Air Commodore Raymond James Brownell, was a senior officer in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and a First World War flying ace. Born in Hobart, Tasmania, Brownell was working as a clerk with a firm of accountants when he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on the outbreak of the First World War. He served during the Gallipoli Campaign before transferring to the Western Front. Awarded the Military Medal for his actions during the Battle of Pozières, he was accepted for a transfer to the Royal Flying Corps in 1917. After flight training in the United Kingdom, Brownell was commissioned as a second lieutenant and posted for operational service over the Western Front in September 1917. Moving with his squadron to Italy, he was awarded the Military Cross and credited with shooting down 12 aircraft by war's end. Taking his discharge in 1919, Brownell returned to Australia.
Air Commodore Raymond J. Brownell c.1945
Raymond Brownell with his brother Captain Herbert Brownell standing outside a dugout on Gallipoli.
Brownell (left) with fellow Australian flying ace Cedric Howell outside a hut at an airfield in France. c.1917
Officers of RAAF Base Pearce in 1938. Brownell, Commanding Officer of the base, is located centre, front row.
No. 1 Training Group RAAF
No. 1 (Training) Group RAAF was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) group. It was formed in Melbourne in August 1941 as part of a reorganisation of the air force, and was disbanded after the war in January 1946.
Air Commodore Brownell, Air Officer Commanding No. 1 Training Group, congratulating an aircrew training graduate, August 1942