The following biograhpical note is extracted from "The Last Of The Breed", a book by Brian Creer, about vintage aircraft in Australia (contributed by Rob Gunnell).
About The Author - Brian Creer
by
Robert Burnett-Reade, Co-Founder of the Vintage Aircraft Club of Australia
The day that an excited five-year-old boy scrambled aboard a Fokker Universal, to experience his first aeroplane flight, the desire was formed in him to one day own his own aeroplane, and command it to obey his wishes.
Captain Horrie Miller can be blamed for awakening this desire in the breathless youngster, for it was he who swung into the cockpit and carried young Brian Creer aloft.
From that eventful day forward Brian immersed himself in aviation at every opportunity. At holiday times he would haunt the Adelaide Public Library, pouring through bound volumes of "Flight" and "The Aeroplane", and perhaps it was these that sparked off his lifetime interest in vintage aircraft.
He became a founder-member of the (now) Adelaide Soaring Club at the tender age of 13, and his youthful enthusiasm was soon put to good use making up hundreds of feet of tacking strips, and cutting the dozens of ply gussets needed for glider wing construction. Later some of the senior club-members, who good-naturedly chided him on his youth, were to be numbered among his flying students.
Although ready and willing to fly solo he was not permitted to make his first lone flight until he attained the age of 16, whereupon he soloed, and promptly applied for a powerplane student licence and learned to fly aeroplanes.
His interest in motorless flight remains with Brian Creer to this day, in spite of his wide experience with light aircraft.
He was once Chief Instructor of the Adelaide Soaring Club (a post he held for two years), served as an honorary instructor with the same club for a number of years, in addition to acting as an honorary instructor for the Barossa Valley and Great Eastern Gliding clubs during their formulative years.
One of the early supporters of a National Gliding Centre, Brian served on the South Australian Gliding Association's instructor panel, and on the committee of the A.S.C.
In all these capacities, his enthusiasm and keen sense of humour were an encouragement to those around him.
It was at the Adelaide Soaring Club that I first met him, he in the rear cockpit and I in the pupil's cockpit of the club's Falcon trainer. He seemed just like all the other instructors I'd met—skilful, patient, and blasphemous, as he endeavoured to teach me the art of soaring.
From gliding to power flying was a logical step, and he served as a committeeman with both the Broken Hill Aero Club and the Royal Aero Club of S.A., and his ability as a cartoonist is borne out by the many clubhouse walls decorated with Creer-type drawings.
On the serious side of flying, Brian holds type endorsements on 33 different light aircraft and sailplanes, and has carried out test-flying on several sailplane designs. He has been a regular contributor to Australian and overseas aviation magazines for many years and his knowledge of vintage aeroplanes makes him uniquely fit for this latest effort.
We, who fly vintage aeroplanes, know the pleasure they are able to return to their owner. It is only natural that further enjoyment should be sought by delving into the background and history of the period, and aircraft types which interest us.
There is a tremendous worldwide interest in the history of aviation, and early planes, and the knowledge of these matters among many young Australians warms the cockles of my heart (and often causes embarrassment when they—in their youth—know more than I, on occasions).
This book should add to the already encyclopedic knowledge of these many enthusiasts, and I am certain it will also re-kindle the flame of enthusiasm among many others.
North Adelaide, 1964