Blake Raymond Pelly OBE

Order of the British Empire

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

 (31 May 1907, Buckley

Buckley

Buckley is a town and community in Flintshire, located in north-east Wales. It is situated 2 miles from the county town of Mold and is contiguous with the nearby villages of Ewloe, Alltami and Mynydd Isa...

, Flintshire

Flintshire

Flintshire is a county in north-east Wales. It borders Denbighshire, Wrexham and the English county of Cheshire. It is named after the historic county of Flintshire, which had notably different borders...

 - 16 October 1990, Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

) was an Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n air force officer, politician and businessman, who represented the Liberal Party of Australia

Liberal Party of Australia

The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...

 in New South Wales Parliament.

Before and during 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 served in the 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...

, rising to the rank of Group Captain

Group Captain

Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. It ranks above wing commander and immediately below air commodore...

 and director of Operations Royal Australian Air Force Headquarters 1945–1946. He was mentioned in despatches on 24 September 1941. On 16 June 1944, Wing Commander Pelly was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for distinguished service and efficiency in the south-west Pacific area.

He represented the electoral district

New South Wales Legislative Assembly electoral districts

The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is elected from 93 single-member electorates called districts.- Current districts :This is a list of districts for the 2011 state election.* Albury* Auburn* Ballina...

 of Wollondilly

Electoral district of Wollondilly

Wollondilly is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is currently held by Jai Rowell of the Liberal Party of Australia....

from 1950 to 1957.

After retiring he was chairman of directors of Rio Tinto (Australia) Limited, Hammersley Iron Pty Limited, Zinc Corporation Limited, Merchant Bills Corporation; chairman of directors of Unity Life Assurance Limited from 1959, Sun Alliance Insurance Limited from 1972, deputy chairman of Universities Board in 1967, and a member of Higher Education Board in 1976.