Air Vice Marshal Henry WrigleyPrint Page

Wrigley Parade commemorates Air Vice Marshal Henry Neilson Wrigley, CBE, DFC, AFC (1892 – 1987) who commanded this base from 30 October 1936 to 13 February 1939 and to commemorate his achievement in 1919 of the first south-north flight from Point Cook to Dar­win in a BE-2e aircraft accompanied by his me­chanic Sergeant A. W. Murphy.

Air Vice Marshall Henry Neilson Wrigley was a pioneering flyer and aviation scholar, he piloted the first trans-Australia flight from Melbourne to Darwin in 1919, and afterwards laid the groundwork for the Royal Australian Air Force`s air power doctrine. During World War One, Wrigley joined the Australian Flying Corps and saw combat with No.3 Squadron on the Western Front, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross; he later commanded the unit and published a history of its wartime exploits. He was awarded the Air Force Cross for his 1919 cross-country flight.

He was a founding member of the Royal Australian Air Force in 1921 and held a variety of staff posts in the ensuing years. In 1936, he was promoted to group captain and took command of Royal Australian Air Force  Station Laverton. Raised to air commodore soon after the outbreak of World War Two, he became Air Member for Personnel in November 1940. He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire the same year. Wrigley served as Air Officer Commanding Royal Australian Air Force Overseas Headquarters, London, from September 1942 until his retirement from the military in June 1946. He died in 1987 at the age of ninety-five. His writings on air power were collected and published posthumously as The Decisive Factor in 1990.

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