High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Air Marshal Sir Valston Eldridge (Val) Hancock KBE, CB, DFC was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force. He served as Chief of the Air Staff from 1961 to 1965. During World War II Hancock held senior staff positions before being made Officer Commanding No. 71 Wing in New Guinea, in April 1945. His post-war appointments included Deputy Chief of the Air Staff from 1951 to 1953, Air Officer Commanding (AOC) No. 224 Group RAF Malaya from 1957 to 1959, and AOC Operational Command from 1959 to 1961. After his retirement from the military he co-founded the Australia Defence Association.