PLTOFF Sir Dormer George Andrews 404557
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| Squadron/s | 127 SQN RAF |
| Rank On Discharge/Death | Pilot Officer (PLTOFF) |
| Date of Birth | 08 Apr 1919 |
| Date of Death | 28 Jun 2004 |
| Contributing Author/s | Vince Conant 2016 |
Dormer George (Bob) Andrews was born on 8 April 1919 in Brisbane, Queensland to Miles Dormer Andrews, and his wife, Margaret Mary (née Robertson). He attended Taringa State Primary School and St Joseph’s College Nudgee, where he was dux and won an open scholarship to the University of Queensland (1936). After commencing legal studies at the University of Queensland, he enlisted for war service in October 1940.
Andrews served as a flying officer in the Royal Australian Air Force in England before posting with the Royal Air Force to the Middle East in January 1942. He joined No 127 Squadron from May 1942.
On 24 October 1942, Andrews was shot down flying a Hurricane in support of Australian troops in the battle of El Alamein, resulting in the loss of his left arm. He was held as a prisoner of war in Italy until he was liberated tin a prisoner exchange in 1943, and returned to Egypt in April 1943, and returned to Australia in June. Discharged from RAAF in January 1944 for medical reasons.Upon his return to Australia, Andrews returned to his university studies, graduating Bachelor of Arts (1944) and Bachelor of Laws (1947), receiving the Virgil Power Prize in 1946. He married Joan Merle Tear on 4 September 1943. They had three sons.
On 8 July 1947, after a brief period working for the Brisbane firm of Williams & Williams, Andrews was admitted as a barrister of the Supreme Court of Queensland. He practised at the bar in Brisbane for 11 years. On 2 April 1959, upon the revival of the District Courts in Queensland, Andrews was appointed a judge of the District Court. He served on the District Court for a period of 12 years, including a period as chairman of District Courts from 13 May 1965.
On 13 May 1971, Andrews was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland. He became senior puisne judge of the court on 18 February 1982, and became the fifteenth chief justice of Queensland on 8 July 1985. He was knighted in 1987, and awarded the Centenary Medal in 2003. During his tenure on the court, he also served as chairman of the Queensland Law Reform Commission (1973–82) and as head of the Queensland Parole Board (1997). He retired from judicial office, as he approached the statutory retirement age of 70, on 7 April 1989. Andrews died on 28 June 2004.[Supreme Court Library Qld]
