Valston Hancock Air Marshal Sir Valston Eldridge ( Val ) Hancock , KBE , CB , DFC ( 31 May 1907 – 29 September 1998 ) was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force ( RAAF ) . He served as Chief of the Air Staff from 1961 to 1965 . A graduate of the Royal Military College , Duntroon , Hancock transferred to the RAAF in 1929 and qualified as a pilot . His administrative training at Duntroon saw him primarily occupy staff posts , including Deputy Director of Operations and Intelligence at RAAF Headquarters from 1931 to 1935 , and Director of Works and Buildings from 1937 to 1939 . During the early years of World War II , he commanded No . 1 Bombing and Gunnery School , and held senior planning and administrative positions . He eventually saw combat in the Aitape – Wewak campaign of the Pacific War during 1945 . Flying Bristol Beaufort light bombers , he led first No . 100 Squadron , and later No . 71 Wing . His actions earned him the Distinguished Flying Cross . After the war , Hancock became the inaugural commandant of RAAF College . His subsequent positions included Deputy Chief of the Air Staff from 1951 to 1953 , Air Member for Personnel from 1953 to 1955 , and Air Officer Commanding ( AOC ) No . 224 Group RAF in Malaya , responsible for all Commonwealth air forces in the region , from 1957 to 1959 . Appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1958 , he served as AOC RAAF Operational Command from 1959 to 1961 , before being promoted to air marshal and commencing his term as Chief of the Air Staff . He was knighted in 1962 . In his role as the Air Force ' s senior officer , Hancock initiated redevelopment of RAAF Base Learmonth in north Western Australia , as part of a chain of forward airfields for the defence of the continent . He also evaluated potential replacements for the RAAF ' s English Electric Canberra bomber , selecting the American " TFX " ( later the General Dynamics F - 111 ) as the most suitable for Australia ' s needs , though he did not recommend its immediate purchase due to its early stage of development . After his retirement from the military in May 1965 , Hancock co - founded the Australia Defence Association . He died in 1998 , aged 91 . Early career . Hancock was born on 31 May 1907 in Perth , Western Australia , and educated at Hale School in Wembley Downs . He was the elder cousin of future mining magnate Lang Hancock . Val Hancock entered the Royal Military College , Duntroon , in 1925 and graduated as senior cadet in 1928 , earning the Sword of Honour . His preferred career path in the military was engineering , and it was only when he found that there was no vacancy in his corps of choice , and that he had instead been earmarked for the artillery , that he put his name forward for transfer to the Royal Australian Air Force . Accordingly , he enlisted in the RAAF on 1 February 1929 , and undertook flying instruction at RAAF Point Cook , Victoria , later that year . Hancock ' s initial postings after qualifying as a pilot were to Nos . 1 and 3 Squadrons . It was , however , common practice for Duntroon graduates to be given staff positions in the Air Force because of their training in administration , and Hancock was no exception . He spent most of the 1930s in a succession of posts at RAAF Headquarters in Melbourne . From 1931 to 1935 , he served as Deputy Director of Operations and Intelligence . He married Joan Butler on 26 May 1932 ; the couple had two sons and a daughter . By 1935 , Hancock had been promoted to flight lieutenant and appointed Staff Officer to the Chief of the Air Staff . In 1937 he was posted to Britain to attend the RAF Staff College , Andover . Like other Commonwealth air forces , the RAAF maintained close technological and educational ties with the Royal Air Force , and Hancock was one of 30 Australian officers to pass through Andover before the outbreak of World War II . Returning to Australia in 1938 , he was promoted to squadron leader and became Director of Works and Buildings , commonly known as " Works and Bricks " , at RAAF Headquarters . World War II . In March 1940 , Hancock ' s Directorate of Works and Buildings was transferred from the office of the Chief of the Air Staff to the newly formed Organisation and Equipment Branch under Air Marshal Richard Williams . Considered a key part of the Air Force ' s expansion during the early part of World War II , " Works and Bricks " quickly absorbed all staff with civil engineering and building experience in the RAAF active reserve . As Director , Hancock was responsible for surveying and developing a military aerodrome at Evans Head , near the Queensland and New South Wales border , which became home to No . 1 Bombing and Gunnery School ( No . 1 BAGS ) . Promoted to wing commander , he held command of No . 