P03014.013 Accession Number: P03014.013

Description

Portrait of Air Vice-Marshal Sir George Jones, CBE, DFC, Chief of the Air Staff, Royal Australian Air Force. Having left school at 14, Jones became a motor mechanic. He enlisted in the AIF in 1914 and was appointed the rank of private, he embarked for Egypt in July 1915 with the 9th Light Horse Regiment. After serving at Gallipoli, Jones joined the Imperial Camel Corps and served as a corporal, transferring to No 1 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps (AFC) in October 1916 as an air mechanic, second class. He arrived in France in December 1916 and applied to become a pilot, graduating on 22 November 1917. He was badly wounded in March 1918 but by the end of the war he had shot down seven German aircraft, reached the rank of captain, and had been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). After a period in occupied Germany with No 4 Squadron, Jones returned to Australia in June 1919. He worked as a mechanic and a pilot before receiving a short service commission in the RAAF. For much of the next five years he was in charge of the Point Cook workshops and was responsible for air testing newly repaired aircraft. On 1 July 1923 he was promoted to flight lieutenant and was made a squadron leader. In 1926 he transferred to the Flying Training School where he was an instructor and in charge of stores. Two years later he sailed for England to attend the Royal Air Force Staff College. Jones then attended the flying instructor's course at the Central Flying School in Yorkshire, graduating at the top of his class. He returned to Australia in October 1930 and was given command of the Flying Training Squadron at Point Cook, a job that also carried the title of Chief Flying Instructor. After two years in this position, Jones was promoted to the position of Director of Training at RAAF Headquarters. On 1 January 1936 he was promoted to wing commander and appointed Director of Personnel Services. When the Second World War began, Jones was Assistant Chief of the Air Staff. He was involved in the establishment of the Empire Air Training Scheme before gaining further promotion, to group captain. Along with this promotion came his appointment as Director of Training. In May 1942, Jones was appointed Chief of the Air Staff and promoted to the rank of air vice marshal. At the end of the war he represented the RAAF at the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay. He continued to oversee RAAF operations during the Berlin Airlift, the Korean War, and in Malaya. Jones retired from the RAAF in 1952 and was knighted in March 1954. Upon retiring he took up the position of Director of Coordination with the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation. He retired in 1957 but continued to serve on the board of Ansett Transport Industries, a position he held for almost twenty years from 1951. He died in Melbourne in August 1992, aged 96.