Oswald Watt Gold Medal

The Oswald Watt Gold Medal is an Australian aviation award named for Oswald Watt (1878–1921), a decorated pilot in World War I.

It originated in 1921 after the death of Oswald Watt and is awarded for "A most brilliant performance in the air or the most notable contribution to aviation by an Australian or in Australia" by the Royal Federation of Aero Clubs of Australia. As it is awarded on merit it is not an annual award; between the award's creation and 1999 it had been awarded a total of 48 times. It was not awarded in the years 2000 - 2010.[1]

Recipients

The recipients are:[2]

Fairey IIID floatplane flown by Ivor McIntyre during his circumnavigation of Australia in 1924
Van's RV-4 built and flown by Jon Johanson, 1995 medal recipient; on display at the South Australian Aviation Museum
Astronaut Andy Thomas, 1998 medal recipient
  • 1977 Horrie Miller – founder of MacRobertson Miller Airlines in 1927
  • 1978 No award
  • 1979 Bill Moyes
  • 1980-82 No awards
  • 1983 Dick Smith
  • 1984-87 No awards
  • 1988 Ian Honnery
  • 1989-91 No awards
  • 1992 Chris Dewhirst – the first person to fly a balloon over Mount Everest
  • 1993 George "Scotty" Allan
  • 1994 No award
  • 1995 Jon Johanson – flew around the world in a Van's RV-4 two seat homebuilt aircraft that he had built himself, leaving Adelaide's Parafield Airport on 26 June 1995 and arriving back at Parafield on 4 September 1995[7]
  • 1996 Shirley Adkins
  • 1997 Bernie Sarroff
  • 1998 Dr Andrew (Andy) Thomas – Australian-born NASA astronaut who was stationed on Mir Space Station for 141 days from January to June 1998; and was on Space Shuttle missions STS-77, STS-89/STS-91 (to and from Mir), STS-102 and STS-104
  • 1999 Paul D. Scully-Power[8]
  • 2000-2010 No awards
  • 2011 Squadron Leader Paul Simmons[9]
  • 2012 John W. Dickenson – "for a most notable contribution to Aviation by an Australian for his invention of the modern Hang Glider and making improvements in flight safety"
  • 2013 Marj Davis Gillespie – "her voluntary contribution of sixteen years to the Royal Federation of Aero Clubs of Australia, the Flying Training Industry and General Aviation"
  • 2014 Air Chief Marshal Sir Angus Houston – awarded for his work as head of the Joint Agency Coordination Centre, set up to oversee the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370; and as Australia's Special Envoy to Ukraine after the crash in Ukraine of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17
  • 2015 no award
  • 2016 George Alfred (Peter) Lloyd – second award; "for continued and valuable service to the Aviation Industry and in particular the safety of aviation"
  • 2017-2018 no awards
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See also

References
  1. "Awards". Royal Federation of Aero Clubs of Australia. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  2. Oswald Watt Gold Medal winners list, Royal Federation of Aero Clubs of Australia. Retrieved 9 October 2019
  3. "Flying Helmet - Major H.T Shaw, RFC & RAF, circa 1918". museumvictoria.com.au. Museum Victoria. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
  4. "Sydney Soaring Club's Slingsby Gull 4, c. 1948 - airframe parts" (PDF). Australian Gliding Museum. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  5. Johanson (1997) p.59
  6. "World Aviation in 1976". century-of-flight.net. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
  7. "VAN'S RV-4 Registration No. VH-NOJ", information placard, South Australian Aviation Museum
  8. CASA media release - CASA chairman honoured
  9. Squadron Leader Simmons Wins Oswald Watt Medal retrieved 8 September 2012
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