Alexander Pentland
Encyclopedia
Alexander Augustus Norman Dudley Pentland MC
, DFC
, AFC
(5 August 1894 – before 7 November 1983), known as "Jerry" Pentland, was an Australian fighter ace
in World War I
. Born in Maitland
, New South Wales, he commenced service as a Lighthorseman with the Australian Imperial Force
in 1915, and saw action at Gallipoli. He transferred to the Royal Flying Corps
the following year, rising to Captain
. Credited with twenty-three aerial victories, Pentland became the fifth highest-scoring Australian ace of the war, after Robert Little
, Roderic Dallas
, Harry Cobby
and Elwyn King
. He was awarded the Military Cross
in January 1918 for "conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty" on a mission attacking an aerodrome behind enemy lines, and the Distinguished Flying Cross
that August for engaging four hostile aircraft single-handedly.
Pentland served in the fledgling Royal Australian Air Force
(RAAF), and later the Royal Air Force
, before going into business in 1927. His ventures included commercial flying around the goldfields of New Guinea
, aircraft design and manufacture, flight instruction, and charter work. In the early 1930s, he was employed as a pilot with Australian National Airways
, and also spent time as a dairy farmer. Soon after the outbreak of World War II
, he re-enlisted in the RAAF, attaining the rank of Squadron Leader
and commanding rescue and communications units in the South West Pacific
. Perhaps the oldest operational pilot in the wartime RAAF, Pentland was responsible for rescuing a number of airmen, soldiers and civilians, and earned the Air Force Cross
for his "outstanding courage, initiative and skill". He became a trader in New Guinea when the war ended in 1945, and later a coffee planter. Retiring in 1959, he died in 1983 at the age of eighty-nine.
, New South Wales on 5 August 1894. Educated at The King's School, Sydney, and Brighton Grammar
, Melbourne, he went on to study dairy farming at Hawkesbury Agricultural College
, and later worked as a jackaroo
. His father, also named Alexander, was a physician who joined the Australian Imperial Force
(AIF) during World War I
and served as a Major
in the Australian Army Medical Corps
.
in the AIF on 5 March 1915, sailing for Egypt with the 12th Light Horse Regiment
aboard HMAT A29 Suevic on 13 June. In August, his unit deployed to Gallipoli, where he fought as a machine gunner before being hospitalised the following month, suffering from typhoid fever
; he was evacuated to England in December. Determined to leave the trenches behind after recovering, he volunteered for the Royal Flying Corps
and was discharged from the AIF on 21 February 1916 to take up his commission as a temporary Second Lieutenant
. His first solo flight in a Maurice Farman Longhorn
at Brooklands
, after two hours of dual instruction, ended with him overshooting the runway and crashing in a sewage farm, but he was unhurt and immediately undertook a second solo attempt, landing successfully. After completing pilot training, he was posted to France in June, flying B.E.2s with No. 16 Squadron
. Though the slow and vulnerable B.E.2 was considered "Fokker
fodder" by its crews, Pentland and his observer quickly managed to score the former's first aerial victory, bringing down a German Eindecker
over Habourdin
on 9 June. He was then posted to No. 29 Squadron
and was converting to DH.2
"pusher"
fighters when he broke his leg playing rugby. After recovering, he instructed
at London Colney
until June 1917, when he joined No. 19 Squadron, flying SPAD S.VII
s. This would become Pentland's favourite type due to its strength and manoeuvrability, even though it had to be 'flown' constantly and was unforgiving at low speed.
On 20 July 1917, soon after arriving at his new unit in France, Pentland achieved his first victory in the SPAD when he shared in the destruction of an Albatros
two-seater. He followed this up with a solo "kill" on 12 August. Four days later, after stopping an enemy truck convoy in its tracks by crippling its lead vehicle with machine-gun fire, he reportedly engaged ten Albatros fighters single-handedly; by the time he had driven them off, four bullets had penetrated his leather flying suit without injuring him, while his plane had absorbed so much punishment that it had to be scrapped when he got back to base. After sharing another Albatros two-seater on 20 August, Pentland led a raid on Marcke aerodrome, home of Baron von Richtofen
's Jasta 11
, on 26 August. On the way, he helped bring down a DFW C.V
, then achieved complete surprise at the airfield, which he and his flight proceeded to shoot up. On the return journey, he strafed an enemy train until his guns jammed and then, having managed to clear them, engaged two more German scouts. His part in the raid earned him the Military Cross
, which was promulgated in The London Gazette on 9 January 1918:
Credited with one more victory during August 1917, and another four the following month, Pentland's score stood at ten when he was injured on 26 September after an artillery shell struck his SPAD and forced him to crash land. Following his recovery, he again spent time instructing before being posted back to a front-line unit, this time No. 87 Squadron
, operating Sopwith Dolphins. Promoted Captain
, he returned to France in April 1918, having transferred the same month with the rest of the RFC to the newly formed Royal Air Force
(RAF). Pentland went on to achieve thirteen victories with No. 87 Squadron, where his aggressive tactics saw him dubbed the "Wild Australian" by colleagues. Appointed commander of 'B' Flight, he also frequently acted as a "lone wolf", actively seeking dogfights with enemy aircraft on his own. On 18 June, he was alone on patrol when he engaged a flight of four Rumpler
high-altitude reconnaissance
aircraft, forcing down three of them. This action earned him the Distinguished Flying Cross
, gazetted on 3 August:
On 25 August, Pentland attacked and destroyed two German planes, a DFW two-seater and Fokker D.VII
, before himself being shot down and wounded in the foot. These would be his last victories; his grand total of twenty-three included eleven destroyed, one of which was shared, and twelve out of control, three of them shared. This score ranked him fifth among the Australian aces of the war after Robert Little
, Roderic Dallas
, Harry Cobby
and Elwyn King
.
