35 Facts About James Fairbairn

James Valentine Fairbairn was an Australian aviator and politician.

James Fairbairn was shot down behind enemy lines on one of his first missions and received a severe arm injury, subsequently spending over a year as a German prisoner-of-war.

James Fairbairn briefly served in the Victorian Legislative Assembly before winning a by-election to the House of Representatives.

James Fairbairn continued flying as a civilian and was recognised as an aviation expert.

James Fairbairn was appointed to cabinet in 1939 as a member of the first Menzies Government.

James Fairbairn was killed in the 1940 Canberra air disaster along with two of his cabinet colleagues and the head of the army.

James Fairbairn was born on 28 July 1897 at Wadhurst, Sussex, England.

James Fairbairn was the third of five children born to Australian parents Elizabeth and Charles Fairbairn.

James Fairbairn's father's family had immense pastoral holdings in Queensland and Victoria, which had been accumulated by his Scottish-born grandfather George Fairbairn.

When James Fairbairn was two years old, his father acquired a property near Skipton in the Western District of Victoria.

James Fairbairn represented the school in tennis, athletics and rowing.

In 1915, after his 18th birthday, James Fairbairn sailed to England to enlist in the Royal Flying Corps, the air arm of the British Army.

James Fairbairn was admitted to officer training and sent to Scotland for instruction in June 1916, flying out of Turnhouse and Stirling.

James Fairbairn completed his training in Croydon and Netheravon, practising on Bristol Scouts.

James Fairbairn broke off from the formation due to an engine failure and was pursued by German planes, eventually being forced into a crash landing.

James Fairbairn had attempted an Immelmann turn but was unable to regain lateral control, forcing the aircraft into a spiralling vertical descent.

James Fairbairn sustained severe facial burns from the fire, in addition to a bullet wound to the right elbow that was assessed as inoperable and left him permanently impaired.

James Fairbairn was exchanged for a German prisoner in April 1918 and continued his recovery at a hospital in London.

James Fairbairn's injuries entitled him to a small Royal Air Force pension.

James Fairbairn moved to Central Queensland to run his family's station at Peak Downs.

James Fairbairn married Daisy Olive "Peggy" Forrest in Melbourne in 1923, and the following year they acquired a grazing property at Mount Elephant, in the Western District near Derrinallum.

James Fairbairn was one of the first to cross Southdowns with Corriedales and represented the local district with the Graziers' Association of Victoria.

James Fairbairn stood unsuccessfully for the Hampden Shire Council in 1924, losing to his future cabinet colleague Geoffrey Street.

James Fairbairn was successful in a second attempt in 1930, but served only a single term before retiring.

James Fairbairn retained a keen interest in aviation, building a private airstrip on his property.

In 1932 James Fairbairn was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly as the member for Warrnambool, representing the United Australia Party.

In 1933, James Fairbairn resigned his state seat to contest the House of Representatives seat of Flinders at a by-election following the resignation of former prime minister Stanley Bruce.

James Fairbairn was successful, and held the seat until his death.

James Fairbairn regularly flew between his property and Canberra and was recognised as an authority on aviation.

James Fairbairn flew around Australia in 1935, and in 1936 he bought a De Havilland Dragonfly in England and flew it back to Australia.

James Fairbairn resigned as Vice-President of the Executive Council on 26 January 1940.

Four crew and six passengers, including the Chief of the General Staff and three Federal Government ministers, including James Fairbairn, were killed in the accident.

James Fairbairn was slow to speech, but, once engaged, he was gifted in exposition and resolute in advocacy of what he believed to be true.

James Fairbairn was survived by his wife, a daughter, and a son, Geoffrey Forrester who lectured in history at the Australian National University.

Sir David James Fairbairn, his first cousin once removed, was a federal politician.