Richard Pearman Minifie

(1898 – 1969)

Richard Minifie was born in Alphington on 2 February 1898. In 1916 he joined the Royal Navy Air Service and served at the Battle of Ypres as a Flight Lieutenant. Flying both the Sopwith Triplane and the Sopwith Camel, Minifie proved an excellent pilot and soon became an ace. With twenty one kills, the Distinguished Service Order and two Bars, Minifie was one of Australia’s most outstanding World War One fighter pilots. After the war Minifie became involved in the family flour milling business and later rose to become President of the Victorian Flour Miller’s Association. Minifie was living in Malvern when he died in 1969.

Australian Dictionary of Biography, 1851 – 1890. (1981). Carlton, Vic: Melbourne University Press.