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THE PEOPLE
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Read biographies about soldiers, airmen and sailors who, in their own special way, contributed to Britain and the Commonwealth's modern military story, encompassing
the Boer War, First World War, interwar years, WW2, and modern times. People who were awarded the Victoria Cross, the George Cross, who took part in The Battle of Britain, D Day and postwar nuclear weapons testing.
the Boer War, First World War, interwar years, WW2, and modern times. People who were awarded the Victoria Cross, the George Cross, who took part in The Battle of Britain, D Day and postwar nuclear weapons testing.
Admiral Sir Eric Dunbar-Nasmith VC. Air Marshal Sir John Rowlands GC.
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British Army
General Sir Thomas Kelly-Kenny GCB, GCVO
General Sir Thomas Kelly-Kenny was a celebrated Second Boer War General who served with distinction in many of the latter 19th century colonial wars of the British Empire. He commanded the 6th Division in South Africa and held key commands thereafter. A close friend and advisor of King Edward VII, he was admired by the public and his men alike.
Thomas Kelly was born on the 27th of February 1840 in Kilrush, County Clare, western Ireland, the fifth son of the Deputy Lieutenant. He was educated at St Mary's and then St Patrick’s, Carlow College, before attending the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Kelly was commissioned an Ensign into the 2nd (Queen’s Royal) Regiment of Foot on the 2nd of February 1858. With promotion to Lieutenant in 1860 he was made Aide de Camp to the C-in-C of South Africa. Soon after he became Orderly Officer to the CO of the 1st Battalion when they were dispatched to China to bolster the British troops fighting there. Kelly was subsequently Mentioned in Dispatches for his actions at Tangku and Sinha. Promotion to Captain followed in July 1866 and with it command of a company, when the regiment was posted to India. However, his thirst for action and adventure led him to volunteer for service in Abyssinia in 1867. During the following years he also served with the regiment in Afghanistan and China. In 1869 Kelly was made the Deputy Assistant Quartermaster General in India. Following the death of his uncle in 1874 and a substantial inheritance Kelly adopted the family name of Kelly-Kenny. He then attended Staff College until 1875, with promotion to Major coming on the 29th of September 1877. In late July 1881 he reached Lieutenant Colonel, which was made full Colonel four years later. In 1887 Kelly-Kenny was appointed the Assistant Adjutant General at Aldershot, a prestigious post at the traditional home of the British Army. On the 3rd of June 1893 he was made a Companion of the Honourable Order of the Bath. Kelly-Kenny was promoted to Major General in 1896 and became Inspector General of Auxiliary Forces and Recruiting at Army Headquarters, which is most probably when he acquired this peaked cap. By March 1898 he was the commander of 4th Division. A year later, 9th of October 1899, he was made a Temporary Lieutenant General, on the Staff at Aldershot. However, he soon followed his predecessor to South Africa for service in the Second Boer War, where he distinguished himself as a competent field commander, admired and trusted by his men. Interestingly, for command of 6th Division and his vital contribution to the successful outcome of the war, he was confirmed in his rank in April 1901, back dated to December the 4th 1899. He was also given the Queen’s South Africa Medal with four clasps. During the war he participated at the Relief of Kimberley in February 1900, then at the Battle of Paardeberg, where he recommended Lieutenant Francis Newton Parsons for his Victoria Cross. The General was present at the action at Poplar Grove and the Battle of Driefontein, the March assault on the capital of the Boer Republic's. On his return to Great Britain in 1901, he was mentioned twice in Lord Robert‘s dispatches of the war and became Adjutant General to the Forces, until 1904. As a staunch traditionalist it was a controversial appointment amongst his peers who unsuccessfully sought his replacement, which was summarily overruled by the King. During his tenure, he also held the distinct honour of becoming Colonel of his old regiment, on the 20th of May 1902. Around a month later he received a knighthood and became Knight Commander of the Honourable Order of the Bath. The exhibited letter written to Sir Frederick Ponsonby, the King’s Assistant Private Secretary, is dated to October 1902 when Kelly-Kenny was at his post in the War Office. On the 24th of June 1904 he was elevated to Grand Cross of the Honourable Order of the Bath, and on the 8th of August of that same year King Edward VII specifically mentioned Kelly-Kenny as a one of twelve members of the reorganised Royal Patriotic Fund. His connection to the Royal Family also extended to the Prince of Wales, as well as King Edward’s nephew with whom he was a guest at German Crown Prince Wilhelm’s wedding, in 1905. Upon promotion to full General on the 25th of August 1905, he resigned his position from the Fund. It was with Prince Arthur of Connaught that General Kenny was also sent on a special envoy to Japan in 1906, to foster relations and trade between the two countries. There, he was personally awarded the Japanese Imperial decoration, The Grand Cross of the Rising Sun by the Emperor, and on May the 15th was also made a Knights Grand Cross of the Victorian Order, for representing the Crown in Japan. On the 12th of February 1907 the beloved General retired from active duty, after 49 years of dedicated service to King, Country and Empire. During his retirement he shared his time between England and Ireland, where he became a Justice of the Peace, as well as a Deputy Lieutenant. Aside from his impressive military career, the General also dabbled in local Irish politics during the late 1870s. General Sir Thomas Kelly-Kenny GCB, GCVO passed away at the age of 74 years old on Boxing Day, the 26th of December 1914.
More information about General Sir Thomas Kelly-Kenny can be found at the London Gazette, www.npg.co.uk, www.queensroyalsurreys.org.uk, www.kellyclanireland.com, www.clarelibrary.ie, www.trove.nla.gov.au, www.collection.nam.ac.uk, and ukwhoswho.com
Maker: Army & Navy Stores Cooperative.
Tag: Edwardian British General's Forage Dress cap and signed letter. (Kelly-Kenny).
General Sir Thomas Kelly-Kenny was a celebrated Second Boer War General who served with distinction in many of the latter 19th century colonial wars of the British Empire. He commanded the 6th Division in South Africa and held key commands thereafter. A close friend and advisor of King Edward VII, he was admired by the public and his men alike.
Thomas Kelly was born on the 27th of February 1840 in Kilrush, County Clare, western Ireland, the fifth son of the Deputy Lieutenant. He was educated at St Mary's and then St Patrick’s, Carlow College, before attending the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Kelly was commissioned an Ensign into the 2nd (Queen’s Royal) Regiment of Foot on the 2nd of February 1858. With promotion to Lieutenant in 1860 he was made Aide de Camp to the C-in-C of South Africa. Soon after he became Orderly Officer to the CO of the 1st Battalion when they were dispatched to China to bolster the British troops fighting there. Kelly was subsequently Mentioned in Dispatches for his actions at Tangku and Sinha. Promotion to Captain followed in July 1866 and with it command of a company, when the regiment was posted to India. However, his thirst for action and adventure led him to volunteer for service in Abyssinia in 1867. During the following years he also served with the regiment in Afghanistan and China. In 1869 Kelly was made the Deputy Assistant Quartermaster General in India. Following the death of his uncle in 1874 and a substantial inheritance Kelly adopted the family name of Kelly-Kenny. He then attended Staff College until 1875, with promotion to Major coming on the 29th of September 1877. In late July 1881 he reached Lieutenant Colonel, which was made full Colonel four years later. In 1887 Kelly-Kenny was appointed the Assistant Adjutant General at Aldershot, a prestigious post at the traditional home of the British Army. On the 3rd of June 1893 he was made a Companion of the Honourable Order of the Bath. Kelly-Kenny was promoted to Major General in 1896 and became Inspector General of Auxiliary Forces and Recruiting at Army Headquarters, which is most probably when he acquired this peaked cap. By March 1898 he was the commander of 4th Division. A year later, 9th of October 1899, he was made a Temporary Lieutenant General, on the Staff at Aldershot. However, he soon followed his predecessor to South Africa for service in the Second Boer War, where he distinguished himself as a competent field commander, admired and trusted by his men. Interestingly, for command of 6th Division and his vital contribution to the successful outcome of the war, he was confirmed in his rank in April 1901, back dated to December the 4th 1899. He was also given the Queen’s South Africa Medal with four clasps. During the war he participated at the Relief of Kimberley in February 1900, then at the Battle of Paardeberg, where he recommended Lieutenant Francis Newton Parsons for his Victoria Cross. The General was present at the action at Poplar Grove and the Battle of Driefontein, the March assault on the capital of the Boer Republic's. On his return to Great Britain in 1901, he was mentioned twice in Lord Robert‘s dispatches of the war and became Adjutant General to the Forces, until 1904. As a staunch traditionalist it was a controversial appointment amongst his peers who unsuccessfully sought his replacement, which was summarily overruled by the King. During his tenure, he also held the distinct honour of becoming Colonel of his old regiment, on the 20th of May 1902. Around a month later he received a knighthood and became Knight Commander of the Honourable Order of the Bath. The exhibited letter written to Sir Frederick Ponsonby, the King’s Assistant Private Secretary, is dated to October 1902 when Kelly-Kenny was at his post in the War Office. On the 24th of June 1904 he was elevated to Grand Cross of the Honourable Order of the Bath, and on the 8th of August of that same year King Edward VII specifically mentioned Kelly-Kenny as a one of twelve members of the reorganised Royal Patriotic Fund. His connection to the Royal Family also extended to the Prince of Wales, as well as King Edward’s nephew with whom he was a guest at German Crown Prince Wilhelm’s wedding, in 1905. Upon promotion to full General on the 25th of August 1905, he resigned his position from the Fund. It was with Prince Arthur of Connaught that General Kenny was also sent on a special envoy to Japan in 1906, to foster relations and trade between the two countries. There, he was personally awarded the Japanese Imperial decoration, The Grand Cross of the Rising Sun by the Emperor, and on May the 15th was also made a Knights Grand Cross of the Victorian Order, for representing the Crown in Japan. On the 12th of February 1907 the beloved General retired from active duty, after 49 years of dedicated service to King, Country and Empire. During his retirement he shared his time between England and Ireland, where he became a Justice of the Peace, as well as a Deputy Lieutenant. Aside from his impressive military career, the General also dabbled in local Irish politics during the late 1870s. General Sir Thomas Kelly-Kenny GCB, GCVO passed away at the age of 74 years old on Boxing Day, the 26th of December 1914.
More information about General Sir Thomas Kelly-Kenny can be found at the London Gazette, www.npg.co.uk, www.queensroyalsurreys.org.uk, www.kellyclanireland.com, www.clarelibrary.ie, www.trove.nla.gov.au, www.collection.nam.ac.uk, and ukwhoswho.com
Maker: Army & Navy Stores Cooperative.
Tag: Edwardian British General's Forage Dress cap and signed letter. (Kelly-Kenny).
General Sir Kelly Kenny peaked cap
General Sir Thomas Kelly-Kenny. www.npg.org.uk
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Sir Thomas Kelly-Kenny
possibly by Charles Knight, published by Ogden's bromide cigarette card, published circa 1900 3 1/4 in. x 2 1/8 in. (82 mm x 54 mm) overall Given by Terence Pepper, 2014 Photographs Collection NPG x193157 |
General Sir Thomas Kelly-Kenny signed War Office letter to Sir Frederick Ponsonby, Assistant Private Secretary to King Edward VII, dated 1902. Shown with the General's visor peaked cap (with white cloth cover). Click on the photograph to see the General wearing this cap with its khaki cover, in May 1900.
Major-General Arthur Solly-Flood CB, CMG, DSO, MID*.
Historical Importance
Major General Arthur Solly-Flood was a decorated Dragoon Guards officer who served with distinction in the cavalry during the Second Boer War. He held senior commands during World War One and after, being especially noted for modernizing the training of the BEF, which was crucial to the war‘s outcome. He also served a term as Military Advisor to Northern Ireland in 1922.