(RAAF) in August 1921, following an interview with Wing Commander
Stanley Goble
, a wartime acquaintance through the RAF. Ranked Flight Lieutenant
, Pentland was put in charge of the RAAF's complement of S.E.5
fighters at Point Cook
, Victoria, part of the 'Imperial Gift' recently donated by Great Britain. The young Air Force had the atmosphere of a flying club, where everyone knew everyone else. However, tensions sometimes arose between those who had served with British forces during the war, and those who had belonged to the Australian Flying Corps (AFC); the former considered that they were discriminated against when it came to filling senior positions, and came the day Pentland and fellow ex-RAF member Hippolyte De La Rue
threw an "uppity" AFC man into a mess
fireplace. Deciding that his RAAF career was not progressing, Pentland applied for a short-service commission as a Flying Officer
with the RAF in 1923, which was granted as of 23 April. He journeyed to Britain with new wife Madge, whom he had married just before departing Australia; they had one daughter, Carleen, the following year. Pentland completed the course at Central Flying School
, Uphavon and became an instructor there, gaining promotion to Flight Lieutenant before leaving active service with the RAF on 20 July 1926 and returning to Australia.
In 1927, Pentland formed Mandated Territory Airways with entrepreneur Albert Royal to fly freight to and from the goldfields of New Guinea. The pair bought a DH.60 Moth
biplane, which Pentland ferried to the firm's base at Lae
in February 1928. The business prospered in the short term, to the extent that the partners took on another Moth and more pilots. By the end of the year, however, Pentland was suffering from malaria
and had to abandon the venture, selling one of the planes to Guinea Airways and returning to Australia with the other. After recovering in the new year, he embarked on a series of new enterprises, including aircraft manufacture, a flying school, and charter work. In February 1929, he formed the General Aircraft Company with Royal and another partner to produce an Australian-designed aeroplane, the Genairco, of which eight were eventually sold. With the Moth from Mandated Territory Airways, he established Pentland's Flying School at Mascot
, New South Wales. He also flew charters with a Moth owned by The Sun newspaper, using the same aircraft that September to compete in the East-West Air Race
from Sydney to Perth, as part of the celebrations for the Western Australia Centenary
. The event attracted a number of veteran aviators of World War I, including Horrie Miller
—the eventual winner on handicap—and Charles "Moth" Eaton
, whom Pentland beat into fifth place across the line.
Lack of patronage led to Pentland folding his businesses and taking a job in 1930 as a pilot with Australian National Airways
(ANA), a new airline founded by Charles Kingsford-Smith and Charles Ulm
. By 1932, ANA was in trouble as well, and Pentland left to set up as a dairy farmer on a property he bought at Singleton
. Within two years, drought forced him to sell the land and he returned to earning his living as a pilot, instructing at aero clubs in Queensland
and New South Wales
. By late 1937, he was again employed as a transport pilot in New Guinea, where he was known as a practical joker who liked to hold a map in front of his face in apparent short-sightedness and ask his passengers if they could see a landing ground anywhere. He returned to Australia after war was declared
in September 1939.
in Camden
, New South Wales, and was posted as an instructor to elementary training schools at bases in eastern Australia, including Brisbane
, Tamworth
, Temora
, Bundaberg
, and Lowood
. Addressed by a young pilot at one school as "Pop", Pentland responded in front of a large audience, "I'm sorry son, but I don't remember sleeping with your mother". Ranked Flight Lieutenant, he was appointed Commanding Officer
(CO) of No. 1 Communication Flight at Port Moresby
, New Guinea, in June 1942. The official history of Australia in the war described this as the RAAF's "most unusual operational unit", asserting that its "strange assortment of light aircraft was as varied and as appropriate to its task as was the flying record of its commander ...". Beginning with a single DH.84 Dragon
, its inventory eventually included such types as the Tiger Moth
, Fox Moth
, DH.90 Dragonfly
, DH.50, Piper Cub
, Avro Anson
, Supermarine Walrus
, PBY Catalina
, and Dornier Do 24
. Perhaps the RAAF's oldest pilot in any theatre of operations, Pentland was responsible for the rescue of seven downed US airmen the same month he assumed command, and later civilians and Australian soldiers fleeing from the Japanese invasion of Rabaul
. He also organised aerial surveys around Daru
and Milne Bay
, developing new bases and emergency airfields at locales such as Bena Bena
, Abau, Kulpi
, and Port Moresby.
