Charles Eaton (RAAF officer)

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Charles Eaton
Head-and-shoulders portrait of man in dark military uniform with ribbons and pilot's wings on chest
Group Captain Eaton commanding RAAF Southern Area, 1945
Nickname(s)"Moth"
Born(1895-12-21)21 December 1895
Lambeth, London, England
Died12 November 1979(1979-11-12) (aged 83)
Frankston, Victoria, Australia
Allegiance
  • United Kingdom
  • Australia
Service/branch
Years of service
  • 1914–20
  • 1925–45
Rank
Group Captain
Unit
Commands held
Battles/wars
Awards
Other workDiplomat

Charles Eaton, OBE, AFC (21 December 1895 – 12 November 1979) was a senior officer and aviator in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), and later served as a diplomat. Born in London, he joined the British Army upon the outbreak of World War I and saw action on the Western Front before transferring to the Royal Flying Corps in 1917. Posted as a bomber pilot to No. 206 Squadron, he was twice captured by German forces, and twice escaped. Eaton left the military in 1920 and worked in India until moving to Australia in 1923. Two years later he joined the RAAF, serving initially as an instructor at No. 1 Flying Training School. Between 1929 and 1931, he was chosen to lead three expeditions to search for lost aircraft in Central Australia, gaining national attention and earning the Air Force Cross for his "zeal and devotion to duty".[1]

In 1939, on the eve of World War II, Eaton became the inaugural commanding officer of

mentioned in despatches during operations in the South West Pacific. Retiring from the RAAF in December 1945, Eaton took up diplomatic posts in the Dutch East Indies, heading a United Nations commission as Consul-General during the Indonesian National Revolution. He returned to Australia in 1950, and served in Canberra
for a further two years. Popularly known as "Moth" Eaton, he was a farmer in later life, and died in 1979 aged 83. He is commemorated by several memorials in the Northern Territory.

Early life and World War I

Side view of military biplane with pilot in cockpit, parked on landing ground
Lieutenant Eaton RFC in a Martinsyde G.100 "Elephant" fighter, London, c. November 1917

Charles Eaton was born on 21 December 1895 in Lambeth, London, the son of William Walpole Eaton, a butcher, and his wife Grace. Schooled in Wandsworth, Charles worked in Battersea Town Council from the age of fourteen, before joining the London Regiment upon the outbreak of World War I in August 1914.[2][3] Attached to a bicycle company in the 24th Battalion of the 47th Division, he arrived at the Western Front in March 1915. He took part in trench bombing missions and attacks on enemy lines of communication, seeing action in the Battles of Aubers Ridge, Festubert, Loos, and the Somme.[3][4]

On 14 May 1915, Eaton transferred to the

wings in October. Ranked lieutenant, he served with No. 110 Squadron, which operated Martinsyde G.100 "Elephant" fighters out of Sedgeford, defending London against Zeppelin airships.[2][5] He was transferred to the newly formed Royal Air Force (RAF) in April 1918, and posted the following month to France flying Airco DH.9 single-engined bombers with No. 206 Squadron.[3] On 29 June, he was shot down behind enemy lines and captured in the vicinity of Nieppe. Incarcerated in Holzminden prisoner-of-war camp, Germany, Eaton escaped but was recaptured and court-martialled, after which he was kept in solitary confinement. He later effected another escape and succeeded in rejoining his squadron in the final days of the war.[2][6]

Between the wars

Half portrait of young grinning man in flying suit
Flight Lieutenant Eaton, "'Knight Errant' of the desert skies", c. 1929

Eaton remained in the RAF after the war. He married Beatrice Godfrey in St. Thomas's church at

South Yarra, Victoria, he enlisted as a flying officer in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) at Laverton on 14 August 1925.[9] He was posted to No. 1 Flying Training School at RAAF Point Cook, as a flight instructor, where he became known as a strict disciplinarian and a successful trainer.[6][7] Here Eaton acquired his nickname of "Moth", the Air Force's basic trainer at this time being the De Havilland DH.60 Moth. Promoted flight lieutenant in February 1928,[2] he flew a Moth in the 1929 East-West Air Race from Sydney to Perth, as part of the celebrations for the Western Australia Centenary; he was the sixth competitor across the line, after fellow RFC veteran Jerry Pentland.[10][11]

Regarded as one of the RAAF's most skilful cross-country pilots and navigators, Eaton came to public attention as leader of three military expeditions to find lost aircraft in

