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A Melbourne boy, Graeme was a Seaman Diver in the RANR’s Diving Team Six before joining the Royal Australian Naval College as a Senior Entry in 1976. He was in the first group to be sent to the University of New South Wales for Bachelor of Arts degrees and found a love for history there. He later added a Master’s degree in military history from the University of New England. Graeme’s seaman training included Jervis Bay, Vendetta, Stalwart, Snipe and Melbourne before gaining his Bridge Watchkeeping Certificate in Swan. A graduate of RAAF No.114 Pilots Course FAA postings included HC723 and HU816 Squadrons with the venerable Wessex in it’s counter terrorist role and a tour with the Multinational Force and Observers in the Sinai. He did an exchange posting with the RNZN flying a Wasp whose short endurance helped him accrue 1749 deck landings. On return from New Zealand in 1988 the prospect of a desk in Canberra, sitting out the delayed Seahawk programme, was not as enticing as joining British Airways where he had a 33-year career. Qualified on almost the entire Boeing range - B737, B757, B767, B777, B747 and B787 - Graeme was in the Flight Standards Unit for three years where he flew with all the BA fleets, including Concorde, and with all BA’s subsidiary and franchise airlines around the world. After 22,000 flying hours he retired (compulsorily) when he turned 65 and moved permanently back to New Zealand where his wife Rowan hails from. Their daughter’s old bedroom has been converted into his library/study and his mission is to make the history of Australia’s naval aviators from 1911 more widely known.
