Eric Harrison (RAAF officer)
Encyclopedia
Eric Harrison was an Australian aviator
who made the country's first military flight, and helped lay the foundations of the Royal Australian Air Force
(RAAF). Born in Victoria
, he was a flying instructor
in Britain when he answered the Australian Defence Department's call for pilots in 1911. Along with Henry Petre
, he established Australia's first air base at Point Cook, Victoria
, and its inaugural air training facility, the Central Flying School
(CFS), before making his historic flight in March 1914. Following the outbreak of World War I
, when Petre went on active service with the newly formed Mesopotamian Half Flight
, Harrison took charge of instruction at CFS and was responsible for training many pilots of the Australian Flying Corps. He transferred to the RAAF as one of its founding members in 1921, and reached the rank of Group Captain
in 1935. Retiring from the Air Force in 1938, he continued to serve as Director of Aeronautical Inspection in a civilian capacity until his sudden death from heart disease
in 1945, aged fifty-nine.
, Victoria
, Harrison was the son of printer
and stationer
Joseph Harrison, and his English-born wife Ann. He attended Castlemaine Grammar School before starting work as a motor mechanic
. Keen to fly from the first time he saw an aeroplane, he travelled to Britain in March 1911 and trained as a pilot
at the Bristol School
on Salisbury Plain
. He qualified for his Royal Aero Club
Aviator's Certificate six months later, having accumulated some thirty minutes flight time. Gaining employment as an instructor for Bristol, he taught flying on behlaf of the company in Spain and Italy, as well as in Halberstadt
, Germany, where he became aware first-hand of that country's militarism; some of the students he trained and examined later served as pilots in the Luftstreitkräfte
during World War I
.
In December 1911, the Australian Defence Department advertised in the United Kingdom for "Two competent mechanists and aviators" to establish a flying corps and school. Henry Petre
, a former solicitor
employed by Handley Page, and H.R. Busteed, then Bristol's chief test pilot
, successfully applied. Petre was commissioned as a Lieutenant
in the Australian Army
on 6 August 1912, but Busteed withdrew his application in October and Harrison took his place, gaining his commission on 16 December. Petre selected Point Cook, Victoria
to become the site for the Army's proposed Central Flying School
(CFS) in March 1913; meanwhile Harrison remained in Britain, ordering the facility's complement of aircraft including two Deperdussin
monoplane
s, two B.E.2 biplane
s, and a Bristol Boxkite
for initial training. By January 1914, the pair had established the school with themselves as instructors, augmented by four mechanics and three other staff. Harrison made Australia's first military flight in the Boxkite on Sunday, 1 March 1914, followed by a second in the same aircraft with Petre as passenger, then a third by himself in a Deperdussin. On 29 June, Harrison married Kathleen Prendergast, daughter of future Premier of Victoria George Prendergast
, at St Mary's Catholic Church in West Melbourne
.
and Lieutenant Richard Williams, with Harrison providing initial training to solo standard and Petre advanced instruction. In September, Harrison was given command of a flying unit that accompanied the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force
to Rabaul
in German New Guinea
. With little in the way of enemy resistance, however, the aircraft were never assembled in country and he had to return without the distinction of leading the first Australian airmen into combat, which instead went to Petre as commander of the Mesopotamian Half Flight
the following year.
With Petre on active service, Harrison took on the prime responsibility for training pilots of the first three Australian squadrons to be sent overseas, many of whom would continue to play a prominent role in the future Air Force, including Bill Anderson, Harry Cobby
, Adrian Cole
, Frank McNamara
, Lawrence Wackett
, and Henry Wrigley
. Harrison's mechanical abilities were also put to use initiating the building of aero engines in Australia and maintaining the CFS's complement of airframes; according to Wackett, only Harrison had the skill to keep the obsolescent machines in the air. He was appointed Officer-in-Charge of CFS in June 1917 with the temporary rank of Major
; this was made permanent in September 1918. The CFS was disbanded at Point Cook on 31 December 1919.
(honorary Squadron Leader
) to the newly formed Australian Air Force in March 1921, becoming one of its twenty-one founding officers; the prefix "Royal" was added to the service's name in August that year. Dissatisfied with his RAAF rank considering his leading position in the pre-war Central Flying School, Harrison appealed for greater seniority. As a result, he was appointed Air Liaison Officer to the Air Ministry
in London, with promotion to the substantive rank of Squadron Leader. Returning to Australia in 1925, he was appointed Assistant Director of Technical Services in 1927, and soon after helped form the RAAF's Air Accident Investigation Committee. The following year he became Director of Aeronautical Inspection, receiving promotion to Wing Commander
on 1 July 1928. Harrison's position took him throughout the country, inspecting equipment and investigating the causes of air crashes. Promoted Group Captain
on 1 January 1935, he took charge of the Resources Committee for Aircraft, Aero Engines, and Motor Transport, one of a number of subcommittees on the Federal government's Defence Resources Board set up to investigate and report on the readiness of Australian industry to provide munitions for defence in the event of international conflict.
