Carey Adamson
Birth nameCarey William Adamson
Born(1942-09-05)5 September 1942
Fairlie, New Zealand
Died10 May 2019(2019-05-10) (aged 76)
AllegianceNew Zealand
Service/branchRoyal New Zealand Air Force
Years of service1961–2001
RankAir Marshal
Commands heldChief of Defence Force
Chief of the Air Staff
No. 40 Squadron RNZAF
Battles/warsVietnam War
AwardsCompanion of the New Zealand Order of Merit
Air Force Cross

Air Marshal Carey William Adamson, CNZM, AFC (5 September 1942 – 10 May 2019) was a senior officer of the Royal New Zealand Air Force.

Adamson grew up in Fairlie before attending Timaru Boys' High School, where he was a boarder apart from his final year, when he commuted daily on his motorcycle.[1] As a teenager, Adamson joined the Air Training Corps. He then joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force in 1961, where he served as a pilot flying Austers and Harvards. In 1964 Adamson was assigned to the United States to train on the C130 Hercules.[2]

He was Chief of the Air Staff from 1995[3] to 1999 and Chief of Defence Force from 1999 to 2001.[1] In 2002, he caused "unprecedented controversy" when he criticised the government for disestablishing the air combat force.[1]

In the 1979 Queen's Birthday Honours, Adamson was awarded the Air Force Cross.[4] In the 1999 New Year Honours, he was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.[5]

Adamson was predeceased by his wife, Denyce (née Pickens), in 2013.[6] He had Parkinson's disease for the last few years of his life,[1] and died on 10 May 2019.[7] He received a military funeral at Wellington Cathedral of St Paul.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Williams, Al (20 May 2019). "Former Chief of Defence Carey Adamson remembered as 'top bloke'". Stuff. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  2. ↑ "Pilot's painful duty to clip wings of his own fighters". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  3. ↑ Lee-Frampton, Nick (24–30 July 1996). "Forward Thrust". Flight International. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  4. ↑ "No. 47871". The London Gazette (3rd supplement). 16 June 1979. p. 31.
  5. ↑ "New Year honours list 1999". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 1998. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  6. ↑ "Denyce Adamson obituary". The New Zealand Herald. 9 January 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  7. ↑ "Carey Adamson death notice". The Press. 16 May 2019. Retrieved 16 May 2019.


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