John Lloyd Waddy

The Honourable John Waddy OBE, DFC
Squadron Leader Waddy at Morotai c. 1945
Member of the New South Wales Parliament for Kirribilli
In office 3 March 1962 – 2 April 1976
Preceded by	New district
Succeeded by	Bruce McDonald
Personal details
Born	10 December 1916 Sydney, New South Wales
Died	11 September 1987(1987-09-11) (aged 70) Goulburn, New South Wales
Political party	Liberal Party of Australia
Military service
Nickname(s)	"Wad"
Allegiance	Australia
Service/branch	Royal Australian Air Force
Years of service	1940–54
Rank	Group Captain
Unit	No. 250 Squadron RAF (1941–42) No. 260 Squadron RAF (1942) No. 4 Squadron SAAF (1942) No. 92 Squadron RAF (1942) No. 2 OTU (1943–44)
Commands	No. 80 Squadron (1944–45) RAAF Reserve (1950–54)
Battles/wars	World War II North African Campaign Desert War South West Pacific New Guinea campaign Borneo campaign
Awards	Officer of the Order of the British Empire Distinguished Flying Cross Mentioned in Despatches Air Medal (US)

World War II

John Lloyd Waddy, OBE, DFC (10 December 1916 – 11 September 1987) was a senior officer and aviator in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), and later served as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly and Minister of the Crown. As a fighter pilot during World War II, he shot down fifteen enemy aircraft in the Desert War, becoming one of Australia's top-scoring aces and earning the Distinguished Flying Cross. He went on to command No. 80 Squadron in the South West Pacific, where he was awarded the US Air Medal. He was also one of eight senior pilots who took part in the "Morotai Mutiny" of April 1945.

Discharged from the Permanent Air Force at the end of the war, Waddy took a commission in the RAAF Reserve, leading the organisation as a group captain in the early 1950s. He was active in business and in veterans' groups, and was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1955. As the Liberal Member for Kirribilli from 1962 to 1976, he held cabinet posts in the New South Wales Parliament, including Minister for Child Welfare and Social Welfare (later Youth and Community Services), Minister for Health, and Minister for Police and Services. He retired from politics in 1976, and died in 1987 at the age of seventy.