By 30 November 1942, Pentland had been promoted Squadron Leader
and his unit was reformed at Port Moresby as Rescue and Communication Squadron, but remained better known as "Pentland's Flying Circus". Posted back to Australia in June 1943, he received radar training before taking command of No. 3 Communication Unit at Mascot
in November, and helping to set up the RAAF’s early warning grid in northern Australia. He returned to New Guinea in March 1944 as CO of No. 8 Communication Unit, Goodenough Island
, which had been formed in November 1943 from Pentland's old Rescue and Communications Squadron. With Bristol Beaufort
, CAC Boomerang
, Bristol Beaufighter
, and A-31 Vengeance combat aircraft added to its complement, the unit performed reconnaissance and bombing sorties over New Britain and north-eastern New Guinea, as well as rescue and survey missions. In July 1945, Pentland was posted back to Mascot as CO of No. 3 Communication Unit, serving until September. His achievements in New Guinea earned him the Air Force Cross
(AFC), the citation being promulgated on 22 February 1946 and concluding:
With the end of hostilities in the Pacific, Pentland was discharged from the RAAF on 2 November 1945. He took the opportunity to purchase surplus military equipment in New Guinea and established himself as a trader in Finschhafen
, later expanding to Lae and Wau. In 1948, he went into business as a coffee planter in Goroka
, and also recruited labour from the highlands for industries on the coast. Prospering as a planter, he contributed to development of the region by building Goroka's original constant-flowing water supply and encouraging other businesses to set up there. His ongoing commitments in New Guinea meant that he was not invested
with his AFC until 1950. In 1959, he sold his interests in Goroka and retired with Madge to their seaside home in Bayview
, New South Wales. Madge Pentland died in 1982, and Jerry eighteen months later at the War Veterans Home in nearby Collaroy
. He was survived by daughter Carleen, his funeral taking place on 7 November 1983.
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
, DFC
Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against...
, AFC
Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)
The Air Force Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom Armed Forces, and formerly also to officers of the other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying, though not in active operations against the enemy"...
(5 August 1894 – before 7 November 1983), known as "Jerry" Pentland, was an Australian fighter ace
Flying ace
A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more...
in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Born in Maitland
Maitland, New South Wales
Maitland is a city in the Lower Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Australia and the seat of Maitland City Council, situated on the Hunter River approximately by road north of Sydney and north-west of Newcastle...
, New South Wales, he commenced service as a Lighthorseman with the Australian Imperial Force
First Australian Imperial Force
The First Australian Imperial Force was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during World War I. It was formed from 15 August 1914, following Britain's declaration of war on Germany. Generally known at the time as the AIF, it is today referred to as the 1st AIF to distinguish from...
in 1915, and saw action at Gallipoli. He transferred to the Royal Flying Corps
Royal Flying Corps
The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...
the following year, rising to Captain
Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)
Captain is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above Lieutenant and below Major and has a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force...
. Credited with twenty-three aerial victories, Pentland became the fifth highest-scoring Australian ace of the war, after Robert Little
Robert A. Little
Robert Alexander Little DSO & Bar, DSC & Bar is officially regarded as the most successful Australian flying ace of World War I, with a total of forty-seven aerial victories. Born in Victoria, he travelled to England in 1915 and learnt to fly at his own expense before joining the Royal Naval Air...
, Roderic Dallas
Roderic Dallas
Roderic Stanley Dallas DSO, DSC & Bar was an Australian fighter ace of World War I. His score of aerial victories is generally regarded as the second-highest by an Australian, after Robert Little; however there is considerable dispute over Dallas's exact total...
, Harry Cobby
Arthur Henry Cobby
Air Commodore Arthur Henry Cobby CBE, DSO, DFC & Two Bars, GM was an Australian military aviator...
and Elwyn King
Elwyn King
Elwyn Roy King DSO, DFC was a fighter pilot and ace in the Australian Flying Corps during World War I. He scored twenty-six victories in aerial combat, making him the fourth highest-scoring Australian aviator of the war. King entered service as a Lighthorseman in 1915, before transferring to the...
. He was awarded the Military Cross
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
in January 1918 for "conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty" on a mission attacking an aerodrome behind enemy lines, and the Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against...
that August for engaging four hostile aircraft single-handedly.
Pentland served in the fledgling Royal Australian Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
(RAAF), and later the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
, before going into business in 1927. His ventures included commercial flying around the goldfields of New Guinea
Territory of New Guinea
The Territory of New Guinea was the Australia-controlled, League of Nations-mandated territory in the north eastern part of the island of New Guinea, and surrounding islands, between 1920 and 1949...
, aircraft design and manufacture, flight instruction, and charter work. In the early 1930s, he was employed as a pilot with Australian National Airways
Australian National Airways
Australian National Airways was Australia's predominant carrier from the mid-1930s to the early 1950s.-The Holyman Airways Period:On 19 March 1932 Flinders Island Airways began a regular aerial service using the Desoutter Mk.II VH-UEE Miss Launceston between Launceston, Tasmania and Flinders...
, and also spent time as a dairy farmer. Soon after the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he re-enlisted in the RAAF, attaining the rank of Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. In these...
and commanding rescue and communications units in the South West Pacific
South West Pacific theatre of World War II
The South West Pacific Theatre, technically the South West Pacific Area, between 1942 and 1945, was one of two designated area commands and war theatres enumerated by the Combined Chiefs of Staff of World War II in the Pacific region....
. Perhaps the oldest operational pilot in the wartime RAAF, Pentland was responsible for rescuing a number of airmen, soldiers and civilians, and earned the Air Force Cross
Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)
The Air Force Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom Armed Forces, and formerly also to officers of the other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying, though not in active operations against the enemy"...
for his "outstanding courage, initiative and skill". He became a trader in New Guinea when the war ended in 1945, and later a coffee planter. Retiring in 1959, he died in 1983 at the age of eighty-nine.
Early life
Of Irish ancestry, Alexander Augustus Norman Dudley Pentland (nicknamed "Jerry" from an early age) was born in MaitlandMaitland, New South Wales
Maitland is a city in the Lower Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Australia and the seat of Maitland City Council, situated on the Hunter River approximately by road north of Sydney and north-west of Newcastle...
