Oswald Watt, 1878-1921

Lifespan

Biography/History/Description

Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oswald_Watt

Australian aviator and businessman, Walter Oswald ‘Toby’ Watt was born in England in 1878, moving as an infant with his father to Australia following the death of his mother. After finishing his education in Bristol and Cambridge, Watt returned to Sydney in 1900, taking up a position in the family firm, buying pastoral leases, and enlisted as a reserve in the Militia.  On return to England he was the first Australian to gain a Royal Aero Club flying certificate (1911), for which he later earned the sobriquet, 'Father of Australian Aviation'.
Watt transferred to the Australia Flying Corps in 1916, rising to command its English Training Wing, before his untimely death in Sydney in 1921 aged 43.  He is commemorated by several awards: the Oswald Watt Gold Medal (Aero Clubs of Australia) for outstanding achievement in Australian aviation, the Oswald Watt Fund (University of Sydney), and the Oswald Watt Essay Prize (Royal Military College, Duntroon)

References:
Susan Johnston, 'Watt, Walter Oswald (Toby) (1878–1921)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/watt-walter-oswald-toby-1010/text15865 , published first in hardcopy 1990, retrieved 25 November 2020
Oswald Watt: the leader that the RAAF never had, Pathfinder: Air Power Development Centre Bulletin, Issue 166, October 2011
  

 
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