Editing Hudson Fysh (section)

==Early and personal life==

Wilmot Hudson Fysh was born in the city of [[Launceston, Tasmania|Launceston]] in Tasmania, Australia, on 7 January 1895.<ref name=awm>{{cite web|access-date=9 October 2007|url=http://www.awm.gov.au/fiftyaustralians/19.asp|title=Fifty Australians—Sir Hudson Fysh|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070609092658/http://awm.gov.au/fiftyaustralians/19.asp|archive-date=9 June 2007}}</ref> His father, Frederick Wilmot Fysh, was a merchant, while his mother, Mary (''née'' Reed), was the daughter of a famous landowner, [[Henry Reed (merchant)|Henry Reed]].<ref name=adb>{{cite book|last=Percival|first=J|editor= Bede Nairn |editor2=Geoffrey Serle|year=1981|title=Australian Dictionary of Biography|publisher=Melbourne University Press|volume=8|url=http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/|chapter=Fysh, Sir Wilmot Hudson (1895—1974)|chapter-url=http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A080620b.htm|access-date=16 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070613123624/http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/|archive-date=13 June 2007|url-status=live}}</ref> Fysh was the oldest of five siblings; Hudson, Henry, Margaret, Mary and Graham.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=9 October 2007 |url=http://www.ballfamilyrecords.co.uk/fysh_australia/I0707.html |title=The Fysh Family in Australia |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050126195714/http://www.ballfamilyrecords.co.uk/fysh_australia/I0707.html |archive-date=26 January 2005 }}</ref> He was also the great-nephew of [[Philip Fysh|Sir Philip Fysh]].<ref name=adb/> His childhood was marred by the failure of his parents' marriage and his father's business. Originally staying with his father, he ran away so often that eventually he was able to stay with his mother.<ref name=qom>{{cite web|access-date=19 July 2009|url=http://www.qfom.com.au/hudsonFysh.html|title=QANTAS Founders Outback Museum—Meet the Originals: Hudson Fysh|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090912075006/http://www.qfom.com.au/hudsonFysh.html|archive-date=12 September 2009}}</ref> Living in [[St Leonards, Tasmania|St Leonards]]—a suburb of Launceston—until 1914, he enlisted in the Light Horse upon the start of [[World War I]].<ref name=aifnr>{{cite book|title=Australian Imperial Forces—Nominal Roll|chapter-url=http://www.awm.gov.au/cms_images/awm8/10_8_1/pdf/0384.pdf|page=14|chapter=3rd Light Horse Regiment—"C" Squadron|access-date=22 November 2007}}</ref>

Educated at [[Launceston Church Grammar School|Launceston]] and [[Geelong Grammar School|Geelong]] [[grammar school]]s,<ref name=adb/> Fysh worked as a [[Jackaroo (trainee)|jackaroo]] and [[woolclasser]] after his education. He was also a [[cadet]] in the 70 Infantry Militia as a teenager, before volunteering for the Tasmanian 26th Light Horse upon the outbreak of war.<ref name=adb/><ref name=WAR>{{cite web|access-date=9 October 2007|url=http://cas.awm.gov.au/PROD/gl.accept_login?screen_name=cas_search_pkg.pr_search_by_link&screen_parms=acid~ps_query_type=accnum~ps_query=REL/01350~ps_referrer=oai:awm:112284/1845442&screen_type=BOTTOM|title=War Information on Hudson Fysh}}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> After the foundation of Qantas, Fysh, being a poor student at school, tried to make up for his lack of training by studying economics and taking a course in [[pelmanism (system)|pelmanism]]. After his retirement from Qantas, Fysh received an [[honorary degree|honorary]] degree of [[Doctor of Engineering]] (EngD), in a commemoration ceremony from the [[University of Tasmania]], in 1971.<ref>Fysh (1971). "Commemoration ceremony 1971".</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://nla.gov.au/anbd.bib-an1632377|title=Commemoration ceremony 1971|access-date=4 November 2007}}</ref>

Described as a man of "great political acumen" and having "a hard head for business", Fysh had a reputation as a stern, uncompromising taskmaster. This contrasted against his "shy, quiet" nature; he described himself as "painfully shy...as a child feeling looked down on, sensitive, and socially lost." Fysh felt these feelings never left him, being "ill at ease with fame or publicity." Described as single-minded in many instances, his insistence on using a [[De Havilland Express|D.H.86]] (De Havilland Express 86) lead to a bitter clash and eventual fall-out between Fysh and Sir [[Patrick Gordon Taylor|Gordon Taylor]].<ref name=adb/> Fysh also made rivals in other airline entrepreneurs such as [[Norman Brearley]], a founder of [[Western Australian Airways]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Steve |last=Meacham |title=Battle for the air |work= The Guide|page=4 |date= 28 May 2007}}</ref>

On 5 December 1923, Fysh married Elizabeth Eleanor ("Nell") Dove, from [[Hunter River (New South Wales)|Hunter River]], in [[St James Church, Sydney]]. They had a son and daughter, John Hudson Fysh and Wendy Elizabeth Fysh, both born in [[Longreach, Queensland|Longreach]], [[Queensland]]. Fysh described his family as "his bulwark against the [company's] relentless pressures"<ref name=qom/>