Arthur “Artie” Solly-Flood was born on the 28th of January 1871 in Southsea. His father was Major General Sir Frederick Solly-Flood and grandfather Frederick Solly-Flood, the Attorney General of Gibraltar. (His elder brother was Frederick, which may suggest Arthur’s middle name as being as such and explain the initials A. F. S.). After attending Wellington College, where he became fluent in French and German, he went to Sandhurst Military Academy in 1889, where he learnt horsemanship among other disciplines, before being commissioned into the Prince of Wales‘s Volunteers (The South Lancashire Regiment) in 1891. In 1895 he became Adjutant of the 1st Battalion for a period of four years until he was seconded to the South African Light Horse, on the 20th of October 1899, for the Second Boer War. Promoted to Lieutenant he soon became Adjutant and served along side Winston Churchill for a period. He was in “Byng’s” Column and took part in various operations, including Tugela Heights, Laing’s Nek, Battle of Belfast, Pieter’s Hill, Transvaal, Orange River Colony, and Cape Colony, as well as the Relief of Ladysmith where he was Mentioned in Dispatches (dated the 8th of January 1901). On the 28th of February 1900 he was promoted to Captain and became a Staff Officer. For his service he was awarded a Distinguished Service Order on the 29th of November 1900, as well as the Queen’s South African Medal with six clasps and the King’s South African Medal with two clasps. Back in the UK he rejoined his parent regiment and in 1902 attended Staff College before being made a Staff Captain on the General Staff in 1904 until 1906, serving in India around this time, when he became a 2nd Grade General Staff Officer. On the 19th of August 1908 he reached the rank of Major and was transferred to the 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards as a Staff Officer. No doubt when he acquired the Forage cap exhibited, (or perhaps earlier in 1904). In 1909 he joined the regiment in Egypt and became a General Staff Officer 2nd grade, on the 26th of February 1910, returning back home in 1913.
At the outbreak of the First World War he found himself in command of a squadron in France, before assuming command of the regiment. He then became Commanding Officer of 35th Infantry Brigade until mid 1915, during the Somme Offensive, being mentioned in Dispatches on the 17th of February with promotion to Brevet Lieutenant Colonel the next day. He was confirmed at that rank on the 15th of August of that year. Promotion to Temporary Brigadier General came on the 2nd of November 1915 on becoming a Brigade Commander. He was Mentioned in Dispatches again in June 1916 and that year also was made a Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Micheal and Saint George, as well as Mentioned in Dispatches on the 13th of November by General Haig himself, for his sterling work in improving and standardising the platoon offensive training of the British Expeditionary Force, in his role as Commander of the Third Army School. This was an achievement which would prove vital to the war effort. In the New Years Honours List of 1917 he was promoted to Brevet Colonel and on the 30th of January 1917 he was appointed the Commanding Officer of Training Directorate at GHQ. On the 15th of October that year Solly-Flood was promoted to Temporary Major General and took command of 42nd Division until March 1919, for which he was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath. During the Great War he was awarded the British War Medal, Victory Medal and 1914 Star, as well as the Belgium Legion of Honour and Croix de Guerre. He was also awarded the French Croix de Guerre.
After the war he was confirmed Major General in recognition of the crucial contribution he made in France, in the King’s Birthday Honours list of June 1919. He was then appointed Colonel of the South Lancashire Regiment on the 1st of May 1921, a signal honour being his original unit, before being chosen as the Military Advisor to the Northern Ireland Government in April 1922, based in Belfast. After a year he was given command of 42nd East Lancashire Division, Territorial Army, in June 1923 until March 1927, when he accepted a posting to India as Deputy Adjutant General of Army Headquarters, once again posted to India. However later that year in November he served as Major General of the Cavalry in India, as well as Commandant of the School of Equitation, for a period of five years. After around forty years of devoted service, being Mentioned in Dispatches seven times and numerous awards, Major General Arthur Solly-Flood CB CMG DSO MiD* hung up his Dress cap for the last time and retired from active service in 1931. After a short retirement he passed away at the age of 69 years old, on the 14th of November 1940, in Crickhowell, Wales.
More about about Major-General Arthur Solly-Flood CB, CMG, DSO can be found in the London Gazette, ukwhoswho.com, www.iwm.co.uk, www.nationalarchives.gov.uk, www.gulabin.com, www.ancestry.co.uk, www.reubique.com, www.dib.ie, www.westernfrontassociation.com, www.warringtonguardian.co.uk, & hythehistoryblog.wordpress.com.
Notes on the exhibit. This cap is a Staff Officer's pattern from around 1908 when Solly-Flood became a Staff Officer in the 4th D.Gs, with Edward VII side buttons. It was re-peaked in 1915 for Brigadier General rank, then a second row of bullion oakleaves was added in 1917 upon promotion to Major General (See Lt. Gen. Sir William Marshall's cap). The outfitter was a favoured tailor of Guards headdress and accessories.
Maker: Edward Smith of Boyle Street, London.
Tag: British General's Forage Dress cap. (Solly-Flood).
Historical Importance
Major General Arthur Solly-Flood was a decorated Dragoon Guards officer who served with distinction in the cavalry during the Second Boer War. He held senior commands during World War One and after, being especially noted for modernizing the training of the BEF, which was crucial to the war‘s outcome. He also served a term as Military Advisor to Northern Ireland in 1922.
Arthur “Artie” Solly-Flood was born on the 28th of January 1871 in Southsea. His father was Major General Sir Frederick Solly-Flood and grandfather Frederick Solly-Flood, the Attorney General of Gibraltar. (His elder brother was Frederick, which may suggest Arthur’s middle name as being as such and explain the initials A. F. S.). After attending Wellington College, where he became fluent in French and German, he went to Sandhurst Military Academy in 1889, where he learnt horsemanship among other disciplines, before being commissioned into the Prince of Wales‘s Volunteers (The South Lancashire Regiment) in 1891. In 1895 he became Adjutant of the 1st Battalion for a period of four years until he was seconded to the South African Light Horse, on the 20th of October 1899, for the Second Boer War. Promoted to Lieutenant he soon became Adjutant and served along side Winston Churchill for a period. He was in “Byng’s” Column and took part in various operations, including Tugela Heights, Laing’s Nek, Battle of Belfast, Pieter’s Hill, Transvaal, Orange River Colony, and Cape Colony, as well as the Relief of Ladysmith where he was Mentioned in Dispatches (dated the 8th of January 1901). On the 28th of February 1900 he was promoted to Captain and became a Staff Officer. For his service he was awarded a Distinguished Service Order on the 29th of November 1900, as well as the Queen’s South African Medal with six clasps and the King’s South African Medal with two clasps. Back in the UK he rejoined his parent regiment and in 1902 attended Staff College before being made a Staff Captain on the General Staff in 1904 until 1906, serving in India around this time, when he became a 2nd Grade General Staff Officer. On the 19th of August 1908 he reached the rank of Major and was transferred to the 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards as a Staff Officer. No doubt when he acquired the Forage cap exhibited, (or perhaps earlier in 1904). In 1909 he joined the regiment in Egypt and became a General Staff Officer 2nd grade, on the 26th of February 1910, returning back home in 1913.
At the outbreak of the First World War he found himself in command of a squadron in France, before assuming command of the regiment. He then became Commanding Officer of 35th Infantry Brigade until mid 1915, during the Somme Offensive, being mentioned in Dispatches on the 17th of February with promotion to Brevet Lieutenant Colonel the next day. He was confirmed at that rank on the 15th of August of that year. Promotion to Temporary Brigadier General came on the 2nd of November 1915 on becoming a Brigade Commander. He was Mentioned in Dispatches again in June 1916 and that year also was made a Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Micheal and Saint George, as well as Mentioned in Dispatches on the 13th of November by General Haig himself, for his sterling work in improving and standardising the platoon offensive training of the British Expeditionary Force, in his role as Commander of the Third Army School. This was an achievement which would prove vital to the war effort. In the New Years Honours List of 1917 he was promoted to Brevet Colonel and on the 30th of January 1917 he was appointed the Commanding Officer of Training Directorate at GHQ. On the 15th of October that year Solly-Flood was promoted to Temporary Major General and took command of 42nd Division until March 1919, for which he was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath. During the Great War he was awarded the British War Medal, Victory Medal and 1914 Star, as well as the Belgium Legion of Honour and Croix de Guerre. He was also awarded the French Croix de Guerre.
After the war he was confirmed Major General in recognition of the crucial contribution he made in France, in the King’s Birthday Honours list of June 1919. He was then appointed Colonel of the South Lancashire Regiment on the 1st of May 1921, a signal honour being his original unit, before being chosen as the Military Advisor to the Northern Ireland Government in April 1922, based in Belfast. After a year he was given command of 42nd East Lancashire Division, Territorial Army, in June 1923 until March 1927, when he accepted a posting to India as Deputy Adjutant General of Army Headquarters, once again posted to India. However later that year in November he served as Major General of the Cavalry in India, as well as Commandant of the School of Equitation, for a period of five years. After around forty years of devoted service, being Mentioned in Dispatches seven times and numerous awards, Major General Arthur Solly-Flood CB CMG DSO MiD* hung up his Dress cap for the last time and retired from active service in 1931. After a short retirement he passed away at the age of 69 years old, on the 14th of November 1940, in Crickhowell, Wales.
More about about Major-General Arthur Solly-Flood CB, CMG, DSO can be found in the London Gazette, ukwhoswho.com, www.iwm.co.uk, www.nationalarchives.gov.uk, www.gulabin.com, www.ancestry.co.uk, www.reubique.com, www.dib.ie, www.westernfrontassociation.com, www.warringtonguardian.co.uk, & hythehistoryblog.wordpress.com.
Notes on the exhibit. This cap is a Staff Officer's pattern from around 1908 when Solly-Flood became a Staff Officer in the 4th D.Gs, with Edward VII side buttons. It was re-peaked in 1915 for Brigadier General rank, then a second row of bullion oakleaves was added in 1917 upon promotion to Major General (See Lt. Gen. Sir William Marshall's cap). The outfitter was a favoured tailor of Guards headdress and accessories.
Maker: Edward Smith of Boyle Street, London.
Tag: British General's Forage Dress cap. (Solly-Flood).
Major-General Arthur Solly-Flood CB, CMG, DSO, MID*.
Major-General Arthur Solly-Flood CB, CMG, DSO, MID*. Copyright 2025.
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Major-General Arthur Solly-Flood CB, CMG, DSO, MID*.
by Olivier Dorrell Digital Media, 2025 Unofficial contemporary portrait. 11.7 in. x 8.3 in. (297 mm x 210 mm). Copyright, the artist 2025. Contact the museum to use this image. |
Major General Hugh Palliser Hickman CB.
Major General Hugh Palliser Hickman was a Royal Artillery officer and senior Homefront commander during the First World War, most notably the strategic port and coastal installations of Plymouth. Prior, he served during the 2nd Boer War and held key commands in both India and South Africa.