In 1937, Harrison returned to Britain for further study of accident investigation methods, as well as aircraft production. His position as Director of Aeronautical Inspection was civilianised on 12 March 1938, which saw him retired from the RAAF but continuing in his role. He was a member of the court of inquiry into the crash on 25 October
of the Douglas DC-2
airliner Kyeema, which overshot Essendon
airport in low cloud, killing all fourteen passengers and four crew members. The inquiry's report singled out Major Melville Langslow, Finance Member on both the Civil Aviation Board and the RAAF Air Board, for criticism over cost-cutting measures that had held up trials of safety beacons designed for such eventualities. When Langslow was appointed Secretary to the Minister for Air
in November the following year, he reportedly went out of his way to "make life difficult" for Harrison, causing "bitterness and friction within the department", and necessitating the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Stanley Goble
, to take steps to shield the safety inspector from the new Secretary's ire. Harrison nevertheless held the position of Director of Aeronautical Inspection throughout World War II
, his staff numbering over 1,200 by 1945. The pre-war reorganisation of the Directorate permitted civilians with the necessary engineering qualifications and experience, who for various reasons were ineligible for service in the Air Force, to be recruited for work that required increasing technical expertise. Harrison also proposed a series of test houses to help decentralise chemical, mechanical and metrological testing of materials used in the manufacture of munitions that had previously had to go through either the Munitions Supply Laboratories or the National Standards Laboratory. The result was a major improvement in the speed of testing and "a fuller use of the country's scientific and technical manpower".
at his home in the Melbourne suburb of Brighton
; he was survived by his wife and daughter, and cremated. One of the original Deperdussins that he ordered and helped assemble for the Central Flying School in 1914 later went on display at the Australian War Memorial
in Canberra
.
Until Air Marshal
Richard Williams assumed the title of "Father of the RAAF", the term was often used to describe Eric Harrison. His early technical expertise, long association with Australian military aviation as a founder member of the AFC and the RAAF, and "more assertive" personality tended to overshadow the contributions of Henry Petre, whom historian Douglas Gillison considered "equally entitled" to the accolade. Dr Alan Stephens, in his volume of The Australian Centenary History of Defence in 2001, concluded that "perhaps any judgement would not only be moot but also gratuitous, as by circumstance and achievement both men properly belong in the pantheon of the RAAF".
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
who made the country's first military flight, and helped lay the foundations of 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...
(RAAF). Born in Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, he was a flying instructor
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...
in Britain when he answered the Australian Defence Department's call for pilots in 1911. Along with Henry Petre
Henry Petre
Henry Aloysius Petre DSO, MC was an English solicitor who became Australia's first military aviator, and a founding member of the Australian Flying Corps, predecessor of the Royal Australian Air Force...
, he established Australia's first air base at Point Cook, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, and its inaugural air training facility, the Central Flying School
Central 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....
(CFS), before making his historic flight in March 1914. Following the outbreak of 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...
, when Petre went on active service with the newly formed Mesopotamian Half Flight
Mesopotamian Half Flight
The Mesopotamian Half-Flight, or Australian Half-Flight was the first Australian Flying Corps unit to see active service.At the start of World War I, the air forces of the Allied forces were small and primitive. Most of the available aircraft and pilots were assigned to the Western Front...
, Harrison took charge of instruction at CFS and was responsible for training many pilots of the Australian Flying Corps. He transferred to the RAAF as one of its founding members in 1921, and reached 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...
in 1935. Retiring from the Air Force in 1938, he continued to serve as Director of Aeronautical Inspection in a civilian capacity until his sudden death from heart disease
Heart disease
Heart disease, cardiac disease or cardiopathy is an umbrella term for a variety of diseases affecting the heart. , it is the leading cause of death in the United States, England, Canada and Wales, accounting for 25.4% of the total deaths in the United States.-Types:-Coronary heart disease:Coronary...
in 1945, aged fifty-nine.
Early career
Born on 10 August 1886 at Clinkers Hill near CastlemaineCastlemaine, Victoria
Castlemaine is a city in Victoria, Australia, in the Goldfields region of Victoria about 120 kilometres northwest by road from Melbourne, and about 40 kilometres from the major provincial centre of Bendigo. It is the administrative and economic centre of the Shire of Mount Alexander. The...
