Brother, what a life

Above: Warrant Officers George and Barry Hatchman with George’s daughter Christie, a Reservist with No. 23 Squadron. Below: George and Barry as 15-year-old apprentices.

TWIN FACTS

As young boys George and Barry Hatchman's mother dressed the identical twins in Air Force uniforms – and both went on to make a career in the Air Force. During their initial training, while receiving different grades for the various elements of their training, George and Barry's individual overall results were only 0.1 per cent different. During their careers Barry and George have followed parallel career paths in both rank and mustering. Both brothers have had two daughters. Between them, the brothers have served in the Air Force for the same number of years the Air Force has existed – 81.

THEY were there when the F-111s were first introduced, they saw the computerisation of the workforce and have watched the uniforms change several times.

Identical twins George and Barry Hatchman’s career journey began in 1963 when the two lads decided that the Royal Australian Air Force was where they wanted to be.

In May this year Barry finally broke the twin ties and left the Air Force for good.

The Hatchman brothers enlisted at 15, travelling from the Childers-Nambor region in Queensland to RAAF Base Wagga to join the No. 17 Squadron intake of the Instrument Apprentice Training.

Since that first day there have been many milestones. But one constant has remained – their respect for the service and the people who work within it.

The brothers’ careers have paralleled each other in mustering and rank in both the Permanent Air Force and the Reserves.

Barry has worked with the F-111 flight simulators and Orion aircraft.

He had some memorable moments with the Air Attaches Office at the Australian Embassy in Washington in 1968 – a year that included the assassination of Martin Luther King jnr, race riots and associated political turmoil. While the “diplomatic shindigs at the embassy were great”, Barry remembered the period as being one of the “scariest things” he had ever been through.

Barry left the Permanent Air Force in 1986, joining the Reserves with No. 23 (City of Brisbane) Squadron at RAAF Base Amberley the following year.

This year, upon reaching 55 – discharge expiry time – he decided it was finally time to call it a day.

“Working in the Reserves felt like you were achieving something, as you were your own boss,” he said
“There was a lot of satisfaction as you could focus more strongly on achieving what you were there for. You come back to the service with a whole new experience behind you and you can see both sides of the fence which you then use to the benefit of the service.”

Meantime, George’s career has been spent working with the F-111s since 1968, an aircraft he now describes as “like watching an EH Holden with a VT Commodore motor in it”.

One of his best memories is of the time he spent in Papua New Guinea as a young Sergeant working with the PNG Defence force. He said it was amazing working in the jungle regions and meeting the local people.

George discharged from the Permanent Air Force in 1990 and in 1995 became as a Reservist at 23SQN.

He believes he is the last remaining INSTFITT2 in the Air Force Reserves – “all others have been remustered to AVTECHS”.

The Air Force has also given George much more than just a job – it is where he met his wife. Christine Hatchman joined the WRAAF in the early 1970s and met George when he was posted to RAAF Base Amberley.

They were married in 1973 and have since raised two daughters, who have followed in their father’s footsteps.

While the end of an era has arrived for the two brothers, the Hatchman legacy now lives on through Christie, a Reservist with 23SQN, and Jaimie, a PAF member at RAAF Base Richmond.

• By Sue Caddaye

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