Hugh Palliser Hickman was born on the 4th of July 1856 in Fenloe, County Clare, Ireland. The youngest child. His father was the Deputy Lieutenant of the county. After schooling at Cheltenham College he joined the Royal Military Academy, as a Gentleman Cadet, on the 19th of August 1875 aged just 19 years old. He was then commissioned a Temporary Lieutenant on the 19th of February 1876, into the Royal Artillery, following in the family tradition. Promotion to Captain came on the 1st of January 1884. Then followed a period of training at the Royal Artillery School of Gunnery at Shoeburyness, before becoming an Instructor, in January 1888. He reached Major in April 1862 and was appointed as Assistant Superintendent of Experiments at the School Of Gunnery, on the 10th of March 1896. Major Hickman was then seconded to Services on the Staff in January 1898, before he became Secretary of the Ordnance Committee in April of that year. In 1901 he was sent to South Africa and fought during the Second Boer war, seeing action at Cape Colony in May 1901, Orange Free State, from May till June 1901, before the Transvaal until February 1902, earning him the Queen's South Africa Medal. During the interval years he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in December 1901. In February 1904 he became a Member of the Ordnance Committee, until the 1st of May 1907 when he was placed on half pay. Promotion to Substantive Colonel came in July 1907. On the 29th of May 1908 he was made Temporary Brigadier General upon his posting as Inspector of Coastal Defences and Royal Garrison Artillery, General Staff Branch, Army HQ in India, where he was awarded the 1911 Delhi Durbar Medal, (proclaiming King George V as Emperor of India). From India he was given the prestigious command of Commander of the Cape of Good Hope District in South Africa, from the 4th of June 1912 until the 3rd of June 1913, when he returned back to the United Kingdom as a Major General. At the outbreak of the First World War he was attached to Headquarter Units, arriving in France as a Commander on the 10th of October 1914, (but not formally part of the British Expeditionary Force, so he was denied the 1914 Star), until 1916. His next assignment was as the Commander of the Plymouth Garrison, General Ordnance Corps. at Devonport, where Maj. Gen Hickman was in charge of the coastal artillery and military installations, vital to the defence of the strategic port. For his excellent command, he was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath in His Majesty's Birthday Honours List, on the 3rd of June 1916. Before the war came to an end Major General H. P. Hickman CB retired from active duty on the 9th of April 1918, after over forty years of dedicated service. In July 1923 he was removed from the Reserve of Officers List, marking the complete end to his military career. On the 13th of May 1930 he passed away at his home in Beaufort Gardens, South Kensingtion, London, aged 73 years old.
More about about Major General Hickman CB can be found in the London Gazette, www.landedfamilies.blogspot.com, www.wikisource.org & ukwhoswho.com
Maker: Unknown.
Tag: Pre 1911 miniature dress medals. (Hickman).
Major General Hugh Palliser Hickman was a Royal Artillery officer and senior Homefront commander during the First World War, most notably the strategic port and coastal installations of Plymouth. Prior, he served during the 2nd Boer War and held key commands in both India and South Africa.
Hugh Palliser Hickman was born on the 4th of July 1856 in Fenloe, County Clare, Ireland. The youngest child. His father was the Deputy Lieutenant of the county. After schooling at Cheltenham College he joined the Royal Military Academy, as a Gentleman Cadet, on the 19th of August 1875 aged just 19 years old. He was then commissioned a Temporary Lieutenant on the 19th of February 1876, into the Royal Artillery, following in the family tradition. Promotion to Captain came on the 1st of January 1884. Then followed a period of training at the Royal Artillery School of Gunnery at Shoeburyness, before becoming an Instructor, in January 1888. He reached Major in April 1862 and was appointed as Assistant Superintendent of Experiments at the School Of Gunnery, on the 10th of March 1896. Major Hickman was then seconded to Services on the Staff in January 1898, before he became Secretary of the Ordnance Committee in April of that year. In 1901 he was sent to South Africa and fought during the Second Boer war, seeing action at Cape Colony in May 1901, Orange Free State, from May till June 1901, before the Transvaal until February 1902, earning him the Queen's South Africa Medal. During the interval years he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in December 1901. In February 1904 he became a Member of the Ordnance Committee, until the 1st of May 1907 when he was placed on half pay. Promotion to Substantive Colonel came in July 1907. On the 29th of May 1908 he was made Temporary Brigadier General upon his posting as Inspector of Coastal Defences and Royal Garrison Artillery, General Staff Branch, Army HQ in India, where he was awarded the 1911 Delhi Durbar Medal, (proclaiming King George V as Emperor of India). From India he was given the prestigious command of Commander of the Cape of Good Hope District in South Africa, from the 4th of June 1912 until the 3rd of June 1913, when he returned back to the United Kingdom as a Major General. At the outbreak of the First World War he was attached to Headquarter Units, arriving in France as a Commander on the 10th of October 1914, (but not formally part of the British Expeditionary Force, so he was denied the 1914 Star), until 1916. His next assignment was as the Commander of the Plymouth Garrison, General Ordnance Corps. at Devonport, where Maj. Gen Hickman was in charge of the coastal artillery and military installations, vital to the defence of the strategic port. For his excellent command, he was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath in His Majesty's Birthday Honours List, on the 3rd of June 1916. Before the war came to an end Major General H. P. Hickman CB retired from active duty on the 9th of April 1918, after over forty years of dedicated service. In July 1923 he was removed from the Reserve of Officers List, marking the complete end to his military career. On the 13th of May 1930 he passed away at his home in Beaufort Gardens, South Kensingtion, London, aged 73 years old.
More about about Major General Hickman CB can be found in the London Gazette, www.landedfamilies.blogspot.com, www.wikisource.org & ukwhoswho.com
Maker: Unknown.
Tag: Pre 1911 miniature dress medals. (Hickman).
Lieutenant Colonel Frank Phillips DSO, MC, MiD*.
Lieutenant Colonel Frank Phillips was a highly decorated First World War officer, winning the Distinguished Service Order and Military Cross, as well as being Mentioned in Dispatches on no less than four occasions. He also served as Deputy Assistant Quartermaster General of 17th Division.
Frank Phillips was born in 1885. He was 29 years old at the start of the Great War, serving with the Royal Fusiliers before being commissioned a Temporary Lieutenant into the 7th Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) on the 2nd of December 1914, later serving as its CO). He arrived in France on the 27th of July 1915 as part of 18th Division. On the 22nd of April 1915 he became the Battalion Adjutant and Acting Captain, which involved, among other things, adding entries into the battalions war diary. On the 29th of February 1916 they found themselves at St Gratien. In September he was promoted to Temporary Captain and remained Adj. until the 3rd of that month. In 1917 he saw promotion to Temporary Major and served on the Staff of 17th Division as Deputy Assistant Quartermaster General. It was during this time that he was awarded a Military Cross for his conspicuous bravery, confirmed in the New Years Honours List of 1918. He was then promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and given the Distinguished Service Order a year later in the Honours Lists, for devoted service under fire, having already been Mentioned in Dispatches four times during the War. He remained in this post until 1919, staying on in France to help with the humanitarian crisis, resulting in the rare and unique award of the French Reconnaissance Medal, 3rd Class (in Bronze), by the French Government. Offcially noted in the London Gazette on the 8th of March 1920.
He retired from active duty on the 20th of March 1922. His impressive and unusual medal ribbons are a testament to his bravery and dedication to others. After the war he became Vice President of the Royal East Kent Regiment Association, London Branch, supporting veterans in civilian life. He also became Director of the family firms, Ann Talbot Ltd court dressmakers and Morris & Elkan, importers of cigars, whose joint premises was at 6-7 George Street, next door to 8 George Street, where the Artists Rifles was founded by the famous 19th Century artist, Henry Wyndham Phillips in 1860. Colonel Frank Phillips DSO MC was a highly brave and well respected officer and businessman, who passed away in Frimley, Surrey, on the 20th of August 1938, at the young age of 53 years old.
More about about Lieutenant Colonel Frank Phillips DSO, MC can be found in the London Gazette, Burke's Peerage, www.nationalarchives.gov.uk, www.nam.ac.uk, & royalsandnobles.com.
Maker: Unknown.
Tag: First World War miniature dress medals. (Phillips).
Lieutenant Colonel Frank Phillips was a highly decorated First World War officer, winning the Distinguished Service Order and Military Cross, as well as being Mentioned in Dispatches on no less than four occasions. He also served as Deputy Assistant Quartermaster General of 17th Division.
Frank Phillips was born in 1885. He was 29 years old at the start of the Great War, serving with the Royal Fusiliers before being commissioned a Temporary Lieutenant into the 7th Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) on the 2nd of December 1914, later serving as its CO). He arrived in France on the 27th of July 1915 as part of 18th Division. On the 22nd of April 1915 he became the Battalion Adjutant and Acting Captain, which involved, among other things, adding entries into the battalions war diary. On the 29th of February 1916 they found themselves at St Gratien. In September he was promoted to Temporary Captain and remained Adj. until the 3rd of that month. In 1917 he saw promotion to Temporary Major and served on the Staff of 17th Division as Deputy Assistant Quartermaster General. It was during this time that he was awarded a Military Cross for his conspicuous bravery, confirmed in the New Years Honours List of 1918. He was then promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and given the Distinguished Service Order a year later in the Honours Lists, for devoted service under fire, having already been Mentioned in Dispatches four times during the War. He remained in this post until 1919, staying on in France to help with the humanitarian crisis, resulting in the rare and unique award of the French Reconnaissance Medal, 3rd Class (in Bronze), by the French Government. Offcially noted in the London Gazette on the 8th of March 1920.
He retired from active duty on the 20th of March 1922. His impressive and unusual medal ribbons are a testament to his bravery and dedication to others. After the war he became Vice President of the Royal East Kent Regiment Association, London Branch, supporting veterans in civilian life. He also became Director of the family firms, Ann Talbot Ltd court dressmakers and Morris & Elkan, importers of cigars, whose joint premises was at 6-7 George Street, next door to 8 George Street, where the Artists Rifles was founded by the famous 19th Century artist, Henry Wyndham Phillips in 1860. Colonel Frank Phillips DSO MC was a highly brave and well respected officer and businessman, who passed away in Frimley, Surrey, on the 20th of August 1938, at the young age of 53 years old.
More about about Lieutenant Colonel Frank Phillips DSO, MC can be found in the London Gazette, Burke's Peerage, www.nationalarchives.gov.uk, www.nam.ac.uk, & royalsandnobles.com.
Maker: Unknown.
Tag: First World War miniature dress medals. (Phillips).
Miniature medal set from Lieutenant Colonel Frank Phillips DSO, MC, MID. From left to right: The Distinguished Service Order, Military Cross, 1914-15 Star, War Medal, Victory Medal (missing MID leaf), and French Reconnaissance Medal 3rd Class.
Collector's tip:
Check out this great WW1 and WW2 colouring book for British military medals.
Great for young and old!
Check out this great WW1 and WW2 colouring book for British military medals.
Great for young and old!
Brigadier-General Sir Ormonde de l'Épée Winter KBE, CB, CMG, DSO
Brigadier General Winter was a distinguished WW1 commander who had an interesting and controversial interwar career. He was also a student of Cherburg Prep School in Great Malvern (Later Elerslie Girl's School, then Malvern College's Hillstone Prep School as the boy's boarding house ). Full Bio coming soon.
More about about Brigadier-General Sir Ormonde de l'Épée Winter KBE, CB, CMG, DSO can be found in the London Gazette, npg.org.uk, www.iwm.org.uk, & ukwhoswho.com
Maker: George B. Winter & Son.
Tag: Interwar British General's Forage Dress cap. (Winter).
Brigadier General Winter was a distinguished WW1 commander who had an interesting and controversial interwar career. He was also a student of Cherburg Prep School in Great Malvern (Later Elerslie Girl's School, then Malvern College's Hillstone Prep School as the boy's boarding house ). Full Bio coming soon.
More about about Brigadier-General Sir Ormonde de l'Épée Winter KBE, CB, CMG, DSO can be found in the London Gazette, npg.org.uk, www.iwm.org.uk, & ukwhoswho.com
Maker: George B. Winter & Son.
Tag: Interwar British General's Forage Dress cap. (Winter).
1917-1920 period peaked visor cap from Brigadier-General Sir Ormonde de l'Épée Winter KBE, CB, CMG, DSO
Sir Ormonde de l'Epee Winter. www.npg.org.uk
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Sir Ormonde de l'Epee Winter
by Walter Stoneman bromide print, 1955 5 7/8 in. x 4 5/8 in. (149 mm x 116 mm) image size Commissioned, 1955 Photographs Collection NPG x186244 |
Major General Harold Francis Salt CB, CMG, DSO.
