Air Commodore Raymond James Brownell, (17 May 1894 – 12 April 1974) was a senior officer in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and a First World War flying ace. Born in Hobart, Tasmania, Brownell was working as a clerk with a firm of accountants when he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on the outbreak of the First World War. He served during the Gallipoli Campaign before transferring to the Western Front. Awarded the Military Medal for his actions during the Battle of Pozières, he was accepted for a transfer to the Royal Flying Corps in 1917. After flight training in the United Kingdom, Brownell was commissioned as a second lieutenant and posted for operational service over the Western Front in September 1917. Moving with his squadron to Italy, he was awarded the Military Cross and credited with shooting down 12 aircraft by war's end. Taking his discharge in 1919, Brownell returned to Australia.
Commissioned in the RAAF in 1921, Brownell had risen to the rank of group captain by the beginning of the Second World War. Establishing the RAAF base in Singapore, he returned to Australia in 1941 as an air commodore and was appointed to lead No. 1 Training Group. He was Air Officer Commanding Western Area from January 1943 until July 1945, when he took charge of the recently formed No. 11 Group on Morotai. Retiring from the Air Force in 1947, Brownell assumed a partnership in a stockbroking firm. He died in 1974 aged 79; his autobiography, From Khaki to Blue, was published posthumously.
Early life
Brownell was born in the Hobart suburb of New Town, Tasmania, on 17 May 1894 to William Percival Brownell, a draper, and his wife Julie Ann James (née Scott). Initially educated at Leslie House School, Brownell later attended Scotch College, Melbourne where he was an active sportsman. On graduation, he was apprenticed to a firm of public accountants and auditors in Hobart. In 1912, Brownell enlisted in the Citizens Military Force and was posted to the 41st Battery, Australian Field Artillery.
First World War
Australian Imperial Force
On 12 September 1914, Brownell transferred to the Australian Imperial Force for service during the First World War. Allotted to the 9th Battery, 3rd Field Artillery Brigade with the rank of gunner, Brownell embarked from Hobart aboard HMAT Geelong on 20 October, bound for Egypt. On arrival, the unit spent several months training in the desert, before it was posted for service during the Gallipoli Campaign. Instead of landing on the peninsula with the battery, Brownell was transferred to Alexandria where the Army required his administrative abilities as an accountant.
During July 1915, Brownell was shipped to Gallipoli and rejoined the 9th Battery. Promoted to bombardier on 12 November, he was in one of the final Australian waves to be evacuated from the peninsula in December during the Allied withdrawal. Returning to Egypt, he was advanced to provisional sergeant on 24 February 1916. Embarking with his unit from Alexandria, Brownell arrived in France for service on the Western Front on 29 March, following a six-day voyage.
On 21–22 July 1916, Brownell was in action with his battery at Pozières, during which the unit was subject to severe German shellfire. Throughout the engagement, Brownell established and maintained communications between the battery and firing line, despite fatigue or personal risk to himself. Commended for his "particularly meritorious service ... and ... gallantry in this work", Brownell was subsequently recommended for the Military Medal. The notification for the award was published in a supplement to the London Gazette on 16 November 1916.
Royal Flying Corps
In October 1916, Brownell applied for a transfer to the Royal Flying Corps. One of 5,000 applicants, Brownell was accepted on 1 January 1917 along with a further 200 Australians. Posted for pilot training, he proceeding to England and was posted to No. 3 School of Military Aeronautics at Exeter College, Oxford, from 26 January. On graduating from the course, Brownell was discharged from the Australian Imperial Force on 16 March and commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Flying Corps the following day.