Glasshouse Views resident celebrated more than a century of life
By Kirra Livingstone
GLASSHOUSE Views resident, James ‘Jim’ Armstrong, turned 101 years old on Tuesday, July 15, and celebrated the huge milestone surrounded by family and friends. Jim was born in Atherton, Queensland in 1924, and is a WWII veteran, joining the Royal Air Force (RAAF) when he turned 18-years-old.
At 16-years-old, he had big aspirations to follow in his father and brother’s footsteps to join the military, and decided to learn morse code at night school. His father was a WWI lieutenant, while Jim’s brother Barnard was a navigator and bomb aimer, who tragically passed away in service at 22-years-old.
Jim served as a pilot for three and a half years, and flew with high profile officers during the war. This included transporting general Douglas MacArthur’s senior staff from Brisbane to New Guinea and the Philippines on Qantas Empire Airways planes.
When he was first enlisted into the RAAF, Jim was a year into an architecture degree. After serving, Jim returned to his studies, and then worked as a TAA pilot and took architectural jobs in his spare time.
In 1974, he established a cattle farm at Mooloolah which he later subdivided. Jim was married to Helen, and they raised three children together. Helen sadly died in 2012.
Jim has lots of memories from his time in the RAAF. He also has a photo of himself in his uniform, his brother’s letters, and five shining medals that he wears on Anzac Day.