Wave Hill. Setting out from Wave Hill on 23 April, Eaton led a ground party across rough terrain that reached the crash site four days later and buried the crew, who had perished of thirst and exposure. Not a particularly religious man, he recalled that after the burial he saw a perfect cross formed by cirrus cloud in an otherwise clear blue sky above the Kookaburra.[12][14] The Air Board described the RAAF's search as taking 240 hours flying time "under the most trying conditions ... where a forced landing meant certain crash".[12] In November 1930, Eaton was selected to lead another expedition for a missing aircraft near Ayers Rock, but it was called off soon afterwards when the pilot showed up in Alice Springs. The next month, he was ordered to search for W.L. Pittendrigh and S.J. Hamre, who had disappeared in the biplane Golden Quest 2 while attempting to discover Lasseter's Reef. Employing four DH.60 Moths, the RAAF team located the missing men near Dashwood Creek on 7 January 1931, and they were rescued four days later by a ground party accompanied by Eaton. Staying in nearby Alice Springs, he recommended a site for the town's new airfield, which was approved and has remained in use since its construction.[13][15]

Blurry image of two men standing by tree stump with wreath
Eaton (right) and Sergeant Eric Douglas at Keith Anderson's grave, near the wreck of the Kookaburra, Central Australia, April 1929

Eaton was awarded the

Albert Medal for his heroism.[18]

Row of single-engined military monoplanes on airfield, propellers spinning
Wirraways of No. 12 (General Purpose) Squadron at RAAF Station Darwin in 1939

Following a 1937 decision to establish the first

wing commander on 1 March, he and his equipment officer, Flying Officer Hocking, were ordered to build up the unit as quickly as possible, and established an initial complement of fourteen officers and 120 airmen, plus four Ansons and four Demons, within a week. An advance party of thirty NCOs and airmen under Hocking began moving to Darwin on 1 July. Staff were initially accommodated in a former meatworks built during World War I, and life at the newly established air base had a "distinctly raw, pioneering feel about it" according to historian Chris Coulthard-Clark. Morale, though, was high.[19] On 31 August, No. 12 Squadron launched its first patrol over the Darwin area, flown by one of seven Ansons that had so far been delivered. These were augmented by a flight of four CAC Wirraways (replacing the originally planned force of Demons) that took off from Laverton on 2 September, the day before Australia declared war, and arrived in Darwin four days later. A fifth Wirraway in the flight crashed on landing at Darwin, killing both crewmen.[19][20]

World War II

Two men stripped to waist and covered in coal dust, one smoking a pipe
Wing Commander Eaton (left) during Darwin's coal strike in 1940

Once war was declared, Darwin began to receive more attention from military planners. In June 1940, No. 12 Squadron was "cannibalised" to form two other units, Headquarters RAAF Station Darwin and No. 13 Squadron. No. 12 Squadron retained its Wirraway flight, while its two flights of Ansons went to the new squadron; these were replaced later that month by more capable Lockheed Hudsons.[21] Eaton was appointed CO of the base, gaining promotion to temporary group captain in September.[2] His squadrons were employed in escort, maritime reconnaissance, and coastal patrol duties, the overworked aircraft having to be sent to RAAF Station Richmond, New South Wales, after every 240 hours flying time—with a consequent three-week loss from Darwin's strength—as deep maintenance was not yet possible in the Northern Territory.[21] Soon after the establishment of Headquarters RAAF Station Darwin, Minister for Air James Fairbairn visited the base. Piloting his own light plane, he was greeted by four Wirraways that proceeded to escort him into landing; the Minister subsequently complimented Eaton on the "keen-ness and efficiency of all ranks", particularly considering the challenging environment.[22] When Fairbairn died in the Canberra air disaster shortly afterwards, his pilot was Flight Lieutenant Robert Hitchcock, son of Bob Hitchcock of the Kookaburra and also a former member of Eaton's No. 21 Squadron.[23][24]

As senior air commander in the region, Eaton sat on the Darwin Defence Co-ordination Committee. He was occasionally at loggerheads with his naval counterpart,

North-Eastern Area Command in Townsville were strained; "mountains were made out of molehills" in his opinion, and he was reassigned that July to lead No. 2 Bombing and Gunnery School in Port Pirie, South Australia.[2]

Informal portrait of man with short dark hair in light-coloured open-necked military shirt, holding a pipe
Group Captain Eaton, commanding officer of RAAF Station Darwin, October 1941

On 30 November 1943, Eaton returned to the Northern Territory to establish No. 79 Wing at Batchelor, comprising No. 1 and No. 2 Squadrons (flying Bristol Beaufort light reconnaissance bombers), No. 31 Squadron (Bristol Beaufighter long-range fighters), and No. 18 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron (

mentioned in despatches on 28 October 1944 for his "Gallant and distinguished service" in NWA; this was promulgated in the London Gazette on 9 March 1945.[34][35]

Completing his tour with No. 79 Wing, Eaton was appointed Air Officer Commanding Southern Area, Melbourne, in January 1945. The German submarine U-862 operated off southern Australia during the first months of 1945, and the few combat units in Eaton's command were heavily engaged in anti-submarine patrols which sought to locate this and any other U-boats in the area. The Air Officer Commanding RAAF Command, Air Vice Marshal Bill Bostock, considered the sporadic attacks to be partly "nuisance value", designed to draw Allied resources away from the front line of the South West Pacific war. In April, Eaton complained to Bostock that intelligence from British Pacific Fleet concerning its ships' movements eastwards out of Western Area was hours out of date by the time it was received at Southern Area Command, leading to RAAF aircraft missing their rendezvous and wasting valuable flying hours searching empty ocean. There had been no U-boat strikes since February, and by June the naval authorities indicated that there was no pressing need for air cover except for the most important vessels.[36]

Post-war career and legacy

Two men in light-coloured clothing, seated on a couch
Eaton as Australian Consul-General to Indonesia, with Sukarno in 1947

Eaton retired from the RAAF on 31 December 1945.

