Wikipedia:Today's featured article/requests/Charles Eaton (RAAF officer)

Charles Eaton (RAAF officer)
This nomination predates the introduction in April 2014 of article-specific subpages for nominations and has been created from the edit history of Today's featured article/requests.


 * This is the archived discussion of the TFAR nomination for the article below. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as Wikipedia talk:Today's featured article/requests). Please do not modify this page. 

The result was: scheduled for Today's featured article/April 29, 2013 by BencherliteTalk 10:11, 22 April 2013‎ (UTC)



Charles Eaton (1895–1979) was a senior officer and pilot in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), and later a diplomat. Born in London, he joined the British Army in World War I and saw action on the Western Front before transferring to the Royal Flying Corps in 1917. Shot down in 1918, he was twice captured by German forces, and twice escaped. Eaton left the military in 1920 and worked in India until moving to Australia in 1923. Two years later he joined the RAAF, serving initially as an instructor. Between 1929 and 1931, he was chosen to lead three expeditions to search for lost aircraft in central Australia, which earned him national attention and the Air Force Cross. In 1939, Eaton became commanding officer of No. 12 Squadron at the newly established RAAF Station Darwin, Northern Territory. Promoted group captain, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1942. He took command of No. 79 Wing at Batchelor, Northern Territory, in 1943, and was mentioned in despatches during operations in the South West Pacific. Retiring from the RAAF in December 1945, Eaton took up diplomatic posts in the Dutch East Indies, heading a United Nations commission as Consul-General during the Indonesian National Revolution. He returned to Australia in 1950, and became a farmer in later life. Popularly known as "Moth" Eaton, he is commemorated by several memorials in the Northern Territory.

2 points (2+ years FA). Partly in response to Bencherlite's appeal for noms a little while ago, but also a personal favourite of mine. It's his search-and-rescue work and post-war career as a diplomat, as much as his achievements as a military pilot, that I think makes him an interesting subject. Plus one reviewer was kind enough to remark on the good choice of photos in the article. Originally proposed this for 27 April, the day he reached (on foot, mind) the crash site of a plane lost in the desert; it was then briefly considered for Anzac Day (25 April) but I'm more than happy to see Military history of Australia during World War II running that day (see hatted discussion below). Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 22:26, 9 April 2013 (UTC)


 * How about 25 April? I bumped you last year for the Anzac Day article. Hawkeye7 (talk) 20:40, 1 April 2013 (UTC)
 * Well on 25 April 1929 he was in the middle of his overland trek to the crash site of those lost airmen, so the date's still relevant to him as well as to Australian service people in general; I have no problem with moving it forward if no-one has anything more appropriate for Anzac Day, and that should definitely qualify for another point... Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 06:32, 2 April 2013 (UTC)
 * Military history of Australia during World War II for Anzac Day, perhaps? BencherliteTalk 22:50, 7 April 2013 (UTC)
 * Sure, maybe -- I'll ping Nick-D as its main editor to see if he has an opinion. Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 08:36, 8 April 2013 (UTC)
 * I'd support that - the article has been a FA for almost four years, remains in good shape and is a good match for the date. There would be nothing wrong with using the Eaton article for the TFA on Anzac Day though. Nick-D (talk) 08:50, 8 April 2013 (UTC)
 * Well I'm happy to re-position Eaton among the non-date-specific entries and support Nick's article for Anzac Day. Nick, why don't you nom for April 25 and Ill move the Eaton blurb to a non-specific slot?  Bench, minor process query, when moving should we leave the commentary above or just make it like a fresh nom? Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 23:01, 8 April 2013 (UTC)
 * You can just copy everything here with an explanation, and hat / hab the Anzac discussion. BencherliteTalk 10:53, 9 April 2013 (UTC)


 * Support, date slightly immaterial, but this is a rather unusual and interesting individual in a great article. - SchroCat (talk) 07:35, 2 April 2013 (UTC)
 * Support, per SchroCat, --Gerda Arendt (talk) 04:49, 10 April 2013 (UTC)
 * Note I'm happy to run this soon, I'll just wait a little while after Anzac Day to avoid any perception of an Aussie military domination of the main page. BencherliteTalk 16:22, 11 April 2013 (UTC)
 * You say it as though that were a bad thing. Hawkeye7 (talk) 22:35, 12 April 2013 (UTC)
 * Support Hawkeye7 (talk) 22:35, 12 April 2013 (UTC)