Hughie Edwards Air Commodore Sir Hughie Idwal Edwards VC , KCMG , CB , DSO , OBE , DFC ( 1 August 1914 – 5 August 1982 ) was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force , Governor of Western Australia , and an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross , the highest decoration for gallantry " in the face of the enemy " that can be awarded to members of the British and Commonwealth armed forces . Serving as a bomber pilot in the Royal Air Force , Edwards was decorated with the Victoria Cross in 1941 for his efforts in leading a bombing raid against the port of Bremen , one of the most heavily - defended towns in Germany . He became the most highly - decorated Australian serviceman of the Second World War . Born in Fremantle , Western Australia , Edwards joined the Royal Australian Air Force in 1935 , and a year later was granted a short service commission with the Royal Air Force . Serving with the RAF throughout the Second World War , he gained a permanent commission and continued his career in the RAF after the war ; he retired in 1963 with the rank of air commodore . Returning to Australia , he was made Governor of Western Australia in 1974 . Early life . Edwards was born in Fremantle , Western Australia on 1 August 1914 , the third of five children to Welsh parents Hugh , a blacksmith and farrier , and his wife Jane ( née Watkins ) , who had emigrated to Australia in 1909 . Named after his father , he was always referred to by his middle name of Idwal in his family . Edwards received his initial education at White Gum Valley School , before attending the Fremantle Boy ' s School where he achieved well academically , although he later claimed this was due to a good memory rather than high intelligence . However , Edwards was reluctantly forced to leave school at the age of fourteen as the family finances could no longer support him . Described as a " shy , under - confident , introspective and imaginative lad " at this stage in his life , he gained employment as a shipping office clerk . With the onset of the Great Depression , Edwards found himself unemployed , before gaining a job with a horse racing stable in Fremantle . His position entailed him taking the horses to the beach each morning for a swim , grooming them , and attending the twice weekly race meetings ; a lifelong interest in horse racing consequently emerged at this time . After later working for a brief period in a factory , he enlisted in the Australian Army in March 1933 and was posted to the 6th Heavy Battery , Royal Australian Artillery , with the rank of private . During this period , Edwards was an active sportsman , excelling in Australian rules football — where he played six matches with leading Western Australian Football League ( WAFL ) club South Fremantle — and cricket with the Fremantle garrison team . Early Air Force career . In 1935 , he was selected for flying training with the Royal Australian Air Force at RAAF Point Cook , after which he transferred to the RAF , being granted a short service commission as a pilot officer on 21 August 1936 . Posted to No . 15 Bomber Squadron , he was appointed adjutant of No . 90 Squadron in March 1937 , flying Blenheim bomber s . He received a promotion to flying officer on 21 May 1938 . In August 1938 , Edwards was piloting a Blenheim near the Scottish border when he flew into a storm at 2 , 300 metres . When the ailerons froze , the aircraft was forced down to 1 , 600 metres and Edwards ordered the navigator and rear gunner to bale out of the aircraft . Down to 230 metres , he made an effort to jump clear , but his parachute became entangled with the bomber ' s radio mast pylon . In the ensuing crash , he sustained head injuries and a badly broken leg , which was only saved after extensive surgery , which left that leg shorter than the other . After the accident , he was declared unfit for flying duties until April 1940 , when he was posted to No . 139 Squadron for active service due to the outbreak of war . He was promoted to flight lieutenant on 21 May 1940 . Second World War . In May 1941 , Edwards was made Commanding Officer of No . 105 Squadron replacing their squadron commander who had been killed in an anti - shipping raid on Stavanger . At that time , the Squadron was engaged in a series of daylight operations against Germany and the occupied countries , with its principal targets being enemy shipping , power installiations , shipbuilding yards , locomotives , steelworks and marshalling yards . On 15 June , by now an acting wing commander , Edwards led six Blenheim bombers on a search for enemy shipping and soon sighted a convoy of eight merchantmen anchored near The Hague . He launched an attack at low level , his bombs striking a 4 , 000 ton ship . He was subsequently awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross ( DFC ) for this action . On 4 July 1941 , Edwards led a daylight attack ( " Operation Wreckage " ) against the port of Bremen , one of the most heavily - defended towns in Germany . Edwards ' force of twelve Blenheims attacked at a height of about 50 feet through telephone wires and high voltage power lines . The bombers successfully penetrated fierce anti - aircraft fire and a dense balloon barrage , but further fire over the port itself resulted in the loss of four of the attacking force . Edwards brought his remaining aircraft safely back , although all had been hit and his own Blenheim ( serial V6028 ) had been hit over 20 times . His actions in the raid earned him the Victoria Cross ( VC ) . The full citation for Edwards ' Victoria Cross appeared in the " London Gazette " on 22 July 1941 , it read : In July 1941 , Edwards took the Squadron to Malta , in order to conduct operations against Axis shipping carrying reinforcements from Italy to Tripoli and Benghazi . The unit remained in the area until October , when they returned to Britain . Participating in a goodwill mission to the United States , he was appointed chief flying instructor at an operational training unit in January 1942 , before re - assuming command of No . 