Allan Walters

Allan Leslie Walters
Allan Leslie Walters
	Group Captain Allan Walters, 1942
Nickname(s)	"Wally"
Born	2 November 1905; Ascot Vale, Victoria
Died	19 October 1968 (aged 62); Heidelberg, Victoria
Allegiance	Australia
Service/branch	Royal Australian Air Force
Years of service	1923–1963
Rank	Air Vice Marshal
Commands held	No. 22 Squadron (1937–38); No. 3 Squadron (1938–39); No. 1 Squadron (1940–41); RAAF Station Laverton (1941–42); No. 1 Wing (1942–43); No. 72 Wing (1943–44); Northern Command (1945–46); Southern Area Command (1948–50); RAAF Overseas HQ (1951–52); Home Command (1954–57); Support Command (1959–62)
Battles/wars	World War II South West Pacific Theatre; North Western Area Campaign; New Guinea Campaign;
Awards	Companion of the Order of the Bath; Commander of the Order of the British Empire; Air Force Cross; Mentioned in Despatches

Air Vice Marshal Allan Leslie Walters, CB, CBE, AFC (2 November 1905 – 19 October 1968) was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Born in Victoria and raised in Western Australia, he graduated from the Royal Military College, Duntroon, before transferring to the RAAF in 1928. He was one of the service's leading flying instructors and aerobatic pilots between the wars, and was appointed to his first squadron command in 1937. Over the course of World War II, Walters led No. 1 (General Reconnaissance) Squadron in Singapore, No. 1 (Fighter) Wing in Darwin, Northern Territory, No. 72 Wing in Dutch New Guinea, and Northern Command in Papua New Guinea. He was decorated with the Air Force Cross in 1941 for his work with No. 1 Squadron, and mentioned in despatches in 1944 for his service with No. 72 Wing.

Walters was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1946 for his service with Northern Command. Already marked out for senior roles in the post-war RAAF, his positions during the 1950s included Air Officer Commanding (AOC) Southern Area Command, AOC RAAF Overseas Headquarters in London, Head of the Australian Joint Services Staff in Washington, D.C., AOC Home Command, Air Member for Personnel, and AOC Support Command. He was promoted acting air vice marshal in 1952 (substantive in 1954), and appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1956. Popularly known as "Wally",^[1] he was twice a candidate for Chief of the Air Staff, and twice passed over. He retired from the RAAF in 1962 and made his home in Melbourne, where he died in 1968 at the age of sixty-two.