Alister Murray Murdoch KBE CB (1912 - 1984)

Born 9 Dec 1912 in Elsternwick, Victoria, Australia

Ancestors

Husband of Florence Eilene (Miller) Murdoch — married 29 Dec 1937 in Paglesham, Essex, England

Died 24 Oct 1984 at age 71 in Mona Vale, New South Wales, Australia

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Kenneth Evans [send private message]

Biography

Alister Murdoch KBE CB is Notable.

Air Marshal Sir Alister Murdoch KBE CB was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), serving as Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) from 1965 to 1969.

Alister Murdoch KBE CB was born in Victoria, Australia

Alister Murray Murdoch was born on 9th December 1912 in Elsternwick, nine kilometres south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, Victoria, Australia. He was the second of three sons and fourth of five children of Brigadier Thomas Murdoch and Kathleen Tiernan. ^[1] Educated at Caulfield Grammar School, Alister entered the Royal Military College, Duntroon, in 1929, following his elder brother, Ian Murdoch (later a Major General in the Australian Army). Alister was one of four cadets sponsored that year by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), which did not at that stage have its own officer training college.

Alister Murdoch KBE CB is a Military Veteran.
Served in the Royal Australian Air Force 1929-1969
was Chief of the Air Staff1965-69

Upon graduation (early, due to budgetary constaints during the Great Depression), he was commissioned into the RAAF. ^[2] Alister trained as a seaplane pilot, and participated in an Antarctic rescue mission for lost explorers in 1936.

On 28th December 1937 in St Peter's Parish Church, Paglesham, a village in the south-east of Essex, Alister married Florence Miller. ^[3]

Alister planned many of Eastern Area Command's bombing and mining operations in the South West Pacific Theatre during the Second World War, and was Mentioned in Despatches for his 'distinguished service' in the role. Also during the Second World War, he commanded No. 221 Squadron RAF in Europe and the Middle East, and later occupied senior positions on the staff of RAAF formations in the South West Pacific.

Alister was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) on 25th June 1946 for 'conspicuous service in operations against the Japanese' during the Second World War. ^[4] One of a small coterie of officers earmarked for top positions in the post-war Air Force, he was Director of Personnel Services in 1946–47 before attending Imperial Defence College, London, in 1948.

His post-war appointments included Commandant of RAAF College from 1952 to 1953, Air Officer Commanding (AOC) Training Command from 1953 to 1955, Deputy Chief of the Air Staff from 1958 to 1959, and AOC Operational Command from 1962 to 1965. As AOC Training Command in 1954, Alister headed a program to determine aircraft purchases for the RAAF; his recommendations included the C-130 Hercules transport, considered one of the most important acquisitions in the RAAF's history. He was also involved in assessing the readiness of the General Dynamics F-111C for RAAF service. Appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the New Year Honours 1960 for his 'service as the Head of the Joint Services Staff in London' ^[5][6] and raised to Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in the Queen's Birthday Honours 1966, ^[7][8] Alister was the fourth in a series of CASs who had been cadets at the Royal Military College, Duntroon. He retired from the RAAF in December 1969.

He was soon after co-opted to a committee, headed by Justice Peter Coldham, to consider the pay scales of all three services. In 1971, Alister joined the board of directors of Meggitt Limited, an oilseed-crushing firm that was chaired by Second World War fighter ace Nicky Barr.

Aged 71 years, he passed away on 24th October 1984 at home in Mona Vale, on Sydney's Northern Beaches, 28 kilometres north-east of the Central Business District, ^[9] and his ashes placed in the Sydney Owen Reynolds Memorial Wall & Garden, Mona Vale Cemetery. ^[10][11] He was survived by his wife, whose ashes are now placed with his, and their daughter and her family.

Sources

1. ↑ Victoria Birth Index #3126/1913
2. ↑ Australian War Memorial nominal roll: O328 (58) Air Marshal Alister Murray Murdoch; accessed 19 Jun 2018
3. ↑ UK FreeBMD Marriage Index Dec qtr 1937, vol 4a, page 1701
4. ↑ London Gazette 21st June 1946 Supplement 37625 Page 3217; accessed 19 Jun 2018
5. ↑ Australian Honours: CB; accessed 12 Oct 2023
6. ↑ London Gazette 29th December 1959 Supplement 41910 Page 37; accessed 19 Jun 2018
7. ↑ Australian Honours: KBE; accessed 12 Oct 2023
8. ↑ London Gazette 3rd June 1966 Supplement 44005 Page 6566; accessed 19 Jun 2018
9. ↑ New South Wales Death Index #22999/1984
10. ↑ Find-a-Grave; accessed 12 Oct 2023
11. ↑ Mona Vale Cemetery; accessed 12 Oct 2023

See also

• Thomson, D S. Murdoch, Sir Alister Murray (1912–1984). Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 2012, accessed online 24 Nov 2018.
• Wikipedia: Alister Murdoch; accessed 19 Jun 2018.