105 Squadron on 3 August . During this time , Edwards married Cherry Kyrle " Pat " Beresford ; the pair were later to have a son , Anthony , and a daughter , Sarah . He was promoted to temporary wing commander on 1 September . On 6 December 1942 , Edwards participated in a daylight bombing raid on the Philips Factory at Eindhoven , the Netherlands . Despite heavy opposition , the bombers successfully damaged or destroyed many of their targets , with two gun posts being silenced . Several members of the raid were decorated , including Edwards , who was awarded the Distinguished Service Order ( DSO ) ; becoming the first airman to receive the Victoria Cross , Distinguished Service Order and Distinguished Flying Cross in the Second World War . Promoted to acting group captain , he assumed command of the bomber station at Binbrook in February 1943 , where , despite his senior position , he continued to participate in operations . On 18 August , he was promoted to war substantive wing commander . With the end of the European campaigns in sight , Edwards was transferred to the Pacific theatre , first to Ceylon as Group Captain , Bomber Operations . In January 1945 , he was Mentioned in Despatches , and appointed the senior administrative staff officer at Headquarters , South East Asia Command ; serving in this position until the conclusion of the war . Later career . Edwards continued his career in the post - war RAF , and was granted the substantive rank of squadron leader from 1 September 1945 . Posted as a staff officer at Air Headquarters , Malaya , from November 1945 until February 1946 , he served with the Netherlands East Indies Forces for a short period before returning to Malaya as air adviser to the General Officer Commanding . In September 1945 , he was posted as station commander at the RAF Base in Kuala Lumpur ; he remained there until May 1947 , and was awarded an Officer of the Order of the British Empire ( OBE ) for his services in south - east Asia . Returning to Britain in June 1947 , he undertook a six month course at the Staff College , before receiving a two year posting as senior personnel staff officer of No . 21 Group , Flying Training Command . Promoted to wing commander on 1 July 1947 , his next posting was as the senior instructor on the leadership course at Digby , Lincolnshire . Subsequently , he was appointed station commander at Wattisham , Suffolk . He was promoted to group captain on 1 January 1954 . During the Suez Crisis , Edwards commanded the RAF Station at Habbaniyah in Iraq , before returning to Britain on 21 October 1958 to command the Central Fighter Establishment , West Raynham , with the acting rank of air commodore . Awarded a Companion of the Order of the Bath ( CB ) in the 1959 New Year Honours , he was promoted to the substantive rank of air commodore on 1 July 1959 , and appointed as an aide - de - camp to Queen Elizabeth II in March 1960 . His final appointment with the RAF was as Director of Establishments at the Air Ministry , London , from January 1962 until his retirement on 30 September 1963 . Later life and governorship . Returning to Australia , Edwards became the Australian Representative for Selection Trust . In 1966 his wife , Cherry , died ; he married Dorothy Carew Berrick in 1972 . The pair were said to complement each other well , as Dorothy limped on her left leg after being knocked over by a car on a crosswalk in Sydney in 1970 , while Edwards limped with his right after his flying accident in 1938 . In 1974 , Edwards relinquished his position as the Australian Representative for Selection Trust and was appointed Governor of Western Australia . He was sworn in on 7 January 1974 , and knight ed as a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George ( KCMG ) the following October . His knighthood involved some controversy , following his wife ' s public comment that he was the only Australian state governor without such an honour . As knighthoods were then conferred by the Queen on the recommendation of her Federal and State governments , and the Governor was the Queen ' s representative in the state , this was seen as highly inappropriate , especially given the Western Australian ALP State government of the day , led by John Tonkin had a policy of not recommending Imperial Honours . However , the Tonkin Government was defeated in April 1974 and the incoming Liberal Premier , Sir Charles Court , was happy to make the necessary recommendation . While Governor , Edwards ' first official role was to christen Alan Bond ' s America Cup challenger , " Southern Cross " . One of the couple ' s first visitors to the Governor ' s estate was a man by the name of Thomas Dunhill , who had consumed ten beers and wanted to see the house . Lady Edwards apparently found him in the pantry ; he was arrested by the police but no charges were laid . Ill health forced Edwards to resign his vice - regal appointment on 2 April 1975 , and he and Lady Edwards went to live in Sydney , where he continued in semi - retirement with commercial interests . On 5 August 1982 , while on his way to attend a Test match at the Sydney Cricket Ground , Edwards unexpectedly collapsed and died ; he was buried in the Karrakatta Cemetery , Perth , after a State Funeral . His Victoria Cross is on display at the Australian War Memorial , Canberra , and on 26 November 2002 a life - size bronze statue depicting Edwards was unveiled by then Governor of Western Australia , John Sanderson , in Kings Square , Fremantle . The Hugh Edwards Ward at Hollywood Private Hospital has been named in his honour .