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, Harrison was the son of printer
Printer (publisher)
In publishing, printers are both companies providing printing services and individuals who directly operate printing presses. With the invention of the moveable type printing press by Johannes Gutenberg around 1450, printing—and printers—proliferated throughout Europe.Today, printers are found...
and stationer
Stationery
Stationery has historically meant a wide gamut of materials: paper and office supplies, writing implements, greeting cards, glue, pencil case etc.-History of stationery:...
Joseph Harrison, and his English-born wife Ann. He attended Castlemaine Grammar School before starting work as a motor mechanic
Mechanic
A mechanic is a craftsman or technician who uses tools to build or repair machinery.Many mechanics are specialized in a particular field such as auto mechanics, bicycle mechanics, motorcycle mechanics, boiler mechanics, general mechanics, industrial maintenance mechanics , air conditioning and...
. Keen to fly from the first time he saw an aeroplane, he travelled to Britain in March 1911 and trained as a pilot
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
at the Bristol School
Bristol Aeroplane Company
The Bristol Aeroplane Company, originally the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, was both one of the first and one of the most important British aviation companies, designing and manufacturing both airframes and aero engines...
on Salisbury Plain
Salisbury Plain
Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in central southern England covering . It is part of the Southern England Chalk Formation and largely lies within the county of Wiltshire, with a little in Hampshire. The plain is famous for its rich archaeology, including Stonehenge, one of England's best known...
. He qualified for his Royal Aero Club
Royal Aero Club
The Royal Aero Club is the national co-ordinating body for Air Sport in the United Kingdom.The Aero Club was founded in 1901 by Frank Hedges Butler, his daughter Vera and the Hon Charles Rolls , partly inspired by the Aero Club of France...
Aviator's Certificate six months later, having accumulated some thirty minutes flight time. Gaining employment as an instructor for Bristol, he taught flying on behlaf of the company in Spain and Italy, as well as in Halberstadt
Halberstadt
Halberstadt is a town in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt and the capital of the district of Harz. It is located on the German Half-Timbered House Road and the Magdeburg–Thale railway....
, Germany, where he became aware first-hand of that country's militarism; some of the students he trained and examined later served as pilots in the Luftstreitkräfte
Luftstreitkräfte
The Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte , known before October 1916 as Die Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches , or simply Die Fliegertruppen, was the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I...
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...
.
In December 1911, the Australian Defence Department advertised in the United Kingdom for "Two competent mechanists and aviators" to establish a flying corps and school. Henry Petre
Henry Petre
Henry Aloysius Petre DSO, MC was an English solicitor who became Australia's first military aviator, and a founding member of the Australian Flying Corps, predecessor of the Royal Australian Air Force...
, a former solicitor
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
employed by Handley Page, and H.R. Busteed, then Bristol's chief test pilot
Test pilot
A test pilot is an aviator who flies new and modified aircraft in specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques or FTTs, allowing the results to be measured and the design to be evaluated....
, successfully applied. Petre was commissioned as a Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
in the Australian Army
Australian Army
The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...
on 6 August 1912, but Busteed withdrew his application in October and Harrison took his place, gaining his commission on 16 December. Petre selected Point Cook, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
to become the site for the Army's proposed Central Flying School
Central 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....
(CFS) in March 1913; meanwhile Harrison remained in Britain, ordering the facility's complement of aircraft including two Deperdussin
Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés
SPAD was a French aircraft manufacturer between 1911 and 1921. Its SPAD S.XIII biplane was the most popular French fighter airplane in World War I.-Deperdussin:...
monoplane
Monoplane
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with one main set of wing surfaces, in contrast to a biplane or triplane. Since the late 1930s it has been the most common form for a fixed wing aircraft.-Types of monoplane:...
s, two B.E.2 biplane
Biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two superimposed main wings. The Wright brothers' Wright Flyer used a biplane design, as did most aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a biplane wing structure has a structural advantage, it produces more drag than a similar monoplane wing...
s, and a Bristol Boxkite
Bristol Boxkite
-Military operators:* Australian Flying Corps** Central Flying School AFC at Point Cook, Victoria.* Union Defence Forces - South African Air Force Kingdom of Spain* Royal Flying Corps* Royal Naval Air Service** No. 3 Squadron RFC-References:...
for initial training. By January 1914, the pair had established the school with themselves as instructors, augmented by four mechanics and three other staff. Harrison made Australia's first military flight in the Boxkite on Sunday, 1 March 1914, followed by a second in the same aircraft with Petre as passenger, then a third by himself in a Deperdussin. On 29 June, Harrison married Kathleen Prendergast, daughter of future Premier of Victoria George Prendergast
George Prendergast
George Michael Prendergast , Australian politician, was the 28th Premier of Victoria. He was born to Irish emigrant parents in Adelaide, but he grew up in Stawell in the Wimmera district of Victoria...