, New South Wales on 5 August 1894. Educated at The King's School, Sydney, and Brighton Grammar
Brighton Grammar School
Brighton Grammar School is an independent, Anglican, day school for boys, located in Brighton, a south-eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
, Melbourne, he went on to study dairy farming at Hawkesbury Agricultural College
Hawkesbury Agricultural College
Hawkesbury Agricultural College was the first agricultural college of New South Wales, Australia. Established by Sydney Smith in Richmond, New South Wales in 1891, the college was incorporated into the University of Western Sydney in 1989....
, and later worked as a jackaroo
Jackaroo (trainee)
A Jackaroo is a young man working on a sheep or cattle station, to gain practical experience in the skills needed to become an owner, overseer, manager, etc. The word originated in Queensland, Australia in the Nineteenth Century and is still in use in Australia and New Zealand in the twenty-first...
. His father, also named Alexander, was a physician who joined the Australian Imperial Force
First Australian Imperial Force
The First Australian Imperial Force was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during World War I. It was formed from 15 August 1914, following Britain's declaration of war on Germany. Generally known at the time as the AIF, it is today referred to as the 1st AIF to distinguish from...
(AIF) during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and served as a Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
in the Australian Army Medical Corps
Royal Australian Army Medical Corps
The Royal Australian Army Medical Corps is the branch of the Australian Army responsible for providing medical care to Army personnel. The AAMC was formed in 1902 and has participated in every Australian Army operation...
.
World War I
Pentland enlisted as a privatePrivate (rank)
A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career...
in the AIF on 5 March 1915, sailing for Egypt with the 12th Light Horse Regiment
12th Light Horse Regiment (Australia)
The 12th Light Horse Regiment was a light horse regiment of the Australian Army. It was originally raised in 1915 for service during the First World War, the regiment served in the Middle East against the Turks before being disbanded in 1919...
aboard HMAT A29 Suevic on 13 June. In August, his unit deployed to Gallipoli, where he fought as a machine gunner before being hospitalised the following month, suffering from typhoid fever
Typhoid fever
Typhoid fever, also known as Typhoid, is a common worldwide bacterial disease, transmitted by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person, which contain the bacterium Salmonella enterica, serovar Typhi...
; he was evacuated to England in December. Determined to leave the trenches behind after recovering, he volunteered for the Royal Flying Corps
Royal Flying Corps
The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...
and was discharged from the AIF on 21 February 1916 to take up his commission as a temporary Second Lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
. His first solo flight in a Maurice Farman Longhorn
Farman MF.7
|-See also:-External links:* Contemporary technical description of the MF.7 with photographs and drawings....
at Brooklands
Brooklands
Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England. It opened in 1907, and was the world's first purpose-built motorsport venue, as well as one of Britain's first airfields...
, after two hours of dual instruction, ended with him overshooting the runway and crashing in a sewage farm, but he was unhurt and immediately undertook a second solo attempt, landing successfully. After completing pilot training, he was posted to France in June, flying B.E.2s with No. 16 Squadron
No. 16 Squadron RAF
No. 16 Squadron is a flying squadron of the Royal Air Force. It formed in 1915 at Saint-Omer to carry out a mixture of offensive patrolling and reconnaissance and was disbanded in 1919 with the end of the First World War...
. Though the slow and vulnerable B.E.2 was considered "Fokker
Fokker
Fokker was a Dutch aircraft manufacturer named after its founder, Anthony Fokker. The company operated under several different names, starting out in 1912 in Schwerin, Germany, moving to the Netherlands in 1919....
fodder" by its crews, Pentland and his observer quickly managed to score the former's first aerial victory, bringing down a German Eindecker
Fokker Eindecker
The Fokker Eindecker was a German World War I monoplane single-seat fighter aircraft designed by Dutch engineer Anthony Fokker. Developed in April 1915, the Eindecker was the first purpose-built German fighter aircraft and the first aircraft to be fitted with synchronizer gear, enabling the pilot...
over Habourdin
Haubourdin
-References:*...
on 9 June. He was then posted to No. 29 Squadron
No. 29 Squadron RAF
No. 29 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was first raised in 1915, and is one of the world's oldest fighter squadrons. The second British squadron to receive the Eurofighter Typhoon, it is currently the Operational Conversion Unit for the RAF's newest fighter.-Service in World War I:This unit was...
and was converting to DH.2
Airco DH.2
|-DH.2 aces:Distinguished pilots of the DH.2 included Victoria Cross winner Lanoe Hawker , who was the first commander of No 24 Squadron and ace Alan Wilkinson. The commander of No. 32 Squadron, Lionel Rees won the Victoria Cross flying the D.H.2 for single handedly attacking a formation of 10...
"pusher"
Pusher configuration
In a craft with a pusher configuration the propeller are mounted behind their respective engine. According to Bill Gunston, a "pusher propeller" is one mounted behind engine so that drive shaft is in compression...
fighters when he broke his leg playing rugby. After recovering, he instructed
Flight instructor
A flight instructor is a person who teaches others to fly aircraft. Specific privileges granted to holders of a flight instructor qualification vary from country to country, but very generally, a flight instructor serves to enhance or evaluate the knowledge and skill level of an aviator in pursuit...
at London Colney
London Colney
London Colney is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England. It is located to the north of London, at Junction 22 of the M25 motorway....
until June 1917, when he joined No. 19 Squadron, flying SPAD S.VII
SPAD S.VII
The SPAD S.VII was the first of a series of highly successful biplane fighter aircraft produced by Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés during the First World War. Like its successors, the S.VII was renowned as a sturdy and rugged aircraft with good climbing and diving characteristics...
s. This would become Pentland's favourite type due to its strength and manoeuvrability, even though it had to be 'flown' constantly and was unforgiving at low speed.
