Commodore James Aloysius (‘Seamus’) O’Farrell AM RAN

COMMODORE O’FARRELL WAS BORN ON 4 FEBRUARY 1928 IN REDFERN, NEW SOUTH WALES. HE ENTERED THE ROYAL AUSTRALIAN NAVY AS A RECRUIT ON 6 FEBRUARY 1947 AND WAS SUBSEQUENTLY SELECTED TO UNDERTAKE PILOT TRAINING AT NO 1 FLYING TRAINING SCHOOL, ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE, LOCATED AT POINT COOK VICTORIA
3. AFTER BEING AWARDED HIS WINGS ON 13 DECEMBER 1951, HE WAS PROMOTED TO SUB-LIEUTENANT AND POSTED TO THE UNITED KINGDOM TO COMPLETE OPERATIONAL FLYING TRAINING TO QUALIFY AS A CARRIER BASED PILOT. DURING HIS TIME IN THE UNITED KINGDOM HE QUALIFIED ON THE SUPERMARINE SEAFIRE AND THE SEA FURY.
4. RETURNING TO AUSTRALIA IN 1953, HE WAS PROMOTED TO LIEUTENANT AND JOINED 805 SQUADRON SERVING IN HMAS SYDNEY IN THE WATERS OFF KOREA. SUBSEQUENTLY, HE QUALIFIED ON SYCAMORES AND SERVED IN A RANGE OF AVIATION POSITIONS INCLUDING AS A FLYING INSTRUCTOR AT RAAF BASE EAST SALE, POINT COOK AND PEARCE.
5. PROMOTED TO LIEUTENANT COMMANDER IN FEBRUARY 1961, HE BECAME THE COMMANDING OFFICER OF 723 SQUADRON DURING WHICH TIME 723 SQUADRON’S FIXED-WING AIRCRAFT WERE TRANSFERRED TO 724 SQUADRON AND 723 BECAME AN ALL-HELICOPTER SQUADRON.
6. IN SEPTEMBER 1964 HE WAS PROMOTED TO COMMANDER AND APPOINTEDCOMMANDER (AIR) OF THE NAVAL AIR STATION NOWRA. IN AUGUST 1965 HE POSTED TO THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER HMAS MELBOURNE AS COMMANDER (AIR) AND THEN IN LATE IN 1967 HE WAS POSTED TO NAVY OFFICE IN CANBERRA ACT AS DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF NAVAL AVIATION.
7. PROMOTED TO CAPTAIN IN JULY 1971 HE CONTINUED HIS WORK IN NAVAL AVIATION POLICY AND WAS MADE A MEMBER OF THE MILITARY DIVISION OF THE ORDER OF AUSTRALIA FOR EXCEPTIONAL PERFORMANCE OF DUTY ON 26 JANUARY 1978.
8. ON 16 SEPTEMBER 1978 HE WAS PROMOTED TO COMMODORE AND WAS POSTED TO THE UNITED STATES AS THE AUSTRALIAN NAVAL ATTACHE. RETURNING TO AUSTRALIA IN JANUARY 1982, HE WAS POSTED TO CANBERRA AS THE DIRECTOR GENERAL OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS BEFORE HIS SERVICE CAME TO AN END ON 31 JANUARY 1984.