, at St Mary's Catholic Church in West Melbourne
West Melbourne
West Melbourne may refer to:*West Melbourne, Florida, United States*West Melbourne, Victoria, Australia...
.
World War I
Its coterie of personnel by now being referred to as the Australian Flying Corps, CFS commenced its first flying course on 17 August 1914, two weeks after the outbreak of World War I. Its students included Captain Thomas WhiteThomas White (Australian politician)
Sir Thomas Walter White KBE DFC was an Australian politician.-Early life and World War I:White was born at Hotham, North Melbourne, Victoria and educated at Moreland State School. In August 1914, he began training as an officer in the Australian Flying Corps at Point Cook...
and Lieutenant Richard Williams, with Harrison providing initial training to solo standard and Petre advanced instruction. In September, Harrison was given command of a flying unit that accompanied the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force
Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force
The Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force was a small volunteer force of approximately 2,000 men, raised in Australia shortly after the outbreak of the First World War to seize and destroy German wireless stations in German New Guinea in the south-west Pacific...
to 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...
in German New Guinea
German New Guinea
German New Guinea was the first part of the German colonial empire. It was a protectorate from 1884 until 1914 when it fell to Australia following the outbreak of the First World War. It consisted of the northeastern part of New Guinea and several nearby island groups...
. With little in the way of enemy resistance, however, the aircraft were never assembled in country and he had to return without the distinction of leading the first Australian airmen into combat, which instead went to Petre as commander of the Mesopotamian Half Flight
Mesopotamian Half Flight
The Mesopotamian Half-Flight, or Australian Half-Flight was the first Australian Flying Corps unit to see active service.At the start of World War I, the air forces of the Allied forces were small and primitive. Most of the available aircraft and pilots were assigned to the Western Front...
the following year.
With Petre on active service, Harrison took on the prime responsibility for training pilots of the first three Australian squadrons to be sent overseas, many of whom would continue to play a prominent role in the future Air Force, including Bill Anderson, Harry Cobby
Arthur Henry Cobby
Air Commodore Arthur Henry Cobby CBE, DSO, DFC & Two Bars, GM was an Australian military aviator...
, Adrian Cole
Adrian Cole (RAAF officer)
Air Vice Marshal Adrian Lindley Trevor Cole, CBE, DSO, MC, DFC was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force . Joining the army at the outbreak of World War I, he transferred to the Australian Flying Corps in 1916 and flew with No. 1 Squadron in the Middle East and No. 2...
, Frank McNamara
Frank Hubert McNamara
Air Vice Marshal Francis Hubert McNamara VC, CB, CBE was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for valour in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to a member of the British and Commonwealth forces...
, Lawrence Wackett
Lawrence Wackett
Sir Lawrence James Wackett KBE, DFC, AFC is widely regarded as "father of the Australian aircraft industry". He has been described as "one of the towering figures in the history of Australian aviation covering, as he did, virtually all aspects of activities: pilot, designer of airframes and...
, and Henry Wrigley
Henry Wrigley
Air Vice Marshal Henry Neilson Wrigley CBE, DFC, AFC was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force . A pioneer aviator and theorist, he piloted the first trans-Australia flight from Melbourne to Darwin in 1919, and subsequently laid the groundwork for the RAAF's air power doctrine...
. Harrison's mechanical abilities were also put to use initiating the building of aero engines in Australia and maintaining the CFS's complement of airframes; according to Wackett, only Harrison had the skill to keep the obsolescent machines in the air. He was appointed Officer-in-Charge of CFS in June 1917 with the temporary rank of 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. ...
; this was made permanent in September 1918. The CFS was disbanded at Point Cook on 31 December 1919.
Interbellum and World War II
Harrison began a long association with engineering and air safety when he was posted to Britain for secondment to the Aeronautical Inspection Directorate following the end of World War I. He transferred as a Flight LieutenantFlight 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"...
(honorary 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...