Major-General Salt was a decorated First World War Royal Artillery officer who held command positions during the war and interwar years. For his WW1 service he was awarded a DSO and mentioned in Dispatches three times. His organisation of the Territorial Army Air Defence Formations was to play a vital role in preparing London during the Blitz.
The Honourable Harold Francis Salt was born on the 30th of December 1879 in Staffordshire, the youngest son of the 1st Baronet Salt. After school he attended the Royal Indian Engineering College, a civilian engineering school tailored for India service, in Surrey. However after graduating in 1900 he joined the Royal Regiment of Field Artillery and was promoted to Lieutenant on the 3rd of April 1901. On the 7th of November 1907 he was made Adjutant and just under a year later in September 1908 promoted to Captain. He attended Royal Artillery Staff College and by January 1914 was on secondment, prior to the start of hostilities of the First World War, with H Battery RHA. (A period 1914 photograph of Captain Salt can be seen here). At the end of October he was promoted to Major and appointed General Staff officer, 3rd Class. He became a Brigade Major on the 10th of March 1915 with 11th Division. On the 21st of October 1915 he was promoted to General Staff Officer, 2nd Class with 10th Division. In January 1918, a Temporary Lt. Colonel, he was awarded a Distinguished Service Order. During the war he had served on the Western Front, Palestine, Gallipoli, and Macedonia. Promoted to Temporary Major-General in 1918, he became General Staff Brigadier of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, for which he was made a Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Micheal and Saint George, Third Class, on the 3rd of June 1919. On the 28th of November of that year he was also awarded the Order of the Nile, 3rd Class. He was then posted to the Senior Officers' School, Belgaum in India - an officer training establishment, until 1925 when he became the Assistant Commandant of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. In 1930 he was appointed Royal Artillery Commander of the 54th Division, Territorial Army. 1931 saw promotion to Major-General and command of the Territorial Army Air Defence Formations until 1935. In the King’s Birthday Honours List, 3rd of June 1932, Salt was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath and once again accepted a posting to Army HQ India as Deputy Adjutant General. Followed by a term as Deputy Quartermaster General India. After nearly forty years of service he retired on the 29th of April 1939. However, upon the of outbreak of the Second World War he found himself at the Ministry of Aircraft Production and Ministry of Works. At the ripe old age of 91 years old Major-General Harold Francis Salt CB CMG DSO passed away on the 10th of August 1971.
More about Major General Harold Francis Salt CB, CMG, DSO can be found in the London Gazette, www.saxonlodge.net, www.peerage.com, www.iwm.org.uk, &ukwhoswho.com
Maker: Hawkes Ltd.
Tag: WW2 British General's Forage Dress cap, Mess Jacket and gorgets. (Salt).
Major-General Salt was a decorated First World War Royal Artillery officer who held command positions during the war and interwar years. For his WW1 service he was awarded a DSO and mentioned in Dispatches three times. His organisation of the Territorial Army Air Defence Formations was to play a vital role in preparing London during the Blitz.
The Honourable Harold Francis Salt was born on the 30th of December 1879 in Staffordshire, the youngest son of the 1st Baronet Salt. After school he attended the Royal Indian Engineering College, a civilian engineering school tailored for India service, in Surrey. However after graduating in 1900 he joined the Royal Regiment of Field Artillery and was promoted to Lieutenant on the 3rd of April 1901. On the 7th of November 1907 he was made Adjutant and just under a year later in September 1908 promoted to Captain. He attended Royal Artillery Staff College and by January 1914 was on secondment, prior to the start of hostilities of the First World War, with H Battery RHA. (A period 1914 photograph of Captain Salt can be seen here). At the end of October he was promoted to Major and appointed General Staff officer, 3rd Class. He became a Brigade Major on the 10th of March 1915 with 11th Division. On the 21st of October 1915 he was promoted to General Staff Officer, 2nd Class with 10th Division. In January 1918, a Temporary Lt. Colonel, he was awarded a Distinguished Service Order. During the war he had served on the Western Front, Palestine, Gallipoli, and Macedonia. Promoted to Temporary Major-General in 1918, he became General Staff Brigadier of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, for which he was made a Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Micheal and Saint George, Third Class, on the 3rd of June 1919. On the 28th of November of that year he was also awarded the Order of the Nile, 3rd Class. He was then posted to the Senior Officers' School, Belgaum in India - an officer training establishment, until 1925 when he became the Assistant Commandant of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. In 1930 he was appointed Royal Artillery Commander of the 54th Division, Territorial Army. 1931 saw promotion to Major-General and command of the Territorial Army Air Defence Formations until 1935. In the King’s Birthday Honours List, 3rd of June 1932, Salt was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath and once again accepted a posting to Army HQ India as Deputy Adjutant General. Followed by a term as Deputy Quartermaster General India. After nearly forty years of service he retired on the 29th of April 1939. However, upon the of outbreak of the Second World War he found himself at the Ministry of Aircraft Production and Ministry of Works. At the ripe old age of 91 years old Major-General Harold Francis Salt CB CMG DSO passed away on the 10th of August 1971.
More about Major General Harold Francis Salt CB, CMG, DSO can be found in the London Gazette, www.saxonlodge.net, www.peerage.com, www.iwm.org.uk, &ukwhoswho.com
Maker: Hawkes Ltd.
Tag: WW2 British General's Forage Dress cap, Mess Jacket and gorgets. (Salt).
Major General Harold Francis Salt CB, CMG, DSO visor peak cap.
Major General Harold Francis Salt CB, CMG, DSO Mess Dress jacket.
Major General Harold Francis Salt CB, CMG, DSO visor peak cap and gorget tabs.
Major General Harold Francis Salt CB, CMG, DSO. Copyright 2024.
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Major General Harold Francis Salt CB, CMG, DSO.
by Olivier Dorrell Digital Media, 2024 Unofficial contemporary portrait. 11.7 in. x 8.3 in. (297 mm x 210 mm). Copyright, the artist 2024. Contact the museum to use this image. |
General Sir Kenneth Arthur Noel Anderson KCB, MC.
General Sir Kenneth Anderson was a senior WW2 commander in the North Africa Theatre and was the Commander in Chief and Governor of Gibralter, from 1947 until 1952.
Notes on the exhibit. Aside from the General, his wife Lady Anderson MBE also passed away in Gibralter in 1984. With no apparent heirs and with the exhibit sourced from Spain, it may suggest having been the General's. Regardless, it is a fine period example.
Well known and celebrated British Generals included Field Marshal Harold "Alex" Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis, Field Marshal "Monty" Montgomery of the 8th Army Desert Rats fame, and Sir Alan Brooke, Chief of the Imperial General Staff. Forage dress caps would have been worn on more formal and ceremonial occasions. The double row of goldwire bullion was only worn on dress caps ranked to Major-General, Lieutenant-General, General, and Field Marshal.
Maker: J. Daniels & Sons Ltd.
Tag: WW2 British General's Forage Dress cap.
General Sir Kenneth Anderson was a senior WW2 commander in the North Africa Theatre and was the Commander in Chief and Governor of Gibralter, from 1947 until 1952.
Notes on the exhibit. Aside from the General, his wife Lady Anderson MBE also passed away in Gibralter in 1984. With no apparent heirs and with the exhibit sourced from Spain, it may suggest having been the General's. Regardless, it is a fine period example.
Well known and celebrated British Generals included Field Marshal Harold "Alex" Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis, Field Marshal "Monty" Montgomery of the 8th Army Desert Rats fame, and Sir Alan Brooke, Chief of the Imperial General Staff. Forage dress caps would have been worn on more formal and ceremonial occasions. The double row of goldwire bullion was only worn on dress caps ranked to Major-General, Lieutenant-General, General, and Field Marshal.
Maker: J. Daniels & Sons Ltd.
Tag: WW2 British General's Forage Dress cap.
Second World War British General's peaked cap.
Major General Sir Leslie Gordon Phillips KBE, CB, MC, LoH, MID
Major General Sir Leslie Gordon was born on the 11th of February 1892. After school he attended Sandhurst Military College before being commissioned into the Worcestershire Regiment in 1911. During the First World War he served with the 1st Battalion as well as on attachment to the Royal Engineers and Guards Signal Company. He was mentioned in dispatches three times and was awarded the Military Cross.
After the war he transferred to the Royal Corps of Signals and gradually rose through the ranks, reaching Major General in 1941, which was confirmed in 1942. Phillips served as Director of Signals until his retirement in 1946, when he became Colonel Commandant until January 1954. During the Second World War he was awarded the United States' Legion of Honour and early postwar became a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Sir Leslie Gordon Phillips passed away in 1966.
More about Major General Sir Leslie Gordon KBE CB CBE MC MID LoH can be found in the London Gazette, npg.org.uk, & ukwhoswho.com
Maker: Herbert Johnson Hatters.
Tag: WW2 British General's Forage Dress cap. (Phillips).
Major General Sir Leslie Gordon was born on the 11th of February 1892. After school he attended Sandhurst Military College before being commissioned into the Worcestershire Regiment in 1911. During the First World War he served with the 1st Battalion as well as on attachment to the Royal Engineers and Guards Signal Company. He was mentioned in dispatches three times and was awarded the Military Cross.
After the war he transferred to the Royal Corps of Signals and gradually rose through the ranks, reaching Major General in 1941, which was confirmed in 1942. Phillips served as Director of Signals until his retirement in 1946, when he became Colonel Commandant until January 1954. During the Second World War he was awarded the United States' Legion of Honour and early postwar became a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Sir Leslie Gordon Phillips passed away in 1966.
More about Major General Sir Leslie Gordon KBE CB CBE MC MID LoH can be found in the London Gazette, npg.org.uk, & ukwhoswho.com
Maker: Herbert Johnson Hatters.
Tag: WW2 British General's Forage Dress cap. (Phillips).
WWII peaked visor cap from General Phillips KBE CB MC
Major General John Mandeville Macfie CB, CBE, MC, MB, KHS, FRCP, MID*
Major General John Mandeville Macfie was a senior Royal Army Medical Corps.
officer who served with distinction during the First World War, winning the Military Cross and being Mentioned in Dispatches both in the Great War and the Second World War. He held key administrative command roles during the Second World War and became Colonel Commandant of the Royal Army Medical Corps as well as a Honorary Surgeon to his Majesty King George the VI.
John Mandeville Macfie was born on the 13th of December 1891 in Manchester. He was educated at South African College school before attending Glasgow High School. He then went on to study medicine at Glasgow University in 1910. At university he was an accomplished student and won the Brunton Medal for most distinguished medical graduate. Upon graduation Macfie joined the Royal Army Medical Corps. and was commissioned a Temporary Lieutenant on the 2nd of August 1915, being posted to the British Salonika Army in the Black Sea region, where he remained throughout the First World War. On the 2nd of August 1916 he was promoted to Tempy Captain and in 1917 was awarded a Military Cross for his actions, Gazette dated 2nd January 1918. After the Armistice he remained with the Army of the Black Sea, General Headquarters, where his talent for administration would shape his future career. Promotion to Acting Major came on the 11th of June 1919, prior to returning to the UK in the early 1920s. On the 15th of January 1926 he became Deputy Assistant Director Pathology in India, a post he held for three years. He was confirmed Major on the 2nd of August 1927. However, on the 1st of August 1932 he was made Assistant Deputy Director General Army Medical Services at the War Office in London, until the 1st of August 1936. He was then sent to Egypt, assuming the role of Deputy Assistant Director Medical Services. After war broke out he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, which was confirmed on the 26th of January 1942. During this time he was made an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire on the 1st of April 1941. In 1943 he returned to Britain as Deputy Director General Army Medical Services, once again back at the War office, and was Mentioned in Dispatches on the 11th of January 1944. The following year saw him became an Officer of The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem. During the war Macfie rose up the ranks, ending the war as a Temporary Brigadier. For his service he was made a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in the New Years Honours list of 1946. Confirmation to the rank of Substantive Colonel came on the 2nd July 1946, with a key posting to East Africa Command, as Deputy Director Medical Services. Five months later, on the 12th of December he was confirmed Brigadier, upon becoming Deputy Director Medical Services Scottish Command, returning to his routes. Promotion to Temporary Major-General came on the 28th of November 1949 when he was appointed Commandant of the Royal Army Medical College, as well as Director of Studies. In March of 1950 the Belgium government awarded General Macfie the Commandeur de I'Ordre de Leopold II medal, and at the end of that month he was confirmed a Major-General upon becoming Honorary Physician to HM the King, as well as Deputy Director Medical Services, Western Command. On the 7th of June 1951 Macfie was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath, before retiring on the 1st of January 1952, after over 35 years of service. Yet in retirement Macfie was resless and became Colonel Commandant of the Royal Army Medical Corps and on the 28th of January 1954 served as Honorary Colonel of a Territorial Army unit, until December 1956, when he ceased to belong to the Reserve of Officers list. Following a long and dedicated service to the Royal Army Medical Corps., Major-General John Mandeville Macfie passed away on the 14th of June 1985 at Erskine Hospital, a military veterans hospital in Scotland, aged 93 years young!
