T M Wilkes
In
1920, Thomas Martin Wilkes was the only officer in the New
Zealand Staff Corps who was qualified as a pilot. His
appointment to the Air Board in 1920 followed, thus beginning a
20-year career that helped lay the foundations of both military
and civil aviation in New Zealand. His responsibility for
developing and regulating civil aviation was practically
continuous for 20 years, apart from a two-year exchange posting
with the Air Ministry in England.
| Key Appointments | ||
| September | 1917 | Seconded for duty with RFC (9 months) |
| July | 1920 | Secretary to Air Board |
| June | 1923 | Transferred to NZPAF (Director Air Services) |
| August | 1929 | Air Liaison Officer, Air Ministry, England (21 months) |
| October | 1931 | Re-appointed Director Air Services |
| June | 1933 | Appointed Controller Civil Aviation (in addition to Director Air Services) |
| April | 1937 | Appointed Controller Civil Aviation in Air Department |
| March | 1940 | New Zealand Air Force and Army Liaison Officer with RAAF Melbourne |
The Minister of Defence, speaking on the death of Wilkes in 1958, said, “In the face of much scepticism and opposition, he worked tirelessly for something he earnestly believed in. The subsequent achievements of the RNZAF and the fine position we are in today with regard to civil aviation are themselves monuments to his early efforts.”