1 BAGS , operating Fairey Battle single - engined bombers , from August 1940 until November 1941 . He was promoted to acting group captain in April 1941 . Appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire ( OBE ) on 1 January 1942 , Hancock became Assistant Director of Plans at Allied Air Forces Headquarters , South West Pacific Area , that April . He was made Director of Plans at the Air Force ' s main operational formation , RAAF Command , when it was established in September . In 1943 – 44 , he served as Staff Officer Administration for RAAF Western Area , which maintained two bomber squadrons for anti - submarine patrols and two fighter squadrons to guard against possible attack on the mainland by Japanese carrier - borne aircraft . Hancock finally achieved a combat command in January 1945 , when he took charge of No . 100 Squadron , flying Bristol Beaufort light bombers during the Aitape - Wewak campaign in New Guinea . That month , the unit attacked Japanese positions at Maprik , below the Prince Alexander Ranges , and Cape Moem , near Wewak . On 1 April , Hancock took over No . 71 Wing , which came under overall control of RAAF Northern Command and nominally comprised Nos . 7 , 8 and 100 Beaufort Squadrons , as well as a flight of CAC Boomerang fighter - bombers from No . 4 ( Army Cooperation ) Squadron . It was soon augmented by two more Beaufort units , Nos . 6 and 15 Squadrons . Providing close air support to Australian ground troops in the lead - up to the final assault on Wewak , the wing flew over 1 , 400 sortie s and dropped more than 1 , 200 tons of bombs in May alone . By mid - year , however , Hancock ' s forces were acutely short of fuel and ordnance , to the extent that his squadrons took to arming their Beauforts with captured Japanese bombs . In July , enough supplies arrived to enable the wing to continue operating at normal strength . No . 71 Wing was active to the very last day of the Pacific War , flying its final combat mission involving 30 Beauforts only hours before news of victory arrived on 15 August 1945 . Hancock ' s " distinguished flying on operations in Northern Command " earned him the Distinguished Flying Cross ; the award was published in the " London Gazette " on 22 February 1946 . Post - war career . Among a small coterie of wartime RAAF commanders considered suitable for future senior roles , Hancock retained his rank of group captain following the end of hostilities . As Director of Personnel Services during 1946 , he was involved in restructuring the Air Force into a dramatically smaller peacetime service . He recalled this time as a " twilight period " when " no - one wanted to know about us " and many good people were let go due to the government ' s parsimonious retention policies . In 1947 , Hancock was promoted to air commodore and appointed inaugural commandant of the newly formed RAAF College , Point Cook , the Air Force ' s equivalent of Duntroon and the Royal Australian Naval College . He also drafted the institution ' s charter . Departing in late 1949 , he spent the following year in Britain , where he attended the Imperial Defence College . On his return to Australia in 1951 , he was promoted to acting air vice marshal and made Deputy Chief of the Air Staff . He was raised to a Commander of the Order of the British Empire ( CBE ) in the 1953 New Years Honours . In October that year , Hancock took over from Air Vice Marshal Frank Bladin as Air Member for Personnel ( AMP ) . As AMP , he occupied a seat on the Air Board , the service ' s controlling body that consisted of its most senior officers and which was chaired by the Chief of the Air Staff . Completing his term in January 1955 , Hancock was posted to Britain as Head of the Australian Joint Services Staff in London . He spent much of the latter half of 1955 and early 1956 laid low by a stomach ailment that was initially diagnosed as amoebic dysentery but was later thought to be Malta fever or malaria . In March 1957 , Hancock was one of three candidates , along with Air Vice Marshals Frederick Scherger and Allan Walters , touted as possible successors to Air Marshal Sir John McCauley as Chief of the Air Staff ( CAS ) , the RAAF ' s senior position . Scherger gained selection , and Hancock was posted in June to Malaya as Air Officer Commanding ( AOC ) No . 224 Group RAF , responsible for all Commonwealth air forces in the region . Though fastidious in appearance and a strict teetotaller , he was known for his enthusiasm in meeting staff and as " an indefatigable participant in mess functions and games " . He also made a point of getting out to units in the field , taking every opportunity to fly himself around his command . For his " distinguished service in Malaya " , Hancock was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath ( CB ) on 9 December 1958 . He returned to Australia in July 1959 to serve as AOC Operational Command ( now Air Command ) . When Scherger ' s term as CAS was due to complete , Hancock and Walters were once more put forward to the Minister for Air as potential replacements . His " professional ability , operational experience and personal qualities " being deemed more appropriate for the role , Hancock was promoted to air marshal and took over as CAS in May 1961 . He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire ( KBE ) in the 1962 Queen ' s Birthday Honours , gazetted on 2 June . As CAS , Hancock worked to enhance the RAAF ' s deterrent capability in the Pacific region , particularly in light of heightened tensions with Indonesia during