MINISTERIAL PRESS RELEASE

TfflJRSDAY. 23RD JULY. 1970 RAAF PR S4434/ 7O

STATEMENT BY SENATOR TQM DRAKE-BROCKMAN, MINISTER FOR AIR

NEW COMMANDER FOR RAAF BASE EDINBURGH. STH. AUST.

The Minister for Air, Senator Tom Drake-Brockman, announced

today that Group Captain E.T. Pickerd, of Canberra, had been appointed

Officer Commanding RAAF Base, Edinburgh, South Australia, with the

substantive rank of air commodore.

Group Captain Pickerd, who is currently Assistant Controller,

Processing and Reporting, at the Electronic Data Processing Centre (Air)

in Canberra, will take up his new appointment on July 27th, 1970-Senator Drake-Brockman said that Group Captain Pickerd, a

wartime RAAF navigator, would also become the RAAFs Air Officer, South

Ã¢ÂÂ¢  Australia, as from July 27th.

He takes over the RAAF Edinburgh post, recently vacated by

Air Commodore G.H. Steege who is now the Senior Air Staff Officer at

Headquarters, Operational Command, Penrith, NSW.

******

BIOGRAPHY

Group Captain Edward Thomas Pickerd, OBE, DFC, joined the RAAF in 1941,

and during World War II he distinguished himself in air operations

over Europe for which he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

After the war he served in a number of staff and flying appointments as

a navigator. In 1952 he was the RAAF Controller during and after the

atomic trials at Monte Bello. In 1953 he was again associated with atomic

trieds in Central Australia as Senior Controller to the RAAF Detachment

at Woomera, South Australia. For his services during the atomic trials

he was awarded the OBE. He attended the Armed Forces Staff College at

Norfolk, Virginia, USA, and served for a period as Staff Officer with the

Australian Joint Services staff, Washington. At the beginning of 1966,

Group Captain Pickerd was posted to New Delhi, India, as Australian

Services Adviser to the Australian High Commissioner in that country. He

was appointed to his EDP post at the beginning of 1968.

Enquiries $

Department of Air  Directorate of Public Relations  Russell Offices  CANBERRA ACT

Telephone No Working Hours 652321-22-23  After Hours 815785

