George Jones (RAAF officer)
Air Marshal Sir George Jones, KBE, CB, DFC was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force. He rose from private soldier in World War I to air marshal in 1948, and served as Chief of the Air Staff from 1942 to 1952. His achievements in the position were coloured by a divisive relationship during World War II with his nominal subordinate, Air Vice-Marshal William Bostock.
About George Jones (RAAF officer) in brief
Air Marshal Sir George Jones, KBE, CB, DFC was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force. He rose from private soldier in World War I to air marshal in 1948, and served as Chief of the Air Staff from 1942 to 1952. Jones was a surprise appointee to the Air Force’s top role, and his achievements in the position were coloured by a divisive relationship during World War II with his nominal subordinate, Air Vice-Marshal William Bostock. After his retirement from the RAAF, he continued to serve in the aircraft industry and later ran unsuccessfully for political office. He was knighted in 1953. Jones’ son, Ronald A. Jones, also played professionally on the piano, was born on November 2, 1920, in Rushworth, Victoria. He attended Rushworth State School, and completed his education at the age of 14 with a Certificate of Merit. Jones took an apprenticeship as a carpenter before moving to Melbourne, where he became a motor mechanic. He worked in several garages before commencing a part-time course in fitting and turning at the Working Men’s College of Melbourne. In May 1915 Jones joined the Australian Imperial Force, embarking for Egypt in August with the 9th Light Horse Regiment. He landed at Gallipoli the following month and served there until the end of the campaign in December. After briefly transferring to the Imperial Camel Corps, Jones applied to join the Australian Flying Corps in October 1916, taking a drop in rank from corporal to private to do so.
Jones became an air mechanic in No. 1 Squadron AFC, before being accepted for flying training in England. He gained his wings on 22 November 1917 and was posted to No. 4 Squadron AFC as a second lieutenant in January the following year. Flying Sopwith Camels and Snipes on the Western Front, Jones finished the war a captain and an ace, with seven aerial victories from 150 patrols. On 29 October 1918 he achieved two kills in one engagement, at Tournai, in what is frequently described as “one of the greatest air battles of the war”. He led his patrol of three Snipes in a confrontation on ten Fokkers, destroying a brace of enemy aircraft in a dive attack with the Distinguished Flying Cross. Jones remained with the Flying Corps until June 1919, as part of the British Occupation forces in Germany. After returning to Australia he worked as a turner in Melbourne. He married Muriel Croniel Cronan, a clerk, on October 2, 1919. The couple had a son Ronald A Jones, who arrived on November 15, 1919, and kept in touch throughout the war and kept touch in touch in Australia prior to the war. After the war, Jones remained in touch with his second son Ronald, who was born in 1921. Jones died on November 16, 1952, in Melbourne, aged 80. He is survived by his wife Muriel, Muriel and their son Ronald.
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