its period of " Konfrontasi " with Malaysia . In June 1963 , Hancock undertook a mission to Britain , France and the United States to consider potential replacements for the English Electric Canberra bomber as Australia ' s prime aerial strike platform . After investigating the US " TFX " , North American A - 5 Vigilante and McDonnell Douglas F - 4 Phantom II , the British BAC TSR - 2 , and the French Dassault Mirage IV , Hancock decided that the swing - wing TFX , forerunner of the General Dynamics F - 111 , would be the aircraft best suited for this role . However , as the TFX had not yet flown , he recommended purchase of the already operational Vigilante to counteract a perceived imminent threat from Indonesia . In the event , the Federal Government did not go ahead with an immediate replacement for the Canberra , and Hancock ' s original choice of the TFX was taken up as a long - term solution , leading to Australia ' s agreement in October to purchase the F - 111C . The same month , as " Konfrontasi " continued to simmer , Hancock approved simplification to the rules of engagement for Australian Sabre fighters based at RAAF Butterworth to engage and destroy Indonesian aircraft violating Malay air space . The following month he urged using RAAF Canberras from Butterworth to make pre - emptive strikes against Indonesian air bases , in retaliation for incursions into West Malaysia , but Britain , which had initially requested Australia ' s involvement , held back on action . Once the F - 111 had been ordered , Hancock sought a suitable forward airfield from which they could operate . In this , he continued a policy initiated by his predecessor as CAS , Air Marshal Scherger , of developing a chain of so - called " bare bases " in Northern Australia . Hancock recommended redeveloping RAAF Base Learmonth in the northern part of Western Australia , due to its proximity to Indonesia . Flying out of this airfield , the F - 111s could destroy " vital centres in Java " ; just as importantly for deterrence purposes , Hancock contended , enhancing the base ' s capability would send a clear message to Indonesia ' s hierarchy . Though the project was delayed , in part due to thawing in relations between Australia and Indonesia , Learmonth ' s upgrade was completed in 1973 , the same year that the F - 111 finally entered RAAF service . The latter part of Hancock ' s tour as CAS coincided with the beginning of large - scale Australian involvement in the Vietnam War . By mid - 1964 , the Commonwealth had already sent a small team of military advisors , plus a detachment of newly acquired DHC - 4 Caribou cargo planes , to the region at the request of the South Vietnam ese government . Under Hancock , the Caribou had itself only been reluctantly ordered by the Air Force following intense pressure from the Army and the Federal government for an STOL transport . Concerned at the potential drain on the RAAF ' s resources , Hancock tried to resist calls for commitments to Vietnam . His negative views were in contrast to the hawkish attitudes of his deputy , Air Vice Marshal Colin Hannah , and Air Chief Marshal Scherger , now Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee and Australia ' s senior soldier . In April 1965 , as part of American operations in Indochina , United States Air Force strike aircraft took up residence at Ubon Air Force Base , Thailand , which since 1962 had been home to No . 79 Squadron Sabres and run by the RAAF under SEATO arrangements . Hancock proposed that Australia continue to command the facility and provide local air defence , though this effectively made the Sabres a support unit in the war effort and therefore potential targets of North Vietnam ese attack ; none occurred , however . Later life . Hancock retired from the Air Force in May 1965 after completing his term as CAS , which the government had extended for twelve months beyond its original three years . Having followed two fellow Royal Military College graduates — McCauley and Scherger — in the role , he was succeeded by another former Duntroon cadet , Alister Murdoch . Hancock ' s name was put forward as a successor to Scherger when the latter ' s term as Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee completed in May 1966 , but Prime Minister Sir Robert Menzies preferred General Sir John Wilton for the position . Later the same year , Hancock took over as Commissioner - General for Australia at Expo 67 in Montreal , Canada , following the sudden death of the previous appointee , Vice Admiral Sir Hastings Harrington . In 1975 , prompted in part by the fall of Saigon in April that year , Hancock co - founded the Australia Defence Association as an independent think tank for defence matters , and chaired its Western Australian chapter . He was also active in the Royal Commonwealth Society , and published an autobiography , " Challenge " , in 1990 . Hancock continued to fly in retirement , joining his cousin Lang , also a pilot , in promoting the Pilbara mining district . Val Hancock died in Perth on 29 September 1998 , and was survived by his wife and three children . He is commemorated by Sir Valston Hancock Drive at Evans Head .