Albatros Flugzeugwerke
Albatros-Flugzeugwerke was a German aircraft manufacturer best known for supplying the German airforces during World War I.The company was based in Johannisthal, Berlin, where it was founded by Walter Huth and Otto Wiener on December 20, 1909. It produced some of the most capable fighter aircraft...
two-seater. He followed this up with a solo "kill" on 12 August. Four days later, after stopping an enemy truck convoy in its tracks by crippling its lead vehicle with machine-gun fire, he reportedly engaged ten Albatros fighters single-handedly; by the time he had driven them off, four bullets had penetrated his leather flying suit without injuring him, while his plane had absorbed so much punishment that it had to be scrapped when he got back to base. After sharing another Albatros two-seater on 20 August, Pentland led a raid on Marcke aerodrome, home of Baron von Richtofen
Manfred von Richthofen
Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen , also widely known as the Red Baron, was a German fighter pilot with the Imperial German Army Air Service during World War I...
's Jasta 11
Jasta 11
Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 11 was founded on 28 September 1916 from elements of 4 armee's Keks 1, 2 and 3 and mobilized on 11 October as part of the German Air Service's expansion program, forming permanent specialised fighter squadrons, or "Jastas"...
, on 26 August. On the way, he helped bring down a DFW C.V
DFW C.V
-External Links:*...
, then achieved complete surprise at the airfield, which he and his flight proceeded to shoot up. On the return journey, he strafed an enemy train until his guns jammed and then, having managed to clear them, engaged two more German scouts. His part in the raid earned him the Military Cross
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
, which was promulgated in The London Gazette on 9 January 1918:
Credited with one more victory during August 1917, and another four the following month, Pentland's score stood at ten when he was injured on 26 September after an artillery shell struck his SPAD and forced him to crash land. Following his recovery, he again spent time instructing before being posted back to a front-line unit, this time No. 87 Squadron
No. 87 Squadron RAF
No. 87 Squadron RAF was an aircraft squadron of the Royal Air Force during the First World War and Second World War.-World War I:87 Squadron Royal Flying Corps was first formed on 1 September 1917 at Upavon from elements of the Central Flying School...
, operating Sopwith Dolphins. Promoted Captain
Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)
Captain is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above Lieutenant and below Major and has a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force...
, he returned to France in April 1918, having transferred the same month with the rest of the RFC to the newly formed Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
(RAF). Pentland went on to achieve thirteen victories with No. 87 Squadron, where his aggressive tactics saw him dubbed the "Wild Australian" by colleagues. Appointed commander of 'B' Flight, he also frequently acted as a "lone wolf", actively seeking dogfights with enemy aircraft on his own. On 18 June, he was alone on patrol when he engaged a flight of four Rumpler
Rumpler
The Rumpler Tropfenwagen was a car developed by Austrian engineer Edmund Rumpler.Rumpler, born in Vienna, was a designer of aircraft when on the 1921's Berlin car show he introduced the Tropfenwagen. It was to be the first streamlined car . The Rumpler had a Cw-value of only 0.28...
high-altitude reconnaissance
Aerial reconnaissance
Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance that is conducted using unmanned aerial vehicles or reconnaissance aircraft. Their roles are to collect imagery intelligence, signals intelligence and measurement and signature intelligence...
aircraft, forcing down three of them. This action earned him the Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against...
, gazetted on 3 August:
On 25 August, Pentland attacked and destroyed two German planes, a DFW two-seater and Fokker D.VII
Fokker D.VII
The Fokker D.VII was a German World War I fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz of the Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. Germany produced around 3,300 D.VII aircraft in the summer and autumn of 1918. In service, the D.VII quickly proved itself to be a formidable aircraft...
, before himself being shot down and wounded in the foot. These would be his last victories; his grand total of twenty-three included eleven destroyed, one of which was shared, and twelve out of control, three of them shared. This score ranked him fifth among the Australian aces of the war after Robert Little
Robert A. Little
Robert Alexander Little DSO & Bar, DSC & Bar is officially regarded as the most successful Australian flying ace of World War I, with a total of forty-seven aerial victories. Born in Victoria, he travelled to England in 1915 and learnt to fly at his own expense before joining the Royal Naval Air...
, Roderic Dallas
Roderic Dallas
Roderic Stanley Dallas DSO, DSC & Bar was an Australian fighter ace of World War I. His score of aerial victories is generally regarded as the second-highest by an Australian, after Robert Little; however there is considerable dispute over Dallas's exact total...
, Harry Cobby
Arthur Henry Cobby
Air Commodore Arthur Henry Cobby CBE, DSO, DFC & Two Bars, GM was an Australian military aviator...
and Elwyn King
Elwyn King
Elwyn Roy King DSO, DFC was a fighter pilot and ace in the Australian Flying Corps during World War I. He scored twenty-six victories in aerial combat, making him the fourth highest-scoring Australian aviator of the war. King entered service as a Lighthorseman in 1915, before transferring to the...
.
Between the wars
Pentland relinquished his RAF commission and returned to Australia at the end of the war, earning money by giving joyrides to paying customers in an Avro 504K. Looking for a more secure future, he joined the newly established Royal Australian Air ForceRoyal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
(RAAF) in August 1921, following an interview with Wing Commander
Wing Commander (rank)
Wing commander is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries...
Stanley Goble
Stanley Goble
Air Vice Marshal Stanley James Goble CBE, DSO, DSC was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force . He served three terms as Chief of the Air Staff, alternating with Wing Commander Richard Williams...