Department of External Affairs in Canberra.[2] After retiring from public service in 1951, he and his wife farmed at Metung, Victoria, and cultivated orchids.[38][40] They later moved to Frankston, where Eaton was involved in promotional work.[2]

Charles Eaton died in Frankston on 12 November 1979. Survived by his wife and two sons, he was cremated. In accordance with his wishes, his ashes were scattered near Tennant Creek, site of his 1929 forced landing during the search for the Kookaburra, from an RAAF

Air Commodore
Mark Lax, recalling Eaton's search-and-rescue missions between the wars, commented:

Today, we might think of Eaton perhaps as the pioneer of our contribution to assistance to the civil community—a tradition that continues today. Perhaps I might jog your memory to a more recent series of rescues no less hazardous for all concerned—the amazing location of missing yachtsmen Thierry Dubois, Isabelle Autissier and Tony Bullimore by our P-3s that guided the Navy to their eventual rescue. My observation is that such activities remain vital for our relevance in that we must remain connected, supportive and responsive to the wants and needs of the Australian community.[13]

Notes

  1. ^ a b "No. 33697". The London Gazette. 10 March 1931. p. 1648.
  2. ^
    ISSN 1833-7538
    . Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d Williamson, Mitch (2002). "'Moth' Eaton: From Trench to Sky". Cross and Cockade. Vol. 33. pp. 104–110.
  4. ^ a b Kelton, Group Captain Mark (23 March 2006). "Remembered: Darwin's man of action". Air Force News. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  5. ^ "P03531.004". Australian War Memorial. Archived from the original on 13 August 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  6. ^ a b c Grose, An Awkward Truth, p. 51
  7. ^ a b c d e Farram, Charles "Moth" Eaton, pp. 1–3
  8. ^ Alexander, Who's Who in Australia 1950, p. 235
  9. ^ a b "Eaton, Charles". World War 2 Nominal Roll. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  10. ^ Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, p. 404
  11. ^ "East-West Air Race Ends". The Age. 7 October 1929. Archived from the original on 15 September 2009. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  12. ^ a b c Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, pp. 297–303
  13. ^ a b c d e f Lax, 100 Years of Aviation, p. 81
  14. ^ a b Farram, Charles "Moth" Eaton, pp. 4–12
  15. ^ Farram, Charles "Moth" Eaton, pp. 13–17
  16. ^ Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, p. 268
  17. ^ Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, p. 450
  18. ^ Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, pp. 342–344
  19. ^ a b Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, pp. 145–148
  20. ^ Farram, Charles "Moth" Eaton, p. 22
  21. ^ a b c d Gillison, Royal Australian Air Force 1939–1942, pp. 125–126 Archived 13 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  22. ^ RAAF Historical Section, Units of the Royal Australian Air Force, p. 5
  23. ^ a b Farram, Charles "Moth" Eaton, p. 27
  24. ^ Wilson, The Brotherhood of Airmen, pp. 36–37
  25. ^ Farram, Charles "Moth" Eaton, p. 31
  26. ^ Farram, Charles "Moth" Eaton, p. 36
  27. ^ Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, p. 136
  28. ^ "No. 35399". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1942. p. 13.
  29. ^ Odgers, Air War Against Japan, pp. 114–115 Archived 27 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  30. ^ Farram, Charles "Moth" Eaton, p. 38
  31. ^ a b c d Odgers, Air War Against Japan, pp. 215–218
  32. ^ a b Farram, Charles "Moth" Eaton, pp. 48–49
  33. ^ Odgers, Air War Against Japan, pp. 243–244
  34. ^ Recommendation: Mention in Dispatches Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine at Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  35. ^ "No. 36975". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 March 1945. p. 1326.
  36. ^ Odgers, Air War Against Japan, pp. 351–354 Archived 2 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  37. ^ "Award: Dutch Order of Orange-Nassau – Commander". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  38. ^ a b c Farram, Charles "Moth" Eaton, pp. 52–53
  39. ^ RAAF, The Australian Experience of Air Power, pp. 142–143
  40. ^ a b Farram, Charles "Moth" Eaton, pp. 54–55
  41. ^ "Search results for 'Eaton (Suburb)'". NT Place Names Register. Northern Territory Government. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  42. ^ "Search results for 'Charles Eaton Drive'". NT Place Names Register. Northern Territory Government. Retrieved 22 February 2019.

References

Further reading