, the tone of which earned a rebuke from Walters.[42][43] In September, Walters represented the RAAF at the Japanese surrender ceremonies in Wewak.[1]

Post-war career

Walters was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the King's Birthday Honours on 25 June 1946, for his "conspicuous service in operations against the Japanese" while leading Northern Command during the war.[44][45] After completing his term as AOC Northern Command that year, Walters again became Director of Staff Plans and Policy at RAAF Headquarters.[1][2] He attended the Imperial Defence College, London, in 1947.[9] Walters was among a small coterie of highly regarded operational commanders, including Air Commodores John McCauley, Fred Scherger and Val Hancock, earmarked by the Australian Air Board for senior leadership roles in the post-war RAAF.[46][47] In the short term, he remained a temporary air commodore—with the substantive rank of group captain from May 1947—as the officer corps shrank drastically with demobilisation.[47][48] He was selected as AOC Southern Area Command, hub of the RAAF's training organisation, in March 1948.[49][50] The following month, he flew to Morotai to preside over a court-martial for an RAAF airman accused of killing an officer of the Dutch merchant marine; the airman was acquitted.[51][52]

Air Vice Marshal Walters as Air Officer Commanding Home Command, 1954

In January 1951, Walters was appointed AOC RAAF Overseas Headquarters in London.[53] That December, 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 resulted in No. 78 Wing being re-formed and deployed to Malta in July 1952. Although Walters was keen to use the opportunity to acquire the RAAF's first North American F-86 Sabres, political realities led him to negotiate a deal whereby the wing was equipped with leased British de Havilland Vampire FB.9s.[9][54] In October 1952, Walters was promoted to acting air vice marshal and posted to Washington, D.C., to head up the Australian Joint Services Staff as successor to Air Vice Marshal Scherger.[55] Walters' rank was made permanent in January 1954, when he succeeded Air Vice Marshal McCauley to become AOC Home Command.[1][56] Walters held this post, responsible for directing the RAAF's combat units, for three years. His tenure witnessed the introduction of the CAC Sabre to operational service with the Air Force, when No. 3 Squadron took delivery of its first machine in March 1956.[9][57]

Walters was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the 1956 New Year Honours.[58][59] In March 1957, he was one of three candidates, along with Air Vice Marshals Scherger and Hancock, touted as possible successors to Air Marshal Sir John McCauley as Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), the RAAF's senior position. Though Walters was considered to be very able, Scherger had long been regarded as outstanding and was "easily the best material on offer" according to a former CAS, Air Marshal Sir Donald Hardman.[60] Scherger gained the appointment, and Walters became Air Member for Personnel (AMP) on 21 October.[61] As AMP he occupied a seat on the Air Board, the service's controlling body that comprised its senior officers and was chaired by the CAS.[1][62] In this role Walters endorsed the recommendations of a review by the AOC Training Command, Air Vice Marshal Ian McLachlan, that led to a policy of RAAF College cadets undertaking academic degrees, in line with similar institutions in the other armed services; the college was subsequently renamed RAAF Academy.[63][64] Walters served as AMP until August 1959.[61] The following month he was appointed AOC Support Command, a new organisation created by merging the RAAF's former Training and Maintenance Commands.[2][65] 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 Air Force historians Alan Stephens and Jeff Isaacs, Hancock's "professional ability, operational experience and personal qualities" being deemed more appropriate for the role.[66]

Retirement

Walters left the RAAF on 16 May 1962, after completing his posting at Headquarters Support Command. His pending retirement and succession by Air Vice Marshal Douglas Candy had been announced the previous November.[3][67] Walters followed horse racing in private life. Survived by his wife and daughter, he died from cardiorenal failure in Heidelberg, Melbourne, on 19 October 1968. He was accorded an Air Force funeral at The Scots Church, Melbourne, and cremated.[1][68] His pall bearers included two former CASs, Air Marshals Sir Richard Williams and Sir George Jones, along with Air Vice Marshals Henry Wrigley, Joe Hewitt, Colin Hannah, and Douglas Candy.[68]

