Clyde Fenton
Clyde Fenton | |
---|---|
Warrnambool, Victoria, Australia | |
Died | 28 February 1982 , Australia | (aged 80)
Occupation | Flying Doctor |
Clyde Cornwall Fenton
Biography
Fenton was born in
He then joined the Royal Air Force in England in October 1927, where he gained navigation qualifications, however he resigned soon after in February 1930 after disputes over regulations. In England Fenton also had a short lived marriage to Eve Ryan-Gallacher which ended in divorce.[1]
Fenton had earned his pilot's licence with a goal to join the
Calls for medical assistance came through the two RFDS stations at
To the Civil Aviation Department Fenton was a disaster, but to the people of the Top End, he was a hero. On May 14, 1935, Fenton was fined £20 for "endangering public safety" by swooping low over the Star Theatre, Darwin several times, including once between "the front of the circle and the screen".[5] In 1936 he made an unsanctioned flight to China after hearing of his sister's death in child-birth there, he flew there in a small open aircraft to bring his mother home.[6][7]
On 14 May 1940 he received his call up for the RAAF by telegram. He was eventually based at Manbulloo airstrip near Katherine, from where he made many emergency medical flights. In August 1942 the No 6 Communications Flight was formed with Flight Lieutenant Fenton in command; this was known as `Fenton’s Flying Freighters’.[1] This unit delivered mail and food supplies to army and RAAF outposts, as far afield as the Wessell Islands. The unit was at various times based at the Ross Smith Aerodrome in Darwin, and at the Batchelor airstrip.[4]
Fenton left the Territory after the war and begun working for the Commonwealth Department of Health, initially in Brisbane. While there he wrote Flying Doctor (1947).[8] He married Sheila Ethyl Young, a nurse and widow, in Sydney on 10 October 1949 and they divorced in October 1959. He transferred to Melbourne in 1949 and on 29 March 1963 he married Lavinia Florence Catalano. He retired from medicine in March 1966 and died on 27 February 1982.[9]
Legacy
One of the planes he flew, a
Awards
- Oswald Watt Gold Medal, an Australian aviation award.
Namesakes
- Clyde Fenton Primary School, Katherine, Northern Territory, Australia
- Fenton Airfield, World War II airfield in the Northern Territory, Australia
- Clyde Fenton Hangar, Katherine Historical Society Precinct, Katherine, Northern Territory, Australia
References
- ^ a b c d Reid, Brian, "Clyde Cornwall Fenton (1901–1982)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 2 February 2024
- ^ "Health and Medicine Museums Newsletter" (PDF). Health and Medicine Museums. December 1998. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 July 2008. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
- ^ "Flying Doctor Books". Archived from the original on 5 April 2010. Retrieved 18 April 2010.
- ^ a b c d "Clyde Fenton's Story". Northern Territory Government. Archived from the original on 12 September 2008. Retrieved 18 April 2010.
- ^ "FINED £20". The Northern Miner. Queensland, Australia. 14 May 1935. p. 2. Retrieved 2 February 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Tales from the cockpit of one of Australia's 'original' flying doctors". ABC News. 12 August 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
- Barrier Miner. Vol. LIII, no. 15, 818. New South Wales, Australia. 30 May 1940. p. 4. Retrieved 2 February 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ISBN 978-0-7245-0531-9
- ISSN 1833-7538.
- ^ "Clyde Fenton Primary School: History". cfs.nt.edu.au. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
- ^ "Fenton Airfield". NT Heritage Register. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
External links
- "Attractions". Northern Gateway. Archived from the original on 14 October 2009. Retrieved 29 April 2010.