Person
Pither, Alfred George (George) (1908 - 1971)
- Born
- 16 October 1908
Shepparton, Victoria, Australia - Died
- 2 July 1971
Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia
Summary
George Pither, a Royal Australian Air Force officer from 1930 until his retirement with the honorary rank of Air Commodore in 1966, has been called the "father of RAAF radar". An early interest in radio led him to specialise in signals. After four years commanding the Signals Training School at Laverton, Victoria, he travelled to the United Kingdom in 1940 to learn about the new, secret technology of radar. Much of his service during WWII revolved around radio-jamming programs, and the establishment of a chain of 126 long-range radar stations in Australia. Pither commanded what became the Directorate of Radar. After the war Pither was given responsibility for guided missiles and was involved in the development of the Australian rocket-range (named Woomera at his suggestion). In 1954 he became Director of telecommunications and radar for the R.A.A.F. and in 1963 was in charge of telecommunications engineering.
Details
Chronology
- 1930
- Education - Graduated from Royal Military College, Duntroon
- 1930 - 1936
- Career position - Commissioned in the Royal Australian Air Force
- 1936 -
- Career position - Flight Lieutenant, Royal Australian Air Force
- 1936 - 1937
- Education - Training at Royal Air Force signals school, United Kingdom
- 1937 - 1939
- Career position - Officer-in-charge, Signals Training School, Laverton, Victoria
- 1939 - 1941
- Career position - Staff Officer, Directorate of Training, R.A.A.F. Headquarters, Melbourne
- 1941 - 1943
- Career position - Wing Commander, Directorate of Signals, Royal Australian Air Force
- 1942 - 1943
- Career position - Commander Directorate of Radar, R.A.A.F.
- 1946 - 1951
- Career position - Responsible for guided missiles, R.A.A.F. Headquarters
- 1951 - 1954
- Career position - Seconded to the Department of Supply
- 1954 - 1959
- Career position - Director, Communications and Radar, R.A.A.F.
- 1956
- Award - Commander of the British Empire (CBE)
- 1959 - 1961
- Career position - Commanded No.1 Aircraft Depot, Laverton, Victoria
- 1961 - 1962
- Career position - Officer Commanding, R.A.A.F. Base, Laverton, Victoria
- 1963 - 1966
- Career position - Staff Officer, Telecommunication Engineering, R.A.A.F. Support Command, Melbourne
- 1966
- Life event - Retired
Related entries
Published resources
Book Sections
- Coulthard-Clark, C.D., 'Pither, Alfred George (1908-1971), Air Force Officer' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 16: 1940 - 1980 Pik-Z, John Ritchie and Diane Langmore, eds (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 2002), pp. 6-7. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A160007b.htm. Details
Resources
- Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q21535386. Details
- CA 35, Department of Air, Central Office; CA 46, Department of Defence [III], Central Office, ' NAA: A12372, R/323/P', A12372 RAAF Personnel files - All Ranks 1921-, National Archives of Australia, RecordSearch, https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/AutoSearch.asp?O=I&Number=30718830. Details
- CA 35, Department of Air, Central Office; CA 46, Department of Defence [III], Central Office, 'NAA: A12372, R/323/H', A12372 RAAF Personnel files - All Ranks 1921-, National Archives of Australia, RecordSearch, https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/AutoSearch.asp?O=I&Number=30718829. Details
- 'Pither, Alfred George (19081016-19710702)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1467006. Details
See also
- Fielder-Gill, Walter, 'The "Bailey boys": the University of Sydney and the training of radar officers', Historical Records of Australian Science, 12 (4) (1999), 469-77, https://doi.org/10.1071/HR9991240469. Details
- Minnett, Harry, 'Light-weight air warning radar', Historical Records of Australian Science, 12 (4) (1999), 457-67, https://doi.org/10.1071/HR9991240457. Details
- Minnett, Harry, 'Radar and the bombing of Darwin', Historical Records of Australian Science, 12 (4) (1999), 428-55, https://doi.org/10.1071/HR9991240429. Details
Helen Cohn
Last modified: 3 July 2018