Geoffrey Forrest Hughes

Geoffrey Forrest Hughes, (12 July 1895 – 13 September 1951) was an Australian aviator and flying ace of the First World War. He was credited with 11 aerial victories, and won a Military Cross for his valour. After a postwar award of the Air Force Cross, he returned to Australia and completed university. He became a businessman and a solicitor in the family law firm while retaining his interests in aviation. From 1925 through 1934, he was president of the Royal Australian Aero Club, and largely responsible for government support of the club. Despite his business concerns, he returned to military duty during the Second World War. He commanded an aviation training school and rose to the rank of group captain before surrendering his commission in April 1943. After the war ended, he moved into public life and the political realm. Early life Geoffrey Forrest Hughes was born in the Sydney suburb of Darling Point on 12 July 1895. He was the second son of Thomas Hughes, a solicitor and future Lord Mayor of Sydney, and Louisa (née Gilhooley); he was of Irish descent on both sides, with roots in County Roscommon. Hughes received his secondary education at Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview, before undertaking a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Sydney from 1914. In June that year, he was commissioned as an officer in the 26th Infantry Regiment, Citizens Military Force. In his youth, Hughes had acquired a keen interest in aviation, which led him to apply for the Australian Flying Corps; his application was unsuccessful. First World War In March 1916, Hughes suspended his studies and travelled to the United Kingdom, where he enlisted in the Royal Flying Corps and was commissioned a second lieutenant on 3 June. He was posted for flight instruction, and on graduating as a pilot was made a flying officer on 28 July. Later that year, Hughes was posted to No. 10 Squadron RFC in France. Piloting Armstrong Whitworth F.K.8 biplanes, the unit carried out co-operation duties with the Allied ground troops over the Western Front. Around the same time Hughes had enlisted in the Royal Flying Corps, his elder brother, Roger Forrest Hughes, was granted a commission in the Australian Army Medical Corps of the Australian Imperial Force.