John Flynn (minister) for residents of the vast Australian outback, and established a number of bush hospitals. By 1917, Flynn was already considering the possibility of new technology, such as radio and aircraft, to assist in providing a more useful acute medical service, and then received a letter from an Australian pilot serving in World War I, Clifford Peel, who had heard of Flynn's speculations and outlined the capabilities and costs of then-available planes. This material was published in the church's magazine, the start of Flynn turning his considerable fund-raising talents to the task of establishing a flying medical service. The first flight
Thomas Flynn (Columban priest) Thomas Flynn (Columban priest) Rev. Thomas Flynn SSC, was an Irish missionary priest, who was killed by Hukbalahap communist rebels in 1950 in the Philippines. Thomas Flynn was born on 5 November 1908 in Sixmilebridge, County Clare, Ireland. In 1928 Flynn went to Clonliffe College, Dublin to be educated for priesthood, moving in 1931 to St. Patrick's College, Maynooth. He was ordained a priest for the Dublin diocese in 1935. From 1941, he served as chaplain to the Gurkhas in the British Army. He joined the Missionary Society of St. Columban Mission to China in 1947, and was posted to