William Anderson (RAAF Officer) - World War II

World War II

Anderson was still serving as Air Member for Supply when Australia declared war in September 1939. On 9 January 1940 he was appointed acting Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), following the resignation of the incumbent, Air Vice-Marshal Goble. Anderson remained in the position until 10 February, when Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Burnett, seconded from the Royal Air Force, arrived to take over. The Australian government at this stage had so little faith in the leadership of its Air Force that it had briefly considered offering temporary command of the service to a Royal Australian Navy officer, Second Naval Member Commodore Maitland Boucher, before deciding against such a "monumental slight to the senior ranks of the RAAF" and settling on Anderson. After relinquishing his temporary position as CAS, Anderson briefly reverted to his previous role as Air Member for Supply before taking over as Air Member for Personnel (AMP) in March 1940; he was succeeded in November by Air Vice-Marshal Henry Wrigley. The next month, Anderson took over from Air Commodore Cole as Air Officer Commanding RAAF Central Area, with responsibility for air defence, protection of adjacent sea lanes, and aerial reconnaissance for most of New South Wales; he remained at this post until it was disbanded in August the following year.

Promoted acting air vice-marshal in September 1941, Anderson resumed his position on the Air Board by replacing Air Marshal Williams as Air Member for Organisation and Equipment. In May 1942, he assumed command of the newly established RAAF Eastern Area, which was headquartered in Sydney and controlled seven squadrons from southern Queensland to southern New South Wales. One of the area's main roles was anti-submarine warfare; its squadrons also included fighters and army cooperation aircraft. In July 1943 Anderson became the inaugural Commandant of the RAAF Staff School at Mount Martha, Victoria. The school was instituted to further the training of officers at the squadron leader and wing commander level, whose basic education standards Anderson, among others, found sadly lacking. In December 1943 he was again appointed Air Member for Personnel, taking over from Air Commodore Frank Lukis, before returning to command the RAAF Staff School in September 1944. He continued in the latter role until being forcibly retired, along with a number of other senior Air Force commanders, in April 1946, ostensibly to make way for younger and equally qualified officers. A confidential report in September 1944 had found him "hard working, conscientious and loyal" but lacking in "constructive capacity and organising ability". He was still four years below the statutory retirement age of fifty-seven for his substantive rank of air commodore.