Raymond Brownell

Raymond Brownell
Air Commodore Raymond J. Brownell, c. 1945
Nickname(s)	"Brownie"[1]
Born	(1894-05-17)17 May 1894 New Town, Tasmania
Died	12 April 1974(1974-04-12) (aged 79) Subiaco, Western Australia
Allegiance	Australia United Kingdom
Service/branch	First Australian Imperial Force Royal Flying Corps Royal Australian Air Force
Years of service	1912–1919 1921–1947
Rank	Air Commodore
Commands held	No. 11 Group (1945–46) Western Area (1943–45) No. 1 Training Group (1941–42) RAF Sembawang (1940–41) RAAF Base Pearce (1938–40) No. 23 (City of Perth) Squadron (1938–40) No. 1 Squadron (1926–28)
Battles/wars	First World War Gallipoli Campaign Western Front Battle of the Somme Battle of Pozières Italian Campaign Second World War South-East Asian theatre South West Pacific theatre New Guinea campaign
Awards	Commander of the Order of the British Empire Military Cross Military Medal

Air Commodore Raymond James Brownell, CBE, MC, MM (17 May 1894 – 12 April 1974) was a senior officer in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and a First World War flying ace. Born in Hobart, Tasmania, Brownell was working as a clerk with a firm of accountants when he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on the outbreak of the First World War. He served during the Gallipoli Campaign before transferring to the Western Front. Awarded the Military Medal for his actions during the Battle of Pozières, he was accepted for a transfer to the Royal Flying Corps in 1917. After flight training in the United Kingdom, Brownell was commissioned as a second lieutenant and posted for operational service over the Western Front in September 1917. Moving with his squadron to Italy, he was awarded the Military Cross and credited with shooting down 12 aircraft by war's end. Taking his discharge in 1919, Brownell returned to Australia.

Commissioned in the RAAF in 1921, Brownell had risen to the rank of group captain by the beginning of the Second World War. Establishing the RAAF base in Singapore, he returned to Australia in 1941 as an air commodore and was appointed to lead No. 1 Training Group. He was Air Officer Commanding Western Area from January 1943 until July 1945, when he took charge of the recently formed No. 11 Group on Morotai. Retiring from the Air Force in 1947, Brownell assumed a partnership in a stockbroking firm. He died in 1974 aged 79; his autobiography, From Khaki to Blue, was published posthumously.