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Captain Eric John Stephens was an Australian flying ace who served in the Royal Air Force. He was credited with 13 confirmed aerial victories.

Abandoning his university studies, Stephens enlisted in the 16th Battalion AIF in July 1915 in Perth at the age of 19.  

He landed at Marseilles, France in June 1916. He served on both the Northern Front and the Somme River, with the 4th Machine Gun Company of the 12th Brigade.

He answered a call for volunteers to join the Royal Flying Corps and Stephens' was commissioned in the RFC on 13 April 1917. He was used as a flying instructor until his transfer to No. 41 Squadron RFC on 16 March 1918. Using a Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a, he shot down a Rumpler on 28 June 1918 for his first victory. Stephens would accumulate 12 more victories after this, all solo, and most over enemy fighters, with the final one falling on 1 November 1918. By war's end, he was a Flight Commander, had destroyed five enemy airplanes, and driven down eight more out of control.

Stephens earned the Distinguished Flying Cross, which was gazetted to him on 3 June 1919.

In the 1930's, Stephens was a commercial pilot for Qantas and was also a pilot for the Kingsford Smith, Charles Ulm company (the original) Australian National Airways until it closed down.

Captain Eric John Stephens, DFC (1895–1967)

Captain Eric John Stephens, DFC, was born on 13 September 1895 at Bendigo, Victoria, the son of John Thomas Stephens. He spent much of his youth in Western Australia, where he attended Scotch College, Claremont, continued his education at Perth Technical School, and later studied General Science at the University of Western Australia. His university studies were interrupted by the outbreak of the First World War, prompting him to volunteer for military service.

First World War

Eric enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force at Perth on 2 August 1915 as Private 3560. A 19-year-old student and member of the Church of England, he nominated his father, John Thomas Stephens of Boyanup, Western Australia, as his next of kin.

Assigned to the 16th Battalion, 11th Reinforcements, he embarked from Fremantle aboard HMAT Benalla (A24) on 1 November 1915. After arriving in France during 1916, he transferred to the 4th Machine Gun Company of the 12th Brigade, serving on the Western Front in both the Somme and Ypres sectors.

In 1917 Eric answered a call for volunteers to transfer to the Royal Flying Corps (RFC). He was discharged from the Australian Imperial Force on 12 April 1917 and commissioned into the RFC the following day.

He qualified as a pilot on 30 June 1917 and initially served as a flying instructor before joining No. 41 Squadron RFC on 16 March 1918. Flying the Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a, he quickly established himself as an outstanding fighter pilot.

Eric achieved his first aerial victory on 28 June 1918, sharing the destruction of a German Rumpler C reconnaissance aircraft with Captain Frederick McCall over Belloy-en-Santerre. Over the following four months he accumulated a further twelve confirmed victories.

By the end of the war, Eric had been credited with 13 confirmed aerial victories, consisting of:

5 enemy aircraft destroyed
8 enemy aircraft driven down out of control
His victories included engagements against Fokker D.VII and Pfalz D.III fighters, together with Rumpler C and DFW C reconnaissance aircraft. His final victory occurred on 1 November 1918, only ten days before the Armistice.

By the conclusion of hostilities he had become a Flight Commander, holding the rank of Captain.

For his courage, leadership and skill in aerial combat, Eric was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC), gazetted on 3 June 1919.

Royal Australian Air Force

Following the war Eric returned to Australia and, in September 1921, accepted a permanent commission in the newly established Royal Australian Air Force as a Flight Lieutenant.

His RAAF records show that he possessed extensive operational experience, having completed approximately 220 operational flying hours, around 80 offensive patrols and escort missions, low-level bombing operations, aerial gunnery instruction and command responsibilities as a Flight Commander. His duties included responsibility for aircraft, armament, workshops and transport.

In his application for a permanent commission, Eric stated that after returning from Europe he had been assisting on his father's orchard property at Boyanup, Western Australia, before re-entering military aviation.