, a wartime acquaintance through the RAF. Ranked Flight Lieutenant
Flight Lieutenant
Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries. It ranks above flying officer and immediately below squadron leader. The name of the rank is the complete phrase; it is never shortened to "lieutenant"...
, Pentland was put in charge of the RAAF's complement of S.E.5
Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5
The Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 was a British biplane fighter aircraft of the First World War. Although the first examples reached the Western Front before the Sopwith Camel and it had a much better overall performance, problems with its Hispano-Suiza engine, particularly the geared-output H-S...
fighters at Point Cook
Point Cook, Victoria
Point Cook is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 25 km south-west from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Wyndham. At the 2006 Census, Point Cook had a population of 14,162, now it is estimated that the population of Point Cook is 32,167...
, Victoria, part of the 'Imperial Gift' recently donated by Great Britain. The young Air Force had the atmosphere of a flying club, where everyone knew everyone else. However, tensions sometimes arose between those who had served with British forces during the war, and those who had belonged to the Australian Flying Corps (AFC); the former considered that they were discriminated against when it came to filling senior positions, and came the day Pentland and fellow ex-RAF member Hippolyte De La Rue
Hippolyte De La Rue
Air Commodore Hippolyte Ferdinand De La Rue CBE, DFC was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force . Joining the Mercantile Marine as a youth, he became a pilot in the Royal Naval Air Service during World War I, and was given command of No. 223 Squadron RAF in 1918...
threw an "uppity" AFC man into a mess
Mess
A mess is the place where military personnel socialise, eat, and live. In some societies this military usage has extended to other disciplined services eateries such as civilian fire fighting and police forces. The root of mess is the Old French mes, "portion of food" A mess (also called a...
fireplace. Deciding that his RAAF career was not progressing, Pentland applied for a short-service commission as a Flying Officer
Flying Officer
Flying officer is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence...
with the RAF in 1923, which was granted as of 23 April. He journeyed to Britain with new wife Madge, whom he had married just before departing Australia; they had one daughter, Carleen, the following year. Pentland completed the course at Central Flying School
Central Flying School
The Central Flying School is the Royal Air Force's primary institution for the training of military flying instructors. Established in 1912 it is the longest existing flying training school.-History:...
, Uphavon and became an instructor there, gaining promotion to Flight Lieutenant before leaving active service with the RAF on 20 July 1926 and returning to Australia.
In 1927, Pentland formed Mandated Territory Airways with entrepreneur Albert Royal to fly freight to and from the goldfields of New Guinea. The pair bought a DH.60 Moth
De Havilland DH.60 Moth
The de Havilland DH 60 Moth was a 1920s British two-seat touring and training aircraft that was developed into a series of aircraft by the de Havilland Aircraft Company.-Development:The DH 60 was developed from the larger DH 51 biplane...
biplane, which Pentland ferried to the firm's base at Lae
Lae
Lae, the capital of Morobe Province, is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located at the start of the Highlands Highway which is the main land transport corridor from the Highlands region to the coast...
in February 1928. The business prospered in the short term, to the extent that the partners took on another Moth and more pilots. By the end of the year, however, Pentland was suffering from malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
and had to abandon the venture, selling one of the planes to Guinea Airways and returning to Australia with the other. After recovering in the new year, he embarked on a series of new enterprises, including aircraft manufacture, a flying school, and charter work. In February 1929, he formed the General Aircraft Company with Royal and another partner to produce an Australian-designed aeroplane, the Genairco, of which eight were eventually sold. With the Moth from Mandated Territory Airways, he established Pentland's Flying School at Mascot
Sydney Airport
Sydney Airport may refer to:* Sydney Airport, also known as Kingsford Smith International Airport, in Sydney, Australia* Sydney/J.A. Douglas McCurdy Airport, in Nova Scotia, Canada...
, New South Wales. He also flew charters with a Moth owned by The Sun newspaper, using the same aircraft that September to compete in the East-West Air Race
Western Australian Centenary Air Race
The Western Australian Centenary Air Race was a air race held in 1929 from Sydney to Perth to commemorate the Western Australia Centenary....
from Sydney to Perth, as part of the celebrations for the Western Australia Centenary
Centenary of Western Australia
In 1929, Western Australia celebrated the centenary of the founding of Perth and the establishment of the Swan River Colony, the first permanent European settlement...
. The event attracted a number of veteran aviators of World War I, including Horrie Miller
Horrie Miller (aviator)
Horace Clive "Horrie" Miller OBE was a pioneer Australian aviator and co-founder of MacRobertson Miller Airlines .Miller was born in Ballarat, Victoria....
—the eventual winner on handicap—and Charles "Moth" Eaton
Charles Eaton (RAAF officer)
Charles Eaton OBE, AFC was a senior officer and aviator in the Royal Australian Air Force , who later served as a diplomat. Born in London, he joined the British Army upon the outbreak of World War I and saw action on the Western Front before transferring to the Royal Flying Corps in 1917...
, whom Pentland beat into fifth place across the line.
Lack of patronage led to Pentland folding his businesses and taking a job in 1930 as a pilot with Australian National Airways
Australian National Airways
Australian National Airways was Australia's predominant carrier from the mid-1930s to the early 1950s.-The Holyman Airways Period:On 19 March 1932 Flinders Island Airways began a regular aerial service using the Desoutter Mk.II VH-UEE Miss Launceston between Launceston, Tasmania and Flinders...