) to the newly formed Australian Air Force in March 1921, becoming one of its twenty-one founding officers; the prefix "Royal" was added to the service's name in August that year. Dissatisfied with his RAAF rank considering his leading position in the pre-war Central Flying School, Harrison appealed for greater seniority. As a result, he was appointed Air Liaison Officer to the Air Ministry
Air Ministry
The Air Ministry was a department of the British Government with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964...
in London, with promotion to the substantive rank of Squadron Leader. Returning to Australia in 1925, he was appointed Assistant Director of Technical Services in 1927, and soon after helped form the RAAF's Air Accident Investigation Committee. The following year he became Director of Aeronautical Inspection, receiving promotion to 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...
on 1 July 1928. Harrison's position took him throughout the country, inspecting equipment and investigating the causes of air crashes. Promoted 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...
on 1 January 1935, he took charge of the Resources Committee for Aircraft, Aero Engines, and Motor Transport, one of a number of subcommittees on the Federal government's Defence Resources Board set up to investigate and report on the readiness of Australian industry to provide munitions for defence in the event of international conflict.
In 1937, Harrison returned to Britain for further study of accident investigation methods, as well as aircraft production. His position as Director of Aeronautical Inspection was civilianised on 12 March 1938, which saw him retired from the RAAF but continuing in his role. He was a member of the court of inquiry into the crash on 25 October
1938 Kyeema Crash
The Kyeema airline crash took place on the 25 October 1938 when the Australian National Airways Douglas DC-2 Kyeema, tail number VH-UYC, flying from Adelaide to Melbourne, Australia, commenced final approach to Essendon Airport through heavy fog and crashed into the western slopes of Mount...
of the Douglas DC-2
Douglas DC-2
The Douglas DC-2 was a 14-seat, twin-engine airliner produced by the American company Douglas Aircraft Corporation starting in 1934. It competed with the Boeing 247...
airliner Kyeema, which overshot Essendon
Essendon, Victoria
Essendon is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 10 km north-west from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Moonee Valley...
airport in low cloud, killing all fourteen passengers and four crew members. The inquiry's report singled out Major Melville Langslow, Finance Member on both the Civil Aviation Board and the RAAF Air Board, for criticism over cost-cutting measures that had held up trials of safety beacons designed for such eventualities. When Langslow was appointed Secretary to the Minister for Air
Minister for Defence (Australia)
The Minister for Defence of Australia administers his portfolio through the Australian Defence Organisation, which comprises the Department of Defence and the Australian Defence Force. Stephen Smith is the current Minister.-Ministers for Defence:...
in November the following year, he reportedly went out of his way to "make life difficult" for Harrison, causing "bitterness and friction within the department", and necessitating the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal 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...
, to take steps to shield the safety inspector from the new Secretary's ire. Harrison nevertheless held the position of Director of Aeronautical Inspection throughout 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...
, his staff numbering over 1,200 by 1945. The pre-war reorganisation of the Directorate permitted civilians with the necessary engineering qualifications and experience, who for various reasons were ineligible for service in the Air Force, to be recruited for work that required increasing technical expertise. Harrison also proposed a series of test houses to help decentralise chemical, mechanical and metrological testing of materials used in the manufacture of munitions that had previously had to go through either the Munitions Supply Laboratories or the National Standards Laboratory. The result was a major improvement in the speed of testing and "a fuller use of the country's scientific and technical manpower".
Legacy
On 5 September 1945, just as the war had ended, Harrison died suddenly of hypertensive cerebrovascular diseaseCerebrovascular disease
Cerebrovascular disease is a group of brain dysfunctions related to disease of the blood vessels supplying the brain. Hypertension is the most important cause; it damages the blood vessel lining, endothelium, exposing the underlying collagen where platelets aggregate to initiate a repairing process...
at his home in the Melbourne suburb of Brighton
Brighton, Victoria
Brighton is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 11 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Bayside. At the 2006 Census, Brighton had a population of 20,651...
; he was survived by his wife and daughter, and cremated. One of the original Deperdussins that he ordered and helped assemble for the Central Flying School in 1914 later went on display at the Australian War Memorial
Australian War Memorial
The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of all its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in the wars of the Commonwealth of Australia...
in Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
.
Until Air Marshal
Air Marshal
Air marshal is a three-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
Richard Williams assumed the title of "Father of the RAAF", the term was often used to describe Eric Harrison. His early technical expertise, long association with Australian military aviation as a founder member of the AFC and the RAAF, and "more assertive" personality tended to overshadow the contributions of Henry Petre, whom historian Douglas Gillison considered "equally entitled" to the accolade. Dr Alan Stephens, in his volume of The Australian Centenary History of Defence in 2001, concluded that "perhaps any judgement would not only be moot but also gratuitous, as by circumstance and achievement both men properly belong in the pantheon of the RAAF".