In 1927, Eric resigned from the Permanent Air Force after accepting employment with Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Ltd. (QANTAS).

Civil aviation

Eric became one of Australia's early commercial airline pilots during the pioneering years of civil aviation.

During the 1930s he flew for Qantas, then one of Australia's youngest airlines, before joining the original Australian National Airways, founded by aviation pioneers Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and Charles Ulm.

His career bridged the formative years of Australian aviation, spanning military flying during the First World War through to the rapid expansion of commercial air transport between the wars.

Second World War

Eric again served during the Second World War, holding the rank of Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Australian Air Force.

During the war he was associated with operations in Papua and New Guinea, where he later received a Civil Commendation in 1943, recognising his contribution to the war effort.

Family

On 8 April 1922, Eric married Mavis Lilian Bowen Allen, who had been born at Gisborne, New Zealand, on 12 December 1898.

The family lived in several parts of Australia during Eric's aviation career, including Victoria, Queensland, and Tasmania.

Their known children were:

Barbara Mavis Stephens (1923–2005)
Geoffrey John Stephens (1924–2016)
Phillip Ernest Stephens (1925–1926)
Eric Ross Stephens (1929–1984)
John Francis Stephens (1932–2017)
Frank Victor Stephens (1939–2021)

Barbara later married Richard Reginald Williams, a Second World War veteran and son of Glanville Wakefield Williams and Doris Beatrice (Nicholas) Williams.

Later life

During the final years of his life, Eric lived at Lae, in the Territory of Papua and New Guinea.

A probate notice published after his death describes him as a farmer, indicating that following his long aviation career he had entered agricultural pursuits in Papua and New Guinea. Interestingly, his will described him as being "of Brisbane, Queensland," while the probate court referred to him as "late of Lae", suggesting that the will had been prepared before his move or that Brisbane remained his legal domicile.

Eric died at Lae on 25 January 1967, aged 71 years, and was buried in Lae State Cemetery.

His probate records further reveal that his wife, Mavis Lilian Bowen Stephens, who had been appointed executrix in his will, renounced probate, resulting in administration of the estate being granted through the Public Curator of Papua and New Guinea. While this may indicate that Eric and Mavis were living separately during their later years, no evidence has been found to suggest that they divorced or legally separated.

Mavis survived Eric by sixteen years, dying in Queensland on 16 April 1983.

Legacy

Captain Eric John Stephens occupies an important place in Australian aviation history. He was among the relatively small number of Australians to become recognised First World War flying aces, recording 13 confirmed aerial victories with No. 41 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps.

His career uniquely spanned military and civil aviation, progressing from infantryman and machine gunner on the Western Front to decorated fighter pilot, permanent Royal Australian Air Force officer, commercial airline pilot with Qantas and the original Australian National Airways, Second World War RAAF officer, and finally resident of Papua and New Guinea.

He is commemorated on several honour rolls, including:

Boyanup War Memorial
University of Western Australia Honour Roll
Scotch College (Claremont) First World War Honour Roll

His life reflects the remarkable generation of Australians who helped shape both military aviation during the First World War and commercial aviation in the decades that followed.

Sources

Australian War Memorial, Embarkation Roll and Nominal Roll: Private 3560 Eric John Stephens, 16th Battalion, 11th Reinforcements.
National Archives of Australia, First World War and Royal Australian Air Force service records.
Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force service records.
The London Gazette, 3 June 1919, award of the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Royal Australian Air Force personnel records (1921–1927).
The Aerodrome – combat record of Captain Eric John Stephens, No. 41 Squadron RFC/RAF.
Probate Notice, Territory of Papua and New Guinea Government Gazette, No. 66, 14 December 1967.
Find a Grave memorial, Lae State Cemetery, Papua New Guinea.
Family records and civil registrations relating to Mavis Lilian Bowen (Allen) Stephens and their children.

Biography by Trevor Pyatt 12/07/2026