More about about Major General John Mandeville Macfie CB, MC, MB, KHS, FRCP, MID* can be found in the London Gazette, www,generals.dk, www.militaryhealth.bmj.com, www.npg.org.uk, www.universitystory.gla.ac.uk, & ukwhoswho.com.
Maker: Presumably Hawkes Ltd.
Tag: WW2 British General's Forage Dress cap. (Macfie).
Major General John Mandeville Macfie was a senior Royal Army Medical Corps.
officer who served with distinction during the First World War, winning the Military Cross and being Mentioned in Dispatches both in the Great War and the Second World War. He held key administrative command roles during the Second World War and became Colonel Commandant of the Royal Army Medical Corps as well as a Honorary Surgeon to his Majesty King George the VI.
John Mandeville Macfie was born on the 13th of December 1891 in Manchester. He was educated at South African College school before attending Glasgow High School. He then went on to study medicine at Glasgow University in 1910. At university he was an accomplished student and won the Brunton Medal for most distinguished medical graduate. Upon graduation Macfie joined the Royal Army Medical Corps. and was commissioned a Temporary Lieutenant on the 2nd of August 1915, being posted to the British Salonika Army in the Black Sea region, where he remained throughout the First World War. On the 2nd of August 1916 he was promoted to Tempy Captain and in 1917 was awarded a Military Cross for his actions, Gazette dated 2nd January 1918. After the Armistice he remained with the Army of the Black Sea, General Headquarters, where his talent for administration would shape his future career. Promotion to Acting Major came on the 11th of June 1919, prior to returning to the UK in the early 1920s. On the 15th of January 1926 he became Deputy Assistant Director Pathology in India, a post he held for three years. He was confirmed Major on the 2nd of August 1927. However, on the 1st of August 1932 he was made Assistant Deputy Director General Army Medical Services at the War Office in London, until the 1st of August 1936. He was then sent to Egypt, assuming the role of Deputy Assistant Director Medical Services. After war broke out he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, which was confirmed on the 26th of January 1942. During this time he was made an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire on the 1st of April 1941. In 1943 he returned to Britain as Deputy Director General Army Medical Services, once again back at the War office, and was Mentioned in Dispatches on the 11th of January 1944. The following year saw him became an Officer of The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem. During the war Macfie rose up the ranks, ending the war as a Temporary Brigadier. For his service he was made a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in the New Years Honours list of 1946. Confirmation to the rank of Substantive Colonel came on the 2nd July 1946, with a key posting to East Africa Command, as Deputy Director Medical Services. Five months later, on the 12th of December he was confirmed Brigadier, upon becoming Deputy Director Medical Services Scottish Command, returning to his routes. Promotion to Temporary Major-General came on the 28th of November 1949 when he was appointed Commandant of the Royal Army Medical College, as well as Director of Studies. In March of 1950 the Belgium government awarded General Macfie the Commandeur de I'Ordre de Leopold II medal, and at the end of that month he was confirmed a Major-General upon becoming Honorary Physician to HM the King, as well as Deputy Director Medical Services, Western Command. On the 7th of June 1951 Macfie was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath, before retiring on the 1st of January 1952, after over 35 years of service. Yet in retirement Macfie was resless and became Colonel Commandant of the Royal Army Medical Corps and on the 28th of January 1954 served as Honorary Colonel of a Territorial Army unit, until December 1956, when he ceased to belong to the Reserve of Officers list. Following a long and dedicated service to the Royal Army Medical Corps., Major-General John Mandeville Macfie passed away on the 14th of June 1985 at Erskine Hospital, a military veterans hospital in Scotland, aged 93 years young!
More about about Major General John Mandeville Macfie CB, MC, MB, KHS, FRCP, MID* can be found in the London Gazette, www,generals.dk, www.militaryhealth.bmj.com, www.npg.org.uk, www.universitystory.gla.ac.uk, & ukwhoswho.com.
Maker: Presumably Hawkes Ltd.
Tag: WW2 British General's Forage Dress cap. (Macfie).
Major General John Mandeville Macfie CB, CBE, MC MID RAMC visor peak cap.
General Sir Gordon MacMillan KCB, KCVO, CBE, DSO, MC**
General Sir Gordon MacMillan was a highly decorated senior officer who served with distinction during the 1st World War, winning the Military Cross on no less than three times. In World War II he held key commands in North Africa, Italy and Normandy, whilst postwar was General Officer Commanding, Scottish Command and Commander in Chief of Gibraltar.
Full biography coming soon!
Maker: Herbert Johnson Hatters (By to Appointment to… HM King).
Tag: Early postwar British General's Dress cap. (Sir Gordon MacMillan).
General Sir Gordon MacMillan was a highly decorated senior officer who served with distinction during the 1st World War, winning the Military Cross on no less than three times. In World War II he held key commands in North Africa, Italy and Normandy, whilst postwar was General Officer Commanding, Scottish Command and Commander in Chief of Gibraltar.
Full biography coming soon!
Maker: Herbert Johnson Hatters (By to Appointment to… HM King).
Tag: Early postwar British General's Dress cap. (Sir Gordon MacMillan).
General Sir Gordon MacMillan KCB, KCVO, CBE, DSO, MC** peaked cap.
Major General Sir Rohan Delacombe, KCMG, KCVO, KBE, CB, DSO, KStJ
Major General Sir Rohan Delacombe was a decorated Second World War officer, who commanded the 8th Royal Scots in Normandy. Postwar he became Commandant of the British Sector, Berlin, and commanding officer of 52nd Lowland Infantry Division. He also served as Governor of Victoria, Australia.
More about about Major General Sir Rohan Delacombe KCMG KVCO KBE CB DSO KStJ can be found in the London Gazette & ukwhoswho.com
Maker: Herbert Johnson. W. Jardine & Sons Ltd.
Tag: 1950s British General's Forage Service Dress cap, WW2 period Royal Scots Kilmarnock Bonnet and Tam o shanter. (Delacombe).
Major General Sir Rohan Delacombe was a decorated Second World War officer, who commanded the 8th Royal Scots in Normandy. Postwar he became Commandant of the British Sector, Berlin, and commanding officer of 52nd Lowland Infantry Division. He also served as Governor of Victoria, Australia.
More about about Major General Sir Rohan Delacombe KCMG KVCO KBE CB DSO KStJ can be found in the London Gazette & ukwhoswho.com
Maker: Herbert Johnson. W. Jardine & Sons Ltd.
Tag: 1950s British General's Forage Service Dress cap, WW2 period Royal Scots Kilmarnock Bonnet and Tam o shanter. (Delacombe).
Major General Sir Rohan Delacombe service dress cap.
Major General Sir Rohan Delacombe's wartime Major General Sir Rohan Delacombe's wartime Royal Scots Tam o shanter.
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Major General Sir Rohan Delacombe's wartime Royal Scots Kilmarnock Bonnet.
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Uniform items named to Major General Sir Rohan Delacombe,
General Sir Charles Richard Huxtable KCB, CBE, DL
General Sir Charles Richard Huxtable KCB CBE DL had a distinguished and colourful career, rising up to the second highest rank in the British Army, next only that of Field Marshal. He was the Commander in Chief of UK Land Forces, Commander of Land Forces in Northern Ireland and an Aide-de-Camp to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Huxtable was born on the 22nd of July 1931. He was educated at Wellington College then attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, before being commissioned a Second Lieutenant into the Duke of Wellington Regiment on the 8th of February 1952. He saw active service during the Korean War, as an assistant Signals Officer, and heavy fighting on the approach to Seoul. He was confirmed a Lieutenant in February 1954 and then Captain in February 1958, becoming an Ordinary Member of the Military Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in June 1961. On the 8th of February 1965 Huxtable was promoted to Major, going on to serve in Cyprus on a peace keeping tour with the DWR in 1967. He was subsequently promoted to Lieutenant Colonel on the 30th of June 1969. For his services in Northern Ireland on Operation Banner he was made an OBE in February 1972. In June 1976 he reached the rank of Brigadier and was made an Ordinary Commander of the Military Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE).
From 1976 until 1978 he commanded the Dhofar Brigade, of the Sultan of Oman's Armed Forces, surviving a helicopter crash during that time. On the 22nd of October 1980 he was promoted to Acting Major-General, upon appointment to Commander of Land Forces Northern Ireland and was also Deputy Director of Operations, Northern Ireland, until the 19th of January 1982. On the 1st of February 1982 he was appointed Director of Army Staff Duties, Ministry of Defence, until September 1983. In October 1982 he then became the Colonel of the Duke of Wellington Regiment, until October 1990, reflecting back to his roots in the army. In December 1983 Lieutenant General Huxtable was appointed a Knight Commander of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (K.C.B). He was the Colonel Commandant of the Kings Division from July 1983 until July 1988, and Quartermaster General, Ministry of Defence, from October 1986 until July 1988, also serving as the Senior Military Advisor to Saudi Arabia for HM Government. He was further promoted to Major-General on the 24th of January 1981 and then Lieutenant General upon appointment to be the Commander of Training Establishments in October 1983. He was made a full General on the 27th of October 1987. In September 1988 he was made an Aide-de-Camp to HM The Queen and appointed C-in-C, UK Land Forces. After a 38 year career he retired on the 3rd of December 1990. However, General Huxtable’s retirement was far from quiet. From the 1st of July 1991 until the 30th of June 1992 he was the Colonel Commandant of the Ulster Defence Regiment, then from July the 1st 1992 he was Colonel of the Royal Irish Regiment until July 1996. On the 6th of May 1994 he was appointed the Deputy Lieutenant for the County of North Yorkshire. General Sir Charles Richard Huxtable KCB CBE DL passed away on November the 26th 2018, aged 87 years old.
More about about General Sir Charles Richard Huxtable KCB CBE DL can be found in the London Gazette, www.thetimes.co.uk, www.telegraph.co.uk, www.oman.org.uk, & ukwhoswho.com
Makers: Gieves & Hawkes Ltd. Herbert Johnson. Conway Williams. Unknown.
Tag: Coldwar era British General's Dress cap, Service Dress cap, Sam Browne leather belt, medal ribbons, and insignia. (Huxtable).
General Sir Charles Richard Huxtable KCB CBE DL had a distinguished and colourful career, rising up to the second highest rank in the British Army, next only that of Field Marshal. He was the Commander in Chief of UK Land Forces, Commander of Land Forces in Northern Ireland and an Aide-de-Camp to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Huxtable was born on the 22nd of July 1931. He was educated at Wellington College then attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, before being commissioned a Second Lieutenant into the Duke of Wellington Regiment on the 8th of February 1952. He saw active service during the Korean War, as an assistant Signals Officer, and heavy fighting on the approach to Seoul. He was confirmed a Lieutenant in February 1954 and then Captain in February 1958, becoming an Ordinary Member of the Military Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in June 1961. On the 8th of February 1965 Huxtable was promoted to Major, going on to serve in Cyprus on a peace keeping tour with the DWR in 1967. He was subsequently promoted to Lieutenant Colonel on the 30th of June 1969. For his services in Northern Ireland on Operation Banner he was made an OBE in February 1972. In June 1976 he reached the rank of Brigadier and was made an Ordinary Commander of the Military Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE).
