Person
Harrison, Herbert Clifford (1888 - 1962)
OBE
- Born
- 22 May 1888
Mill House, Sprowston, Norfolk, England - Died
- 14 September 1962
Late of Middle Brighton, Victoria, Australia - Occupation
- Aeronautical engineer and Mechanical engineer
Summary
Wing-Commander Herbert Clifford Harrison was born and grew up at the historic windmill and mill house at Sprowston, Norfolk, England, engendering a lifelong passion for windmills, mechanical engineering, and aeronautical engineering. With his experience in aircraft design and manufacturing during the First World War in England, and his role as one of the first officers in the Royal Australian Air Force, Harrison was chosen to take a leading role in the development of aircraft manufacture in Australia, in the early 1930s. This included the design of the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation factory, Fisherman's Bend, Victoria.
After he retired from the RAAF in 1934, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1935 in recognition of his distinguished technical service.
However, in the lead up to the Second World War, he was recalled from the retired list, appointed Wing-Commander, and Deputy Director, Repair and Maintenance, Royal Australian Air Force. After the Second World War, he joined the Department of Civil Aviation, as Superintendent of Airworthiness and Aeronautical Engineering, and later as a Special Assistant, to the Director of Air Navigation.
His fascination with windmills, especially the old Mill House at Spowston, Norfolk encouraged him to publish books about the mechanics of windmills, so the knowledge would not be lost, and he encouraged the protection, conservation, restoration, and interpretation of windmills.
Details
Chronology
- 1908
- Education - Associate of the Royal College of Science (ARCSc), University of London
- 1908 - 1911
- Career position - Engineer, Daimler Motor works, Coventry, England
- 1911
- Life event - Arrived in Australia
- 1911 - 1915
- Career position - Design engineer, H. V. McKay, Sunshine Victoria
- 1916 - 1920
- Career position - Chief Draughtsman, Boulton and Paul, Aircraft Engineers, Norwich, England
- 1921 - 1923
- Career position - Engineer Officer, Royal Australian Air Force
- 1923 -
- Career position - Flight Lieutenant, Royal Australian Air Force
- 1925 - 1927
- Career position - Director of Technical Services, Royal Australian Air Force
- 1927 -
- Career position - Squadron Leader, Royal Australian Air Force
- 1927 - 1930
- Career position - Exchange duty with Royal Air Force
- 1930 - 1935
- Career position - Director of Technical Services, Royal Australian Air Force
- c. 1931
- Career position - Engaged in the design of the Commonwealth Aircarft Corporation factory, Fisherman's Bend
- 1934
- Career event - Retired from Royal Australian Air Force, placed on reserve list
- 1935
- Award - Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) - Royal Australian Air Force [Distinguished technical service with the RAAF and RAF]
- 1936
- Career position - Member, Overseas Commission for Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation
- 1936
- Career position - Member of the Australian Technical Air Mission to England and America [With Lawrence James Wackett and Arthur William Murphy]
- 1940
- Patent - Electrical heating of structures [2413/1940]
- 1943
- Life event - Recalled from retired list. Wing Commander, Royal Australian Air Force
- 1943 - 1946
- Career position - Deputy Director, Repair and Maintenance, Royal Australian Air Force
- 1946 - 1951
- Career position - Superintendent of Airworthiness and Aeronautical Engineering, Department of Civil Aviation
- 1947
- Publication - Book: "The Windmill", self-published, Melbourne,Victoria
- 1949
- Publication - Book: "The story of Sprowston Mill", Phoenix House, London (Illustratted by Graham R. Nesbit, Melbourne)
- 1951
- Career position - Special Assistant, Director of Air Navigation, Department of Civil Avaiation
- 1954
- Career event - Lobbied for the retention, conservation and restoration of the Callington Windmill at Oatlands, Tasmania
- 1954
- Career position - Assistant Chief Engineer, Standard Motor Company, Melbourne
Related entries
Colleague
Published resources
Resources
- CA 2001 Australian Imperial Force, Base Records Office, 'NAA: B2455, Harrison H C', B2455 First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920, National Archives of Australia, RecordSearch, https://RecordSearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/AutoSearch.asp?O=I&Number=4741974. Details
- CA 778, Air Services Branch; CA 35, Department of Air, Central Office, 'NAA: A9300, HARRISON H C', A9300 RAAF Officers Personnel files, 1921-1948, National Archives of Australia, RecordSearch, https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/AutoSearch.asp?O=I&Number=5260757. Details
- IP Australia, Commonwealth of Australia, 'Application: 2413/1940. Title: Electrical heating of structures', Australian Patent search database, Commonwealth of Australia, 2015, https://ipsearch.ipaustralia.gov.au/patents/1940002413. Details
- 'Harrison, C H', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1475236. Details
See also
- Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, Technology in Australia 1788-1988, Online edn, Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre, Melbourne, 3 May 2000, http://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/tia/index_h.html. Details
- Alexander, John A. ed., Who's who in Australia 1944 (Melbourne, Victoria: The Herald and Weekly Times Ltd, 1944), 906 pp. p.408. Details
Rosanne Walker; Ken McInnes
Created: 25 May 2001, Last modified: 14 August 2025
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