 Almost immediately that Menzies' Liberal Party replaced the Chifley Labor government at the end of 1949, it had begun to investigate possible replacements (largely from the RAF) for the incumbent CAS, eventually deciding on Air Marshal (later Air Chief Marshal) Sir Donald Hardman.Jones was informed of his retirement, which he claimed to have been expecting, in December 1951.In a farewell speech at the Australia Club in Melbourne, attended by Menzies, Jones said that organising EATS and expanding the Air Force in the South West Pacific had been his greatest achievements.