From 1976 until 1978 he commanded the Dhofar Brigade, of the Sultan of Oman's Armed Forces, surviving a helicopter crash during that time. On the 22nd of October 1980 he was promoted to Acting Major-General, upon appointment to Commander of Land Forces Northern Ireland and was also Deputy Director of Operations, Northern Ireland, until the 19th of January 1982. On the 1st of February 1982 he was appointed Director of Army Staff Duties, Ministry of Defence, until September 1983. In October 1982 he then became the Colonel of the Duke of Wellington Regiment, until October 1990, reflecting back to his roots in the army. In December 1983 Lieutenant General Huxtable was appointed a Knight Commander of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (K.C.B). He was the Colonel Commandant of the Kings Division from July 1983 until July 1988, and Quartermaster General, Ministry of Defence, from October 1986 until July 1988, also serving as the Senior Military Advisor to Saudi Arabia for HM Government. He was further promoted to Major-General on the 24th of January 1981 and then Lieutenant General upon appointment to be the Commander of Training Establishments in October 1983. He was made a full General on the 27th of October 1987. In September 1988 he was made an Aide-de-Camp to HM The Queen and appointed C-in-C, UK Land Forces. After a 38 year career he retired on the 3rd of December 1990. However, General Huxtable’s retirement was far from quiet. From the 1st of July 1991 until the 30th of June 1992 he was the Colonel Commandant of the Ulster Defence Regiment, then from July the 1st 1992 he was Colonel of the Royal Irish Regiment until July 1996. On the 6th of May 1994 he was appointed the Deputy Lieutenant for the County of North Yorkshire. General Sir Charles Richard Huxtable KCB CBE DL passed away on November the 26th 2018, aged 87 years old.
More about about General Sir Charles Richard Huxtable KCB CBE DL can be found in the London Gazette, www.thetimes.co.uk, www.telegraph.co.uk, www.oman.org.uk, & ukwhoswho.com
Makers: Gieves & Hawkes Ltd. Herbert Johnson. Conway Williams. Unknown.
Tag: Coldwar era British General's Dress cap, Service Dress cap, Sam Browne leather belt, medal ribbons, and insignia. (Huxtable).
Peaked visor cap and shoulder boards from General Huxtable KCB, CBE, DL
Peaked visor cap from General Huxtable KCB, CBE, DL
Uniform items from General Huxtable KCB, CBE, DL
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Peaked visor cap from General Huxtable KCB, CBE, DL
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General Sir Charles Richard Huxtable KCB CBE DL. Copyright 2024.
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General Sir Charles Richard Huxtable KCB, CBE, DL.
by Olivier Dorrell Digital Media, 2024 Unofficial contemporary portrait. 11.7 in. x 8.3 in. (297 mm x 210 mm). Copyright, the artist 2024. Contact the museum to use this image. |
Field Marshal Baron Bramall, KG, GCB, OBE, MC, JP, DL
Field Marshal Edwin Noel Westby Bramall joined the army during he Second World War, fighting in North Africa and the D Day landings in Normandy, with the King’s Royal Rifles (as well as through the amalgamation into the Royal Green Jackets). Postwar service included Indonesia and Malaya. He eventually became Chief of the General Staff, commanding the British Army during the Falklands War period, and upon promotion to Field Marshal, the highest rank in the British Army, became Chief of the Defence Staff, the commander of the British Armed Forces. Bramall retired in 1985. He was then made Colonel Commandant of the SAS, a Deputy Lieutenant and Justice of the Peace. Baron Bramall passed away on the 12th of November 2019, aged 93 years old.
More information about Baron Bramall can be found at the London Gazette, whoswho.co.uk and thetimes.co.uk.
From the distinct maker’s marking (1977-1996), imperial sizing (replaced by metric in the mid 1980s) and lining, this beret dates to the early 1980s, which corresponds to when Baron Bramall was promoted to Field Marshal in 1982, the only officer promoted to that rank during this timeframe.
Maker: Compton Webb (Headdress) Limited.
Tag: Coldwar era British Field Marshal's beret. (Bramall).
Field Marshal Edwin Noel Westby Bramall joined the army during he Second World War, fighting in North Africa and the D Day landings in Normandy, with the King’s Royal Rifles (as well as through the amalgamation into the Royal Green Jackets). Postwar service included Indonesia and Malaya. He eventually became Chief of the General Staff, commanding the British Army during the Falklands War period, and upon promotion to Field Marshal, the highest rank in the British Army, became Chief of the Defence Staff, the commander of the British Armed Forces. Bramall retired in 1985. He was then made Colonel Commandant of the SAS, a Deputy Lieutenant and Justice of the Peace. Baron Bramall passed away on the 12th of November 2019, aged 93 years old.
More information about Baron Bramall can be found at the London Gazette, whoswho.co.uk and thetimes.co.uk.
From the distinct maker’s marking (1977-1996), imperial sizing (replaced by metric in the mid 1980s) and lining, this beret dates to the early 1980s, which corresponds to when Baron Bramall was promoted to Field Marshal in 1982, the only officer promoted to that rank during this timeframe.
Maker: Compton Webb (Headdress) Limited.
Tag: Coldwar era British Field Marshal's beret. (Bramall).
Signed copy of Lord Bramall's biography, The Fifth Pillar, by Michael Tillotson, showing photostat of the signature shown within.
British Field Marshal's beret.
Field Marshal Baron Bramall KG, GCB, OBE, MC, JP, DL
. Copyright 2024.
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Field Marshal Baron Bramall KG, GCB, OBE, MC, JP, DL
by Olivier Dorrell Digital Media, 2024 Unofficial contemporary portrait. 11.7 in. x 8.3 in. (297 mm x 210 mm). Copyright, the artist 2024. Contact the museum to use this image. |
Matching Field Marshal's service dress cap, similar to what Field Marshal Baron Bramall KG, GCB, OBE, MC, JP, DL. would have worn.
General Officer, late The Rifles
The exhibit is an ongoing research project and as of yet we do not know who this beret belonged to. What we do know is that he served in the Devon & Dorsetshire Regiment prior to 2007 and then onwards with the Rifles, with promotion to Major General, either as a Colonel of the regiment or simply late of that regiment.
Maker: Firmin Official Headwear.
Tag: Modern era General Officer's beret and clip on gorgets.
The exhibit is an ongoing research project and as of yet we do not know who this beret belonged to. What we do know is that he served in the Devon & Dorsetshire Regiment prior to 2007 and then onwards with the Rifles, with promotion to Major General, either as a Colonel of the regiment or simply late of that regiment.
Maker: Firmin Official Headwear.
Tag: Modern era General Officer's beret and clip on gorgets.
British Army General Officer's green beret and gorgets. The Rifles.
British Army General Officer's green beret. The Rifles.
Major General CBE, (late of the Royal Artillery).
This officer was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in 1979, joining the Royal Artillery, having previously served in the University Officer’s Training Corps. and Territorial & Army Volunteer Reserve. He rose steady through the officer ranks and toured on peacekeeping missions in Northern Ireland, Bosnia and Kosovo, before attending Staff college, with promotion to Major General in 2012. His valuable skills recognised in his appointment to Director of Customer Design, DE & S. (Defence, Equipment & Support). He retired in 2014 after twenty five years of active service. The DE & S is a department of the Ministry of Defence that oversees and supplies the various branches of the military with equipment) and in this role he played a vital part in ensuring front line units received the vital support they needed and helped maintain Britain’s hight state of readiness and operational efficiency.
London Gazette, www.assets.publishing.service.gov.uk and www.defence viewpoints.co.uk.
Maker: Herbert Johnson.
Tag: Modern Era Major General’s beret (2012)
This officer was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in 1979, joining the Royal Artillery, having previously served in the University Officer’s Training Corps. and Territorial & Army Volunteer Reserve. He rose steady through the officer ranks and toured on peacekeeping missions in Northern Ireland, Bosnia and Kosovo, before attending Staff college, with promotion to Major General in 2012. His valuable skills recognised in his appointment to Director of Customer Design, DE & S. (Defence, Equipment & Support). He retired in 2014 after twenty five years of active service. The DE & S is a department of the Ministry of Defence that oversees and supplies the various branches of the military with equipment) and in this role he played a vital part in ensuring front line units received the vital support they needed and helped maintain Britain’s hight state of readiness and operational efficiency.
London Gazette, www.assets.publishing.service.gov.uk and www.defence viewpoints.co.uk.
Maker: Herbert Johnson.
Tag: Modern Era Major General’s beret (2012)
Major General CBE, Late Royal Artillery. Defence, Equipment & Support.
SAS Trooper, Special Air Service.
This unknown SAS veteran was based in Hereford, neighbouring Worcestershire, and saw action in Oman, Indonesia or Aden during the late 1950s and 60s. He may well have been a senior NCO, judging from the Other Ranks badge and private purchase Herbert Johnson beret. The Special Air Service is the Godfather of the world’s special forces. It was formed during the Second World War in North Africa by Colonel David Sterling formerly of the Scots Guards, as a deadly strike force operating deep behind enemy lines. Using the element of surprise it hit hard and fast causing maximum damage and disruption to airfields and installations before disappearing back into the desert. After World War 2 the SAS was reformed and honed their skills and reputation as the world’s foremost elite fighting force, on covert operations in Malaya, Aden, Northern Ireland, Falklands, Iraq, and, Afghanistan, as well as the publicized Iranian Embassy siege of 1982.
Maker: Herbert Johnson Hatters.
Tag: Early postwar British SAS sand beret.
This unknown SAS veteran was based in Hereford, neighbouring Worcestershire, and saw action in Oman, Indonesia or Aden during the late 1950s and 60s. He may well have been a senior NCO, judging from the Other Ranks badge and private purchase Herbert Johnson beret. The Special Air Service is the Godfather of the world’s special forces. It was formed during the Second World War in North Africa by Colonel David Sterling formerly of the Scots Guards, as a deadly strike force operating deep behind enemy lines. Using the element of surprise it hit hard and fast causing maximum damage and disruption to airfields and installations before disappearing back into the desert. After World War 2 the SAS was reformed and honed their skills and reputation as the world’s foremost elite fighting force, on covert operations in Malaya, Aden, Northern Ireland, Falklands, Iraq, and, Afghanistan, as well as the publicized Iranian Embassy siege of 1982.
Maker: Herbert Johnson Hatters.
Tag: Early postwar British SAS sand beret.
Special Air Service beret.
SAS Trooper, Special Air Service. Circa 1980.
Not much is known about this SAS trooper, as such articles of headdress are rarely ever named, aside from the fact that his beret dates to 1979/1980 and shows obvious wear. He may very well have taken part in the daring operation to free the hostages from the Iranian Embassy in London, in April - May 1980, when the Special Air Service stepped out of the shadows and drew world media attention and admiration. And/or possibly he saw action behind enemy lines during the Falklands War. It certainly fits the timeframe.
On an interesting side note, if you are a fellow The Professionals and Bodie fan, the actor Lewis Collins actually served with the Paras and tried out for the SAS. He also took the lead role in the 1982 film “Who Dares Wins”, based upon the then recent embassy siege. Film stills show him wearing a similar beret.
Maker: Compton Webb (Headdress) Limited.
Tag: Coldwar era British SAS sand beret.
