Alfred George Pither

Alfred George Pither
Alfred George Pither
Born	16 October 1908; Air Commodore
Service number	O323
Commands held	No. 1 Aircraft Depot RAAF
Battles/wars	Second World War: New Guinea campaign; North-West Europe Campaign of 1944–45; Occupation of Japan;
Awards	Commander of the Order of the British Empire

Long Range Weapons Establishment, which he named "Woomera

".

Early life

Flight training course in December 1930. Pither is seated, second from the left

Alfred George Pither was born in

leaving certificate. He served in the Australian Army Cadets from 1 July 1925 to 28 October 1926, reaching the rank of corporal. He entered the Royal Military College, Duntroon, on 16 February 1927.^[2]

On graduation from Duntroon on 9 December 1930, Pither was commissioned as a

Caulfield Military Hospital on 19 December 1932 with appendicitis, but the operation was botched. A swab was left in his stomach, resulting in infection. He was readmitted, and a kidney had to be removed.^[4]

Temporarily rendered unfit for flying duties, Pither pursued his interest in signals. He sailed for the UK on the

RAAF Point Cook. He was promoted to the temporary rank of squadron leader on 1 September 1939.^[3]^[4]

Second World War

On 23 October 1939, shortly after the outbreak of

wing commander on 1 January 1941, he returned to Australia by way of the United States and Canada, where he studied the latest developments. While he was in Canada, he married a Sydney-born woman, Lillian Ruth Ball, at Christ Church Cathedral in Vancouver on 13 April 1941.^[1]

Returning to Australia in May 1941, Pither became the head of Section S7 of the RAAF Directorate of Signals, which was responsible for radar. He established a new school, No. 1 Radio School (later renamed No. 1 Radar School) to train specialists in the operation and maintenance of radar sets. The school officially opened on 4 August 1941, although 23 mechanics had already commenced the first course on 29 July. The course was based on the ASV Mk. I radar set, the only model available in Australia at the time. Later in the year, an RAF officer and three NCOs, with a Chain Home Low set made it possible to also give courses in ground-based radar. On 7 November 1941, the War Cabinet ordered that a series of early warning radar installations be established across northern Australia.^[4]

Pither, whose S7 Section became the RAAF Directorate of Radar in January 1942, found himself engaged in a desperate race against time after Japan entered the war, and Japanese aircraft soon began appearing over Australia. The only unit under his control was No. 1 Radar School, but he liaised with the

Melbourne Technical College that helped train his radar officers and mechanics, respectively. The Australian Light Weight Air Warning Radar (LW/AW) radar was a success, and was used by the British and American forces as well. By the end of 1942, 136 officers, 500 mechanics and 1,000 operators had been trained, 100 aircraft had been fitted with radar sets and 57 radar stations were operational.^[4]

This was not accomplished without cutting red tape and treading on toes. In October 1943. Pither was sent to the UK on exchange. There he worked on the radar arrangements for Operation Overlord. In July 1944 he joined No. 80 Wing RAF. He was placed in command of a radio-jamming unit in southern England that was specifically established to jam the electronic guidance systems of German V-2 rockets. His unit followed in the wake of the allied advance into Belgium, continuing its campaign against the V-2 rockets. He returned to Australia in December 1944, and became head of the Directorate of Radar once more, but the crisis had passed and there was little to do.^[1]^[4]

Post-war

In October 1945, the wake of the

Emu Field in South Australia in 1953.^[1]^[4]

Pither returned to duty with the RAAF on 14 July 1954, and became Director of Telecommunications and Radar on 20 September 1954.

Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1956 New Year Honours.^[5] On 2 June 1959, he assumed command of No. 1 Aircraft Depot RAAF. He took charge of RAAF Laverton on 21 June 1961. On 29 January 1963 he became staff officer for telecommunication engineering at Headquarters RAAF Support Command in Melbourne.^[3] His first wife died in 1964. On 18 December 1964, he married Ethel Constance Jones née Wilton at the Methodist Church in Camberwell, Victoria.^[1] He retired on 16 February 1966 with the honorary rank of air commodore.^[3]

In retirement, Pither served as treasurer and councillor of the state branch of the

coronary infarction, and his remains were cremated. He was survived by his wife and the twin son and daughter from his first marriage.^[1]