page_title: William Brill (RAAF officer)
section_title: Post-war career
hierarchical_section_title: William Brill (RAAF officer) / Post-war career
caption_attribution_description: Melbourne, Vic. c. November 1946. An RAAF Avro Lincoln bomber aircraft built under licence at the Government Aircraft Factory at Fishermens Bend, shown during a demonstration flight.
context_page_description: William Lloyd Brill, DSO, DFC & Bar was a senior officer and bomber pilot in the Royal Australian Air Force. Born in the Riverina district of New South Wales, he was a farmer and a member of the Militia before joining the RAAF in 1940. After training in Australia and Canada, he was posted to Britain in 1941 to take part in the air war over Europe. Brill first saw combat with No. 460 Squadron RAAF, flying Vickers Wellington medium bombers. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in May 1942 for attacking a target after his plane was badly damaged by anti-aircraft fire. Following assignment as an instructor with the Royal Air Force, he returned to the bombing campaign in January 1944 as a flight commander with No. 463 Squadron RAAF, flying Avro Lancaster heavy bombers.
  Brill's leadership and determination to complete his missions despite damage to his aircraft—on one occasion inflicted by another Lancaster's bombs from above—earned him the Distinguished Service Order. Promoted to wing commander in May 1944, he took over No. 467 Squadron RAAF after the death in combat of its then-commander, Group Captain John Balmer.
context_section_description: Brill remained in the Air Force following the end of hostilities. From February 1946 to August 1947 he served as the first and only commanding officer of the RAAF's newly formed and soon-disbanded Heavy Bomber Crew Conversion Unit at RAAF Station East Sale, Victoria. Little support or direction on its use as a training facility was forthcoming from higher command, and in the summer months its Avro Lincoln bombers were employed in bushfire patrols over East Gippsland, reporting 44 outbreaks in February 1947 alone. Brill transferred from the CAF to the Permanent Air Force in 1948, and reverted to the rank of squadron leader. In March 1949 he became the inaugural commanding officer of a re-formed No. 10 (General Reconnaissance) Squadron, which had been disbanded in 1945 after service throughout World War II. In its new guise the squadron was established from the staff and facilities of RAAF Station Garbutt in Townsville. Brill's main tasks were organising to absorb or close surplus wartime facilities in North Queensland, and preparing No. 10 Squadron for search-and-rescue operations. The unit took delivery of its first four Lincoln Mk 30s in September 1949, and Brill handed over command the following January.
  Raised to substantive wing commander, Brill served as a director at RAAF Staff College in Point Cook, Victoria, until his appointment as Staff Officer to the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sir Donald Hardman, in March 1952. He was posted to command the Officer Training School (OTS) at RAAF Base Rathmines, New South Wales, in December 1953. In this role he was also the commanding officer of the base. His title changed in May 1956 as Rathmines and OTS were reorganised under the newly established RAAF School of Ground Training, with Brill taking charge of the school until July. Considered an empathetic leader, he then became Director of Personnel Services. Promoted to group captain, Brill served throughout 1959 as commanding officer of RAAF Base Canberra before again being appointed Director of Personnel Services. Active in local charities and youth organisations, he became a Freemason and in the early 1960s was assistant commissioner for the Canberra–Monaro Boy Scouts. In January 1964 he assumed command of RAAF Base Townsville, returning to Canberra that October for assignment to the Department of Air. He died of a heart attack at his home in Campbell on 12 October. Survived by his wife and children, Brill was buried in Canberra. He is commemorated by Brill Place, in Gowrie.
caption: Australian-built Avro Lincoln, c. November 1946
exif: {}