Not much is known about this SAS trooper, as such articles of headdress are rarely ever named, aside from the fact that his beret dates to 1979/1980 and shows obvious wear. He may very well have taken part in the daring operation to free the hostages from the Iranian Embassy in London, in April - May 1980, when the Special Air Service stepped out of the shadows and drew world media attention and admiration. And/or possibly he saw action behind enemy lines during the Falklands War. It certainly fits the timeframe.
On an interesting side note, if you are a fellow The Professionals and Bodie fan, the actor Lewis Collins actually served with the Paras and tried out for the SAS. He also took the lead role in the 1982 film “Who Dares Wins”, based upon the then recent embassy siege. Film stills show him wearing a similar beret.
Maker: Compton Webb (Headdress) Limited.
Tag: Coldwar era British SAS sand beret.
Special Air Service beret. 1980.
SAS Trooper, Special Air Service. Circa 2020s.
This beret belonged to an SAS troopers who served in more recent years. We are unable to shed any light on his career as this time, but he would have supported recent operations. The style of his beret being quite compact and "round" reflects the current trend.
Maker: Contract beret.
Tag: Modern era British SAS sand beret.
This beret belonged to an SAS troopers who served in more recent years. We are unable to shed any light on his career as this time, but he would have supported recent operations. The style of his beret being quite compact and "round" reflects the current trend.
Maker: Contract beret.
Tag: Modern era British SAS sand beret.
Special Air Service beret.2020s.
General Officer, late The Special Air Service
The exhibit is an also ongoing research project and as of yet we do not know who this beret belonged to. What we do know is that he served with the Special Air Service sometime during his career and retired during the early 2020s.
Maker: Firmin Official Headwear.
Tag: Modern era General Officer's beret. (SAS).
The exhibit is an also ongoing research project and as of yet we do not know who this beret belonged to. What we do know is that he served with the Special Air Service sometime during his career and retired during the early 2020s.
Maker: Firmin Official Headwear.
Tag: Modern era General Officer's beret. (SAS).
General Officer's beret, late Special Air Service.
Major-General John Antony Ward-Booth OBE DL
Major General John Antony “Tony” Ward-Booth was born in 1927. In the late 1930s he attended Hillstone Prep School in Great Malvern (now part of Malvern College) and went to Worksop College in Nottinghamshire before joining the Worcestershire Regiment as a Second Lieutenant on the 28th of April 1946. He was then promoted to Lieutenant in January 1949, transferring to the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment. In July 1961 he was promoted to Major in the 3rd Battalion East Anglian Regiment but transferred again to the Parachute Regiment in December 1963. During the late 1960s he commanded the 3rd Battalion and in June 1967 was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, before being made an OBE on the 14th of June 1969. In the early 1970s he was CO of the 16th Parachute Brigade and was promoted to Brigadier in December 1970. From 1964 until 1975 he also served as Deputy Adjutant General of the British Army of the Rhine. He was promoted to Acting Major-General in July 1976, made substantive four months later, and was made the Director of the Army Air Corps. He then became the Commanding Officer of the West Midlands District from February 1979 until March 1982, retiring from active service on April the 26th 1982. He was then appointed Deputy Colonel of the Royal Anglian Regiment in February 1982 until the 18th of January 1988 when he was made a Deputy Lieutenant for Hampshire. During his career he served in the BAOR in Germany, Canada, the Far East, India, and Africa. At age of 75 Major-General John Antony Ward-Booth OBE DL passed away in 2002.
More about Major-General John Antony Ward-Booth OBE DL can be found in the London Gazette and at www.kingscollections.org
Tag: Coldwar ear British Paratrooper Regiment General Officer's beret. (Ward-Booth).
Major General John Antony “Tony” Ward-Booth was born in 1927. In the late 1930s he attended Hillstone Prep School in Great Malvern (now part of Malvern College) and went to Worksop College in Nottinghamshire before joining the Worcestershire Regiment as a Second Lieutenant on the 28th of April 1946. He was then promoted to Lieutenant in January 1949, transferring to the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment. In July 1961 he was promoted to Major in the 3rd Battalion East Anglian Regiment but transferred again to the Parachute Regiment in December 1963. During the late 1960s he commanded the 3rd Battalion and in June 1967 was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, before being made an OBE on the 14th of June 1969. In the early 1970s he was CO of the 16th Parachute Brigade and was promoted to Brigadier in December 1970. From 1964 until 1975 he also served as Deputy Adjutant General of the British Army of the Rhine. He was promoted to Acting Major-General in July 1976, made substantive four months later, and was made the Director of the Army Air Corps. He then became the Commanding Officer of the West Midlands District from February 1979 until March 1982, retiring from active service on April the 26th 1982. He was then appointed Deputy Colonel of the Royal Anglian Regiment in February 1982 until the 18th of January 1988 when he was made a Deputy Lieutenant for Hampshire. During his career he served in the BAOR in Germany, Canada, the Far East, India, and Africa. At age of 75 Major-General John Antony Ward-Booth OBE DL passed away in 2002.
More about Major-General John Antony Ward-Booth OBE DL can be found in the London Gazette and at www.kingscollections.org
Tag: Coldwar ear British Paratrooper Regiment General Officer's beret. (Ward-Booth).
Parachute Brigade senior officer's beret. Major-General John Antony Ward-Booth
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Parachute Regiment Generals beret
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Captain Matthew Rodger Selfridge MID GSM, Parachute Regiment
Captain Matthew Rodger Selfridge was born on the 14th of February 1959. He grew up in Edinburgh Scotland and went to Welbeck College and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst before joining 3 Para as a Second Lieutenant, on the 8th of April 1978. He was promoted to Lieutenant in April 1980 and by 1982 was an Acting Captain. Upon being commissioned he took over command of 6 Platoon, B Company before becoming the CO of the Patrols Platoon, Support Company. During the Falklands War he was Operations Officer for which he was recommended the Military Cross but was awarded a Mention in Dispatches, on the 8th of October 1982. His forward recce for the Battle of Mount Longdon provided valuable intel for the subsequent night attack, of which he then took part, successfully destroying an enemy strong point that was stalling the attack. During his short career he was posted to West Germany, Northern Ireland, Canada, Oman, and the Falklands, earning the South Atlantic Medal with rosette, as well as the General Service Medal (1962) for Northern Ireland. Having fought through the Falklands campaign, Captain Selfridge passed away at the age of 23 on the 17th of July 1982, being tragically killed in a parachute jump shortly after his arrival back in the UK.
More about Captain Matthew Selfridge can be found in the London Gazette and at paradata.org.uk. Interestingly, a period photograph shows Captain Selfridge wearing what appears to be a private purchase Victors beret. (Victors were favoured by the majority of the regiment over the issue beret for their compact style and superior craftsmanship, worn perched on the head low over the forehead).
Makers: CWL. Victors.
Tag: Coldwar era British Paratroopers Mk.3 helmet and maroon beret. (Selfridge).
Captain Matthew Rodger Selfridge was born on the 14th of February 1959. He grew up in Edinburgh Scotland and went to Welbeck College and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst before joining 3 Para as a Second Lieutenant, on the 8th of April 1978. He was promoted to Lieutenant in April 1980 and by 1982 was an Acting Captain. Upon being commissioned he took over command of 6 Platoon, B Company before becoming the CO of the Patrols Platoon, Support Company. During the Falklands War he was Operations Officer for which he was recommended the Military Cross but was awarded a Mention in Dispatches, on the 8th of October 1982. His forward recce for the Battle of Mount Longdon provided valuable intel for the subsequent night attack, of which he then took part, successfully destroying an enemy strong point that was stalling the attack. During his short career he was posted to West Germany, Northern Ireland, Canada, Oman, and the Falklands, earning the South Atlantic Medal with rosette, as well as the General Service Medal (1962) for Northern Ireland. Having fought through the Falklands campaign, Captain Selfridge passed away at the age of 23 on the 17th of July 1982, being tragically killed in a parachute jump shortly after his arrival back in the UK.
More about Captain Matthew Selfridge can be found in the London Gazette and at paradata.org.uk. Interestingly, a period photograph shows Captain Selfridge wearing what appears to be a private purchase Victors beret. (Victors were favoured by the majority of the regiment over the issue beret for their compact style and superior craftsmanship, worn perched on the head low over the forehead).
Makers: CWL. Victors.
Tag: Coldwar era British Paratroopers Mk.3 helmet and maroon beret. (Selfridge).
Parachute Regiment Airborne helmet. Captain "Matt" Selfridge, 3 Para. Falklands War
A 1970s era British Parachute Regiment beret.
Lieutenant Colonel George Thomas Dorrell VC, MBE.
Lieutenant Colonel Dorrell was a career soldier who was awarded the prestigious Victoria Cross during the First World War, for his conspicuous bravery. After the war he served in the Territorial Army before joining the Home Guard in WW2.
George Thomas Dorrell was born on the 7th of July 1880 in London. After schooling he joined the army at the age of fifteen, on the 2nd of December 1895, enlisting into the Royal Horse Artillery. Dorrell then served in South Africa and India before going to France with the British Expeditionary Force. By the start of WW1 he had reached Battery Sergeant Major of L Battery, RHA. It was with L Battery that a deed two months later would change the course of his life. On the 1st of September Dorrell’s unit found itself holding a section of the line at Néry in France. After receiving enemy fire and incurring heavy casualties, BSM Dorrell, Sgt Nelson and the remaining officer, Captain Bradbury, turned the remaining guns towards the enemy and started to return fire. Capt Bradbury was mortally wounded in the action, whilst directing fire and collecting ammunition, as Dorrell and Nelson kept up the pressure. They were eventually relieved, having held the line and the German attack. For this action Dorrell, Nelson and Bradbury were awarded the Victoria Cross. Dorrell's VC, issue number 536 is held at the Imperial War Museum, as well as the field gun used in the action. Interestingly and on a side note, every single Victoria Cross has been hand crafted by Hancocks Jewellers of London.
Following the action at Néry, Dorrell was commissioned and served with the Royal Field Artillery for the rest of the war, being Mentioned in Dispatches and reaching Captain by May 1918. He retired in 1924 but remained active with the TA until 1929. retiring with the rank of Brevet Lt Col. MBE 1925. However, he was recalled to the colours in World War Two, as a Major in the Home Guard, Roehampton Battalion of the County of London, Home Guard. After the war he retained his rank of Lieutenant Colonel upon retiring. Lt Col George Dorrell VC MBE passed away on the 7th of January 1971, at the ripe old age of 90 years old. in Surrey.
More about Lieutenant Colonel George Dorrell can be found in the London Gazette, www.vcgca.org, & ukwhoswho.com,
Maker: Hancocks & Co Jewellers Ltd.
Tag: Official Victoria Cross replica medal (Limited Edition), issue number 536. (Dorrell).
Lieutenant Colonel Dorrell was a career soldier who was awarded the prestigious Victoria Cross during the First World War, for his conspicuous bravery. After the war he served in the Territorial Army before joining the Home Guard in WW2.
George Thomas Dorrell was born on the 7th of July 1880 in London. After schooling he joined the army at the age of fifteen, on the 2nd of December 1895, enlisting into the Royal Horse Artillery. Dorrell then served in South Africa and India before going to France with the British Expeditionary Force. By the start of WW1 he had reached Battery Sergeant Major of L Battery, RHA. It was with L Battery that a deed two months later would change the course of his life. On the 1st of September Dorrell’s unit found itself holding a section of the line at Néry in France. After receiving enemy fire and incurring heavy casualties, BSM Dorrell, Sgt Nelson and the remaining officer, Captain Bradbury, turned the remaining guns towards the enemy and started to return fire. Capt Bradbury was mortally wounded in the action, whilst directing fire and collecting ammunition, as Dorrell and Nelson kept up the pressure. They were eventually relieved, having held the line and the German attack. For this action Dorrell, Nelson and Bradbury were awarded the Victoria Cross. Dorrell's VC, issue number 536 is held at the Imperial War Museum, as well as the field gun used in the action. Interestingly and on a side note, every single Victoria Cross has been hand crafted by Hancocks Jewellers of London.
