Alan Charlesworth

Alan Moorehouse Charlesworth
Air Commodore Charlesworth in Japan, c. 1949
Born	17 September 1904 Lottah, Tasmania
Died	21 September 1978(1978-09-21) (aged 75) Glen Iris, Victoria
Allegiance	Australia
Service/branch	Australian Army Royal Australian Air Force
Years of service	1920–55
Rank	Air Vice Marshal
Unit	2nd Light Horse Regiment (1924) No. 1 Squadron (1925–28, 1930–32, 1934–39) No. 2 Group (1939–40) BCOF (1949–51)
Commands held	No. 2 Squadron (1939) RAAF Station Pearce (1940–41) Eastern Area Command (1943–44, 1946) North-Western Area Command (1944–46) Land/Air Warfare School (1947–49) RAAF Station Williamtown (1949) Southern Area Command (1951–53) RAAF Overseas Headquarters (1954–55)
Battles/wars	World War II South West Pacific Theatre North-Western Area Campaign Korean War
Awards	Commander of the Order of the British Empire Air Force Cross
Other work	Director of Recruiting Supreme court judge's associate

World War II

Air Vice Marshal Alan Moorehouse Charlesworth, CBE, AFC (17 September 1903 – 21 September 1978) was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Born in Tasmania, he graduated from the Royal Military College, Duntroon, and served with the 2nd Light Horse Regiment in Queensland before transferring to the Air Force in 1925. Most of his pre-war flying career was spent with No. 1 Squadron at RAAF Station Laverton, Victoria. In 1932 he undertook a series of survey flights around Australia, earning the Air Force Cross. Charlesworth's early wartime commands included No. 2 Squadron at Laverton, and RAAF Station Pearce in Western Australia. Appointed Air Officer Commanding (AOC) Eastern Area in December 1943, he was promoted temporary air commodore the following year and took over as AOC North-Western Area in Darwin, Northern Territory.

Charlesworth's control of air operations during the North-Western Area Campaign led to his appointment as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire following the end of World War II. Retaining his wartime rank, he took charge of the newly formed School of Land/Air Warfare from 1947 until 1949, when he assumed command of RAAF Station Williamtown, New South Wales. He was posted to Japan later that year as Chief of Staff, British Commonwealth Occupation Force, and organised support for RAAF units involved in the Korean War. Returning to Australia in 1951, he was raised to acting air vice marshal and became AOC Southern Area. Charlesworth's final appointment before retiring from the Air Force was commanding RAAF Overseas Headquarters, London, in 1954–55. After leaving the military he served as Director of Recruiting in the late 1950s, and later as a judge's associate at the Supreme Court of Victoria. He died at his home in Glen Iris, Victoria, in 1978.