Geoffrey Forrest Hughes

Geoffrey Forrest Hughes MC, AFC was an Australian aviator and flying ace of the First World War. He was credited withaerial victories, and won a Military Cross for his valour. After a postwar award of the Air Force Cross, he returned to Australia and completed university. He became a businessman and a solicitor in the family law firm while retaining his interests in aviation. From 1925 through 1934, he was president of the Royal Australian Aero Club, and largely responsible for government support of the club. Despite his business concerns, he returned to military duty during the Second World War. He commanded an aviation training school and rose to the rank of group captain before surrendering his commission in April 1943. After the war ended, he moved into public life and the political realm.

Geoffrey Forrest Hughes was born in the Sydney suburb of Darling Point onJuly 1895. He was the second son of Thomas Hughes, a solicitor and future Lord Mayor of Sydney, and Louisa he was of Irish descent on both sides, with roots in County Roscommon. Hughes received his secondary education at Saint Ignatius College, Riverview, before undertaking a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Sydney from 1914. In June that year, he was commissioned as an officer in the 26th Infantry Regiment, Citizens Military Force. In his youth, Hughes had acquired a keen interest in aviation, which led him to apply for the Australian Flying Corps his application was unsuccessful.

Source: Wikipedia