Group Captain Charles 'Moth' Eaton (1895-1979) OBE(Mil). AFC. MID. Knight Commander-Cross of the Orange Nassau with Swords _____________________________________________________________ Charles Eaton was a participant of some of this century's significant events: political, military; as well as aviation. After serving as a trench bomber in the British Army in France 1915-1917 Eaton transferred to the RFC in 1917. While on reconnaissance of a German aerodrome at Tournai on the 29th June 1918 his DH 9 (206 Sqn.) had engine trouble and crashed into the German front trench. Taken prisoner, he immediately escaped but was soon recaptured. Considered by the Germans as an "undesirable" he was sent to the infamous Festung Nein where he escaped again, recaptured and put on courts-martial. He finally escaped from Stalag Holzminden during the last week of the war. Eaton's participation in aviation history began as a pilot on the first inter- national regular air service London-Paris No 2 (Com.) Sqn for the Peace Conference. Assigned to Ambala India with 28 Sqn. RAF he and his flight conducted the first aerial survey of Himalayas in March 1920. Eaton joined the RAAF in 1925. In 1929-1931 he entered Australian aviation legend when commanding the searches for the “Kookaburra” and the “Golden Quest”. His DH9a A1-1, the first aircraft registered in the RAAF, caught fire in the air and crashed at Tennant Creek NT. He earned his sobriquet "Moth" after flying the first metal DH Gipsy Moth in the “Great Air Race” 1929. As a RAAF instructor (1925-1930) many well known pilots and eventual senior officers pasted through his strict training regime. During his RAAF service he commanded 21 Sqn. (1937) and 12 Sqn. (1939), was the first CO Darwin base 1940-1941, CO 72 and 79 Wings S-W Pacific (1943-1944) and finally AOC Southern Area 1945. His post-war appointments were as Australian Consul Timor 1946; Chairman UN Security Council’s Consular Commission to Indonesia 1947, Consul-General Batavia 1948-49 and Charge de Affairs Jakarta 1950. Eaton made a significant contribution to Indonesia’s eventual independence and Australia-Indonesian relations. He retired in 1952 to a quiet and unassuming life of growing orchids and farming. ______________________________________________________________ Charles Eaton's own words on his last mission of WWI: "My work was chiefly long range reconnaissance and bombing. This went on until June, 1918, until the 29th, a Saturday morning, when, after carrying out a special reconnaissance of Tournay aerodrome in France, I had engine failure and immediately turned for home. The day stands out in particular. It was clear over the target and as I approached the lines the cloud base obscured the ground at 3,000 feet. On entering the clouds, still making west, they were about 1,500 feet thick and on coming out I found that I was right on top of the end trench lines. Whether I was on the German or British side I did not know until I found the aeroplane surrounded by bursting ack-ack, and in front of me could see the forest of Nieppe which I knew was on the British side. The aeroplane was headed west until it crashed into a shell hole". "The plane turned over and I was thrown out. My Observer was under the wreckage and while attempting to get him out some men came running towards the crash. Immediately they were called upon to assist and did so, and it was not until we dragged the Observer from the wreckage that I had another shock in finding that my helpers were Germans. The Observer was not badly injured and we were then taken into the trenches, when it was found that we had come down 800 yards from the British front line and just behind the German first line of trenches". *Contributor's Note: Charles Eaton told Charles Jr. that the British had the height in their trenches to witness the whole event, and that, once they were safely in the German trenches the British artillery completely demolished the wreckage of the DH9A. Mitch Williamson