(ANA), a new airline founded by Charles Kingsford-Smith and Charles Ulm
Charles Ulm
Charles Thomas Philippe Ulm AFC was a pioneer Australian aviator.-World War I:Ulm joined the AIF in September 1914, lying about his name and age to get in. He fought and was wounded at Gallipoli in 1915, and on the Western Front in 1918.Charles Ulm was married twice. In 1919 he married Isabel...
. By 1932, ANA was in trouble as well, and Pentland left to set up as a dairy farmer on a property he bought at Singleton
Singleton, New South Wales
-Industry & Commerce:Major industries near Singleton include coal mining, energy generation, light industry, vineyards, horse breeding and cattle production. Dairying was once a mainstay in the area, but has declined....
. Within two years, drought forced him to sell the land and he returned to earning his living as a pilot, instructing at aero clubs in Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
and New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. By late 1937, he was again employed as a transport pilot in New Guinea, where he was known as a practical joker who liked to hold a map in front of his face in apparent short-sightedness and ask his passengers if they could see a landing ground anywhere. He returned to Australia after war was declared
Military history of Australia during World War II
Australia entered World War II shortly after the invasion of Poland, declaring war on Germany on 3 September 1939. By the end of the war, almost a million Australians had served in the armed forces, whose military units fought primarily in the European theatre, North African campaign, and...
in September 1939.
World War II and later life
Having offered his services to the Australian government on his return from New Guinea, Pentland rejoined the RAAF on 17 June 1940. He undertook the course at Central Flying SchoolCentral Flying School RAAF
The Central Flying School RAAF is a Royal Australian Air Force training establishment, based at RAAF Base East Sale. It was formed in March 1913, and during the First World War it trained over 150 pilots, who fought in Europe and the Middle East....
in Camden
Camden, New South Wales
-Education:Camden is the location of research facilities for the veterinary and agricultural schools of the University of Sydney. The local government area has two public high schools, Camden High School and Elderslie High School, as well as eight Catholic and three Anglican schools.-Culture:The...
, New South Wales, and was posted as an instructor to elementary training schools at bases in eastern Australia, including Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Tamworth
Tamworth, New South Wales
Tamworth is a city in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Peel River, Tamworth, which contains an estimated population of 47,595 people, is the major regional centre for southern New England and in the local government area of Tamworth Regional Council. The city...
, Temora
Temora, New South Wales
Temora is a town located in north east part of the Riverina area of New South Wales, south-west of the state capital, Sydney. At the 2006 census the population of Temora was 4,086.-History:...
, Bundaberg
Bundaberg, Queensland
Bundaberg is a city in Queensland, Australia. It is part of the Local Government Area of the Bundaberg Region and is a major centre within Queensland's broader Wide Bay-Burnett geographical region...
, and Lowood
Lowood, Queensland
Lowood is a town in south east Queensland, Australia. The town is located on the Brisbane River, 66 kilometres west of the state capital, Brisbane or 17 km birds line and 31 kilometres north of Ipswich...
. Addressed by a young pilot at one school as "Pop", Pentland responded in front of a large audience, "I'm sorry son, but I don't remember sleeping with your mother". Ranked Flight Lieutenant, he was appointed Commanding Officer
Commanding officer
The commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...
(CO) of No. 1 Communication Flight at Port Moresby
Port Moresby
Port Moresby , or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea . It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on the southeastern coast of the island of New Guinea, which made it a prime objective for conquest by the Imperial Japanese forces during 1942–43...
, New Guinea, in June 1942. The official history of Australia in the war described this as the RAAF's "most unusual operational unit", asserting that its "strange assortment of light aircraft was as varied and as appropriate to its task as was the flying record of its commander ...". Beginning with a single DH.84 Dragon
De Havilland Dragon
|-See also:-References:Bibliography ISBN 0-85177-813-5...
, its inventory eventually included such types as the Tiger Moth
De Havilland Tiger Moth
The de Havilland DH 82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and was operated by the Royal Air Force and others as a primary trainer. The Tiger Moth remained in service with the RAF until replaced by the de Havilland Chipmunk in 1952, when many of the surplus aircraft...
, Fox Moth
De Havilland Fox Moth
|-References:NotesBibliography* Hotson, Fred W. The de Havilland Canada Story. Toronto: CANAV Books, 1983. ISBN 0-07-549483-3.* Jackson, A. J. British Civil Aircraft 1919-1972: Volume II. London: Putnam , 1988. ISBN 0-85177-813-5....
, DH.90 Dragonfly
De Havilland Dragonfly
-References:*The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft . London: Orbis Publishing.*Hayes, P & King, B. de Havilland biplane transports. Coulsden: Gatwick Aviation Society ISBN 0 95304132 8...
, DH.50, Piper Cub
Piper J-3
The Piper J-3 Cub is a small, simple, light aircraft that was built between 1937 and 1947 by Piper Aircraft. With tandem seating, it was intended for flight training but became one of the most popular and best-known light aircraft of all time...
, Avro Anson
Avro Anson
The Avro Anson is a British twin-engine, multi-role aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force, Fleet Air Arm and numerous other air forces prior to, during, and after the Second World War. Named for British Admiral George Anson, it was originally designed for maritime reconnaissance, but was...
, Supermarine Walrus
Supermarine Walrus
The Supermarine Walrus was a British single-engine amphibious biplane reconnaissance aircraft designed by R. J. Mitchell and operated by the Fleet Air Arm . It also served with the Royal Air Force , Royal Australian Air Force , Royal Canadian Air Force , Royal New Zealand Navy and Royal New...
