Francis Hubert "Frank" McNamara

Bleeding heavily from a severe thigh wound, Frank McNamara deliberately landed behind enemy lines to rescue a fellow airman as Turkish cavalry closed in. The extraordinary escape that followed made him the first Australian airman to receive the Victoria Cross and the only Australian airman awarded the decoration during the First World War.

Francis Hubert McNamara was born at Rushworth, Victoria, on 4 April 1894. Educated at Rushworth and Shepparton Agricultural High School, he trained as a teacher and worked in several Victorian schools. Military service began early. He joined the Senior Cadets, transferred to the Brighton Rifles, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1913. After the First World War began, he performed garrison duty at Queenscliff and Point Nepean before becoming an instructor at the Australian Imperial Force training depot at Broadmeadows.

In August 1915, McNamara was selected for flying training at the Central Flying School at Point Cook. After qualifying as a pilot, he joined No. 1 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps, and sailed for Egypt in January 1916. Further instruction and attachments followed with the Royal Flying Corps in Britain and Egypt, after which he returned to No. 1 Squadron for operations during the Sinai and Palestine campaign.

On 20 March 1917, McNamara took part in an attack against a Turkish railway and supply centre near Gaza. One of his bombs exploded prematurely as it left his aircraft, wounding him severely in the leg. While attempting to return to base, he saw Captain Douglas Rutherford forced down in enemy territory and noticed Turkish cavalry riding towards the stranded pilot. Despite his wound, McNamara landed nearby and attempted to carry Rutherford away on his single-seat aircraft. The overloaded machine crashed during takeoff, forcing the two men to set it alight and struggle back to Rutherford’s damaged aircraft under enemy fire.

Barely able to stand and weakened by blood loss, McNamara climbed into the pilot’s seat while Rutherford started the engine. With the enemy almost upon them, McNamara took off and flew approximately 70 miles to the squadron’s base at El Arish. He landed safely before collapsing unconscious. His Victoria Cross citation praised his conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty, recording that he completed the rescue despite his severe wound and loss of blood. The award was announced in the London Gazette on 8 June 1917.

McNamara was promoted to captain and appointed a flight commander, but his wound prevented a return to operational flying. After recovering in Australia, he served as an instructor and reconnaissance commander before transferring to the newly established Royal Australian Air Force in 1921. During the interwar period he held increasingly senior training, staff and command appointments, including command of No. 1 Flying Training School at Point Cook and No. 1 Aircraft Depot at Laverton. He also served on exchange with the Royal Air Force and attended the Imperial Defence College in Britain.

Appointed a Commander of the Military Division of the Order of the British Empire in 1938, McNamara was promoted to air commodore at the outbreak of the Second World War and reached air vice marshal in 1942. His wartime service included senior representation in London and command of British air forces at Aden. He later represented the RAAF at Britain’s Ministry of Defence and was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 1945 New Year Honours.

McNamara retired from the RAAF in 1946 and subsequently worked in Germany as Director of Education within the British occupation administration. He later served on Britain’s National Coal Board from 1947 until 1959. He died at Amersham, Buckinghamshire, on 2 November 1961, aged 67. Remembered by colleagues as quiet, scholarly, courteous and unassuming, Frank McNamara built a distinguished career that extended far beyond his celebrated act of courage. Yet the qualities displayed during that rescue remained constant throughout his life: professional skill, calmness under pressure, and an instinctive refusal to abandon a comrade in danger.