Wg. Cdr. Thomas Lindsay McLeod

At 18 years old, joins the Royal Australia Air Force, and for 15 months, trains at Gunnery, Bombing, Air Observer, and Wireless Operator Schools.

Based at Gould NT, flies as an Air Gunner/Wireless operator on Beaufort light bombers. Patrols the Northern Coastline, attacks a Japanese submarine, strafes an enemy launch, escorts fighters, has emergency landings, narrowly avoids being shot down in strikes against Japanese airfields and survives a very nasty crash.

Learns to parachute jump, drops supplies, flies around New Guinea and the Dutch Timor area, drops more supplies, survives faulty engines, drops more supplies.

Post war, evacuates POW's from Japanese prison camps, medivacs injured to hospitals, ferries pig bristles from China, regularly couriers between Japan and Australia.

Marries Olive in June 1946.

Logs 2100 flying hours with 38 Squadron.

Granted a Queen's Commission on 28th February 1947.

A desk job, nil flying hours.

Another desk job, with a few flying hours in a Catalina PBY5.

Squadrons 36, 37 and 38, were all part of No 86 Air Transport Wing.

240 hours of mostly domestic flights.

The Malay Emergency, operation "Tropic Aid", fighter escorts, dropping supplies in Indo China, flying in and out of India, Malaya, Vietnam, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea. General support for the Korean War.

Flies VIP around Australia and formally appointed to the Governor General's Flight in June 1951 where he flew the Governor General, the Prime Minister (RG Menzies), Federal Ministers, State GG's, military leaders etc. etc.

Governor General's Flight 1951

GG Sir John Northcott (third from the left) and crew. Tom is third from the right.

On march 10th 1953, No 36 Transport Squadron was disbanded at Richmond, NSW, and reformed in Iwakuni, Japan.

For an interim two days, Tom was formally attached to No 30 Transport Unit, before this was subsumed into 36 Squadron.

Based in Japan, Tom's crew continues to ferry around VIPs involved in the post-war reconstruction of Japan.

Between ferrying VIPs, the squadron also evacuates Korean war POWs back to Australia.

Having experienced VIP operations with 36 Squadron, Tom was now posted to England, to RAF 24 Squadron for VIP movements, in which capacity he crewed VIP's and members of the Royal family, including HRH Queen Elizabeth II.

The Queen's flight. Flew the Royal Family around, for the Queen's 1954 Royal Visit to Australia.

Then, back to England to resume duties with 24 Sqdn.

On returning to Australia, Tom was posted to 11 Squadron, back to operational flying, this time, on anti-submarine P2V-5 Lockheed Neptunes.

Posted to the Navel Base "Albatross" at Nowra, NSW, to join the Joint Anti-Submarine school in conjunction with the Royal Australian Navy. His duties are not clear, but, to a large extent, he was involved in training.

The Air Training Corps (ATC) was a youth-oriented organization that was administered and actively supported by the RAAF. Tom was posted to the ATC as Regional Commandant to the North Queensland Squadron.

Posted back to active duty on P2V-7 Lockheed Neptunes at RAAF Garbut, Townsville.

Tom was appointed Commandant of the NSW University Squadron. Similiar to the concept of the Air Training Corps, the NSWUS were formed to provide officer training to undergraduates who would then serve as commissioned officers in the RAAF General Reserve.

Final posting, back to active duty on Lockheed Neptunes at Garbut, Townsville.

Tom retired from the RAAF on the 6th October, 1970.