, PBY Catalina
PBY Catalina
The Consolidated PBY Catalina was an American flying boat of the 1930s and 1940s produced by Consolidated Aircraft. It was one of the most widely used multi-role aircraft of World War II. PBYs served with every branch of the United States Armed Forces and in the air forces and navies of many other...
, and Dornier Do 24
Dornier Do 24
-See also:-References:* -External links:* * * * * * * * *...
. Perhaps the RAAF's oldest pilot in any theatre of operations, Pentland was responsible for the rescue of seven downed US airmen the same month he assumed command, and later civilians and Australian soldiers fleeing from the Japanese invasion of Rabaul
Rabaul
Rabaul is a township in East New Britain province, Papua New Guinea. The town was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province until it was destroyed in 1994 by falling ash of a volcanic eruption. During the eruption, ash was sent thousands of metres into the air and the...
. He also organised aerial surveys around Daru
Daru
Daru is the capital of the Western Province of Papua New Guinea. The township is entirely located on an island that goes by the same name, which is located near the mouth of the Fly River on the western side of the Gulf, just north of Torres Strait and Far North Queensland...
and Milne Bay
Milne Bay
Milne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, southeastern Papua New Guinea. The bay is named after Sir Alexander Milne.The area was a site of the Battle of Milne Bay in 1942....
, developing new bases and emergency airfields at locales such as Bena Bena
Benabena (Papua New Guinea)
Benabena is a village in the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea. It is known as a centre for weaving. The town was known also as Bena Bena.-History:...
, Abau, Kulpi
Kulpi
Kulpi is a port town, located in South 24 Parganas district of the Indian state of West Bengal, about 78 km south of Kolkata and about 25 km from Diamond Harbour, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly river. It is the site of the proposed port-cum-special economic zone...
, and Port Moresby.
By 30 November 1942, Pentland had been promoted Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. In these...
and his unit was reformed at Port Moresby as Rescue and Communication Squadron, but remained better known as "Pentland's Flying Circus". Posted back to Australia in June 1943, he received radar training before taking command of No. 3 Communication Unit at Mascot
Mascot, New South Wales
Mascot is a suburb in south-eastern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mascot is located 7 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the City of Botany Bay...
in November, and helping to set up the RAAF’s early warning grid in northern Australia. He returned to New Guinea in March 1944 as CO of No. 8 Communication Unit, Goodenough Island
Goodenough Island
Goodenough Island in the Solomon Sea is the westernmost of the three large islands of the D'Entrecasteaux Islands in Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. It lies to the east of mainland New Guinea and south west of the Trobriand Islands.It should not be confused with Goodenough's Island...
, which had been formed in November 1943 from Pentland's old Rescue and Communications Squadron. With Bristol Beaufort
Bristol Beaufort
The Bristol Beaufort was a British twin-engined torpedo bomber designed by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, and developed from experience gained designing and building the earlier Blenheim light bomber....
, CAC Boomerang
CAC Boomerang
The CAC Boomerang was a World War II fighter aircraft designed and manufactured in Australia between 1942 and 1945. The Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation produced Boomerangs under the production contract numbers CA-12, CA-13, CA-14 and CA-19, with aircraft supplied under each subsequent contract...
, Bristol Beaufighter
Bristol Beaufighter
The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter, often referred to as simply the Beau, was a British long-range heavy fighter modification of the Bristol Aeroplane Company's earlier Beaufort torpedo bomber design...
, and A-31 Vengeance combat aircraft added to its complement, the unit performed reconnaissance and bombing sorties over New Britain and north-eastern New Guinea, as well as rescue and survey missions. In July 1945, Pentland was posted back to Mascot as CO of No. 3 Communication Unit, serving until September. His achievements in New Guinea earned him the Air Force Cross
Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)
The Air Force Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom Armed Forces, and formerly also to officers of the other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying, though not in active operations against the enemy"...
(AFC), the citation being promulgated on 22 February 1946 and concluding:
With the end of hostilities in the Pacific, Pentland was discharged from the RAAF on 2 November 1945. He took the opportunity to purchase surplus military equipment in New Guinea and established himself as a trader in Finschhafen
Finschhafen
Finschhafen is a district on the northeast coast of the Morobe province of Papua New Guinea. It is named after the port of the same name.The port was discovered in 1884 by the German researcher Otto Finsch. In 1885 the German colony of German New Guinea created a town on the site and named it...
, later expanding to Lae and Wau. In 1948, he went into business as a coffee planter in Goroka
Goroka
Goroka is the capital of the Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. It is a town of approximately 19,000 people , 1600m above sea level. It has an airport and is on the "Highlands Highway", about 285 km from Lae in Morobe province and 90 km from the nearby town of Kainantu also...
, and also recruited labour from the highlands for industries on the coast. Prospering as a planter, he contributed to development of the region by building Goroka's original constant-flowing water supply and encouraging other businesses to set up there. His ongoing commitments in New Guinea meant that he was not invested
Investiture
Investiture, from the Latin is a rather general term for the formal installation of an incumbent...
with his AFC until 1950. In 1959, he sold his interests in Goroka and retired with Madge to their seaside home in Bayview
Bayview, New South Wales
Bayview is a suburb in northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Bayview is located 31 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Pittwater Council and is part of the Northern Beaches region....
, New South Wales. Madge Pentland died in 1982, and Jerry eighteen months later at the War Veterans Home in nearby Collaroy
Collaroy, New South Wales
Collaroy is a suburb in northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Collaroy is located 22 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Warringah Council and part of the Northern Beaches region...
. He was survived by daughter Carleen, his funeral taking place on 7 November 1983.