Colonel Alec Freeman - History 1

A career history for Alec E. Freeman

© 2011 Deborah Rorabaugh.
Note: This is a speculative career history and is in no way represented as being 'canon', although it does try to make sense of what little we are given concerning Alec Freeman's history.

This version of Freeman's history goes with Straker History 1 and assumes that Freeman is 5 years older than Straker and Australian.¹

Also see: Colonel Freeman - History 2

Born in Australia in 1931.
Moved to Great Britain to attend university and then join the RAF. Various writers have ascribed different majors for him, ranging from World History to Metallurgy.

Joined the Royal Air Force in 1953 and rose steadily through the ranks.

1953 - Pilot and officer training (32 weeks at Royal Air Force College Cranwell. The school commandant at the time was Air Commodore H Eeles.)

Flying Officer (OF-2)- 1953

Oct 31 to Nov 7, 1956 - Operation Musketeer, the Suez Crisis - RAF Canberra and Valiant bombers flying from Malta and Cyprus, in conjunction with French Air Force aircraft, attacked airfields in the Canal Zone.²

Flight Lieutenant (OF-3) - 1958

Squadron Leader (OF-4) - 1961 - would have taken Intermediate Command & Staff Course (Air) (an 8 week course) prior to promotion to wg cdr. Deployment to Indonesia. (At attaining the rank of Squadron Leader, he would be expected to remain in the service until 55.)

Wing Commander (OF-5) - 1964

1965 - assigned to Air Force Intelligence and/or MI5.

1966 - Assigned to observe USAF operations in South East Asia where he met Ed Straker.

Group Captain (OF-6) - 1967

In 1971 Freeman was recruited by Ed Straker to join the newly chartered SHADO. His rank within SHADO became Colonel, as SHADO had chosen to use the Army rank system. He is currently on permanent off-station assignment with SHADO, but this information is classified.

Input concerning Freeman's probable history would be most welcome.

¹ The original script for Identified described Freeman as a 30 year-old Australian. George Sewell, on the other hand, was a 46 year-old from London. Robert Miall in his UFO novelizations, described Freeman as a 'seamed, leathery man with a touch of an Australian accent' and with a 'worn, pitted face'. This leads most, if not all, readers to assume Miall was describing Sewell as Freeman. This is the description most early writers use for Freeman as this version precedes Chris Bentley's description of Freeman being a native Londoner by 33 years.

² In Confetti Check A-Okay, Freeman is described as 'Combat pilot, then air force intelligence'. The script for the episode doesn't mention Freeman's military career at all. While many people assume that 'combat pilot' automatically means fighter pilot, the term does not exclude bomber pilots.

Freeman backstory according to 'Episode Guides' - no author or other attribution given.