Notes
  1. Funnell, Ray. "Walters, Allan Leslie (1905–1968)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
  2. "34 years service ends". RAAF News. May 1962. p. 6.
  3. "Walters, Allan Leslie". World War 2 Nominal Roll. Retrieved 12 March 2010.
  4. Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, pp. 191–192, 196
  5. Roylance, Air Base Richmond, pp. 31–33
  6. "Two service wives and a daughter". The Sun-Herald. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 31 January 1954. p. 36. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  7. Roylance, Air Base Richmond, pp. 38–39
  8. Roylance, Air Base Richmond, pp. 46, 123
  9. Coulthard-Clark, Air Marshals of the RAAF, p. 34
  10. Roylance, Air Base Richmond, p. 115
  11. Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, p. 394
  12. "Thousands flock to Narromine air pageant". Narromine News and Trangie Advocate. Narromine, New South Wales: National Library of Australia. 27 September 1938. p. 4. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  13. "Hawker Demon crashed into scrub". The Northern Star. Lismore, New South Wales: National Library of Australia. 26 October 1938. p. 7. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  14. Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, pp. 349–350
  15. Gillison, Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 141–142 Archived 1 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  16. "Promotion received". The Mercury. Hobart: National Library of Australia. 17 July 1940. p. 2. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  17. Helson, The Forgotten Air Force, pp. 54–55
  18. "No. 1 Squadron". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 12 March 2010.
  19. "No. 35204". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 July 1941. p. 3752.
  20. RAAF Historical Section, Introduction, Bases, Supporting Organisations, pp. 144–145
  21. Ashworth, How Not to Run an Air Force!, p. 112
  22. "RAAF promotions". The Canberra Times. Canberra: National Library of Australia. 25 September 1942. p. 2. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  23. Gillison, Royal Australian Air Force, p. 588 Archived 5 June 2009 at WebCite
  24. Roylance, Air Base Richmond, pp. 83–84
  25. Gillison, Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 651–652 Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  26. "Fighter pilot at 37". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 22 July 1943. p. 4. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  27. Alexander, Clive Caldwell, pp. 109–111
  28. Odgers, Air War Against Japan, pp. 46–49 Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  29. Odgers, Air War Against Japan, pp. 59–60 Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  30. Alexander, Clive Caldwell, p. 141
  31. Clark, Chris. Eaton, Charles (1895–1979). Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
  32. RAAF Historical Section, Training Units, p. 108
  33. Odgers, Air War Against Japan, pp. 114–116 Archived 27 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  34. Eaton, Brian. Hely, William Lloyd (Bill) (1909–1970). Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
  35. "Recommendation: Mention in Dispatches" (PDF). Australian War Memorial. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 12 March 2010.
  36. "No. 36975". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 March 1945. p. 1326.
  37. Ashworth, How Not to Run an Air Force!, pp. 295
  38. Odgers, Air War Against Japan, p. 335 Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  39. Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 144, 168
  40. "Governor will lead march". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 22 April 1950. p. 3. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  41. Odgers, Air War Against Japan, pp. 335, 343–347 Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  42. Odgers, Air War Against Japan, p. 326 Archived 6 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  43. No. 84 (Army Co-operation) Wing. "Operations record book". pp. 21–23. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  44. "Recommendation: Commander of the Order of the British Empire" (PDF). Australian War Memorial. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 April 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2010.
  45. "No. 37625". The London Gazette (Supplement). 25 June 1946. p. 3217.
  46. Helson, Ten Years at the Top, p. 238
  47. Stephens, Going Solo, pp. 24–27, 73
  48. "Promotions in RAAF". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 30 May 1947. p. 7. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  49. "New AOC chosen for Southern Command". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 25 March 1948. p. 3. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  50. Stephens, Going Solo, pp. 73–75
  51. "Court to try airman". The Daily News. Perth: National Library of Australia. 7 April 1948. p. 7. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  52. "RAAF court martial". Centralian Advocate. Alice Springs, Northern Territory: National Library of Australia. 16 April 1948. p. 3. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  53. "RAAF command appointments". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 31 January 1951. p. 8. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  54. Stephens, Going Solo, pp. 202–203
  55. "WA officer gets big defence job". The West Australian. Perth: National Library of Australia. 10 October 1952. p. 13. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  56. "New RAAF commander arrives to-day". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 6 January 1954. p. 13. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  57. Stephens, Going Solo, pp. 75, 348–349
  58. "Awarded: Companion of the Bath". Australian War Memorial. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2010.
  59. "No. 40670". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 January 1956. p. 39.
  60. Stephens; Isaacs, High Fliers, p. 123
  61. Stephens, Going Solo, pp. 499–500
  62. Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, p. 52
  63. Frost, RAAF College & Academy, pp. 36–38
  64. Stephens, Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 188–189
  65. Stephens, Going Solo, p. 76
  66. Stephens; Isaacs, High Fliers, p. 137
  67. "RAAF changes". The Canberra Times. Canberra: National Library of Australia. 28 November 1961. p. 2. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  68. "Service funeral for AVM". RAAF News. December 1968. p. 3.
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References
Military offices
Preceded by
Air Vice Marshal John McCauley		 Air Officer Commanding Home Command
1954–1957		 Succeeded by
Air Vice Marshal Douglas Candy
Preceded by
Air Commodore Frank Headlam		 Air Member for Personnel
1957–1959		 Succeeded by
Air Commodore Frank Headlam
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