Following the action at Néry, Dorrell was commissioned and served with the Royal Field Artillery for the rest of the war, being Mentioned in Dispatches and reaching Captain by May 1918. He retired in 1924 but remained active with the TA until 1929. retiring with the rank of Brevet Lt Col. MBE 1925. However, he was recalled to the colours in World War Two, as a Major in the Home Guard, Roehampton Battalion of the County of London, Home Guard. After the war he retained his rank of Lieutenant Colonel upon retiring. Lt Col George Dorrell VC MBE passed away on the 7th of January 1971, at the ripe old age of 90 years old. in Surrey.
More about Lieutenant Colonel George Dorrell can be found in the London Gazette, www.vcgca.org, & ukwhoswho.com,
Maker: Hancocks & Co Jewellers Ltd.
Tag: Official Victoria Cross replica medal (Limited Edition), issue number 536. (Dorrell).
Lieutenant Colonel George Thomas Dorrell VC, MBE. Victoria Cross Limited Edition replica, no. 536.
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Lieutenant Colonel George Thomas Dorrell VC, MBE. Victoria Cross Limited Edition replica, no. 536.
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Lieutenant Colonel George Thomas Dorrell VC MBE. Copyright 2025.
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Lieutenant Colonel George Thomas Dorrell VC, MBE. (circa WW1).
by Olivier Dorrell Digital Media, 2025 Unofficial contemporary portrait. 11.7 in. x 8.3 in. (297 mm x 210 mm). Copyright, the artist 2025. Contact the museum to use this image. |
Royal Air Force
Air Marshal Sir John Frederick Andrews Higgins KCB, KBE, DSO, AFC, MiD.
Air Marshal Sir John Higgins served with the Royal Field Artillery in South Africa, during the Boer War, before permanent secondment to the Royal Flying Corps. in 1912. When the Royal Air Force was created Major General Higgins, known as "Bum and eye glass" was one of its six most senior officers, along side Lord Trenchard, its founding father. In World War Two he held the top position of Air Officer Commander in Chief, Royal Air Force India.
John Frederick Andrews Higgins was born on the 1st of September 1875. In 1893 he attended the Royal Military Academy Woolwich, for two years, before obtaining a commission in the Royal Field Artillery, as Second Lieutenant on the 15th of June 1895. In June of 1898 he was further promoted to Lieutenant. He then followed the regiment overseas, participating in the 2nd Boer War, where he saw promotion to Captain and Adjutant on the 23rd of March 1901. He was Mentioned in Dispatches on the 10th of September, and would eventually go on to be mentioned another five times during the First World War. He was also awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his actions in South Africa, whilst a Lieutenant, on the 27th of September 1901. He made Major on the 30th of August 1911. On Monday the 28th of October 1912, he was seconded to the newly formed Royal Flying Corps., as a Flight Commander, where he remained throughout the First World War and into the establishment of the Royal Air Force. He was made a Squadron Commander in May 1913. On the 9th of November 1914 was promoted to Temporary Lieutenant Colonel and assumed command of training. He was promoted to Temporary Colonel, on the 18th of February 1915, with actual rank of Brevet Lieutenant Colonel. Which became Temporary Brigadier General on the 25th of August 1915. On January the 1st 1918 he was promoted to Brevet Colonel, with the rank of Temporary Brigadier General. Then at the end of April, now a Temporary Major General, was appointed Area Commander of No.3 Area (Midland Area).
In January 1919 he was made a Brigade Commander, then on June the 5th was awarded the Air Force Cross, for his actions in France. At the beginning of August, as one of the old boys, Higgins was given a permanent commission in the Royal Air Force, with the official rank of Major General as well as the newly created rank of Air Vice Marshal. In October he took over command of Northern Area before serving a term at the Air Ministry, as Director of Personnel. From April 1922 he served as Air Officer Commanding Inland Area, prior to becoming AOC of Iraq Command on the 1st April 1924 until November 1926. Air Vice Marshal Higgins was made a Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire on the 3rd of June 1925. He was the Air Member for Supply and Organisation from December 1926 until September 1930, before retirement, where he oversaw Airship development. Perhaps even observing the tests from Airship R33 carried out by Flying Officer Ragg (later Air Vice Marshal - see biography below), prior to taking up the post. On the 4th of June 1928 he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath, and in the following New Year’s list of January 1929 was promoted to Air Marshal. Higgins retired from the Royal Air Force in August 1930, and settled in India. He then served on the board of several aircraft and automobile companies. In October 1939 however, with the country once again at war, he was called back to the colours and appointed the AOCinC (Air Officer Commanding in Chief) of the Royal Air Force India, in Delhi. In August 1940 he retired from active service for a second time, returning to England, where he passed away in on the 1st of June 1948, aged 73.
More about Air Marshal Sir John Higgins can be found in the London Gazette and rafweb.org , www.rafmuseum.org.uk, www.bharat-rakshak.com, www.gulabin.com, www.aerosociety.com, and ukwhoswho.com.
Maker: Unknown.
Tag: Second World War RAF officers Air Marshal's cap. (Higgins).
Air Marshal Sir John Higgins served with the Royal Field Artillery in South Africa, during the Boer War, before permanent secondment to the Royal Flying Corps. in 1912. When the Royal Air Force was created Major General Higgins, known as "Bum and eye glass" was one of its six most senior officers, along side Lord Trenchard, its founding father. In World War Two he held the top position of Air Officer Commander in Chief, Royal Air Force India.
John Frederick Andrews Higgins was born on the 1st of September 1875. In 1893 he attended the Royal Military Academy Woolwich, for two years, before obtaining a commission in the Royal Field Artillery, as Second Lieutenant on the 15th of June 1895. In June of 1898 he was further promoted to Lieutenant. He then followed the regiment overseas, participating in the 2nd Boer War, where he saw promotion to Captain and Adjutant on the 23rd of March 1901. He was Mentioned in Dispatches on the 10th of September, and would eventually go on to be mentioned another five times during the First World War. He was also awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his actions in South Africa, whilst a Lieutenant, on the 27th of September 1901. He made Major on the 30th of August 1911. On Monday the 28th of October 1912, he was seconded to the newly formed Royal Flying Corps., as a Flight Commander, where he remained throughout the First World War and into the establishment of the Royal Air Force. He was made a Squadron Commander in May 1913. On the 9th of November 1914 was promoted to Temporary Lieutenant Colonel and assumed command of training. He was promoted to Temporary Colonel, on the 18th of February 1915, with actual rank of Brevet Lieutenant Colonel. Which became Temporary Brigadier General on the 25th of August 1915. On January the 1st 1918 he was promoted to Brevet Colonel, with the rank of Temporary Brigadier General. Then at the end of April, now a Temporary Major General, was appointed Area Commander of No.3 Area (Midland Area).
In January 1919 he was made a Brigade Commander, then on June the 5th was awarded the Air Force Cross, for his actions in France. At the beginning of August, as one of the old boys, Higgins was given a permanent commission in the Royal Air Force, with the official rank of Major General as well as the newly created rank of Air Vice Marshal. In October he took over command of Northern Area before serving a term at the Air Ministry, as Director of Personnel. From April 1922 he served as Air Officer Commanding Inland Area, prior to becoming AOC of Iraq Command on the 1st April 1924 until November 1926. Air Vice Marshal Higgins was made a Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire on the 3rd of June 1925. He was the Air Member for Supply and Organisation from December 1926 until September 1930, before retirement, where he oversaw Airship development. Perhaps even observing the tests from Airship R33 carried out by Flying Officer Ragg (later Air Vice Marshal - see biography below), prior to taking up the post. On the 4th of June 1928 he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath, and in the following New Year’s list of January 1929 was promoted to Air Marshal. Higgins retired from the Royal Air Force in August 1930, and settled in India. He then served on the board of several aircraft and automobile companies. In October 1939 however, with the country once again at war, he was called back to the colours and appointed the AOCinC (Air Officer Commanding in Chief) of the Royal Air Force India, in Delhi. In August 1940 he retired from active service for a second time, returning to England, where he passed away in on the 1st of June 1948, aged 73.
More about Air Marshal Sir John Higgins can be found in the London Gazette and rafweb.org , www.rafmuseum.org.uk, www.bharat-rakshak.com, www.gulabin.com, www.aerosociety.com, and ukwhoswho.com.
Maker: Unknown.
Tag: Second World War RAF officers Air Marshal's cap. (Higgins).
Air Marshal Sir John Frederick Andrews Higgins KCB, KBE, DSO, AFC, MiD. Letter dated 1925.
Air Marshal Sir John Frederick Andrews Higgins KCB, KBE, DSO, AFC, MiD's peak cap.
Sir John Frederick Andrews Higgins. www.npg.org.uk
Sir John Frederick Andrews Higgins
by Walter Stoneman
bromide print, 1930
8 1/8 in. x 6 in. (206 mm x 152 mm) image size
Commissioned, 1930
Photographs Collection
NPG x168301
by Walter Stoneman
bromide print, 1930
8 1/8 in. x 6 in. (206 mm x 152 mm) image size
Commissioned, 1930
Photographs Collection
NPG x168301
Air Vice Marshal Sir Edward Arthur Beckton Rice KBE, CB, MC, MID.
Edward Arthur Beckton Rice was born in Oxford on the 19th of December 1893. After attending Sandhurst Military College he was promoted to Lieutenant in the Royal Flying Corps, on the 8th of June 1915, and attended the Central Flying School. During the First World War he was wounded in action and later awarded a Military Cross. After the war "Ed" Rice took up duties with the Army of Occupation and was posted to Iraq between 1920 and 1921 where he was Mentioned in Dispatches. From 1929 to around 1933 he was the CO of 216 Squadron in Egypt. On the 1st of November 1938 he was promoted to Group Captain and in June of 1941 Air Commodore. In January 1941 he was awarded a CBE and was again Mentioned in Dispatches in March. Air Vice Marshal Rice commanded HQ 1 Group Bomber Command, from 1943 to 1945, and on the 12th of June 1945 was awarded the Order of Polonia Restitutia 1st Class. He was made a KBE on the 1st of January 1946. On retiring from the RAF he moved to Kenya. Air Vice Marshal Sir Edward Arthur Beckton Rice passed away on the 14th of April 1948, aged 54.
More about Sir Edward Rice can be found in the London Gazette, militaryimages.net, iwm.org.uk, npg.org.uk, and rafweb.org.
Maker: Gieves Ltd.
Tag: Second World War RAF officers Air Marshal's cap. (Rice).
Edward Arthur Beckton Rice was born in Oxford on the 19th of December 1893. After attending Sandhurst Military College he was promoted to Lieutenant in the Royal Flying Corps, on the 8th of June 1915, and attended the Central Flying School. During the First World War he was wounded in action and later awarded a Military Cross. After the war "Ed" Rice took up duties with the Army of Occupation and was posted to Iraq between 1920 and 1921 where he was Mentioned in Dispatches. From 1929 to around 1933 he was the CO of 216 Squadron in Egypt. On the 1st of November 1938 he was promoted to Group Captain and in June of 1941 Air Commodore. In January 1941 he was awarded a CBE and was again Mentioned in Dispatches in March. Air Vice Marshal Rice commanded HQ 1 Group Bomber Command, from 1943 to 1945, and on the 12th of June 1945 was awarded the Order of Polonia Restitutia 1st Class. He was made a KBE on the 1st of January 1946. On retiring from the RAF he moved to Kenya. Air Vice Marshal Sir Edward Arthur Beckton Rice passed away on the 14th of April 1948, aged 54.
More about Sir Edward Rice can be found in the London Gazette, militaryimages.net, iwm.org.uk, npg.org.uk, and rafweb.org.
Maker: Gieves Ltd.
Tag: Second World War RAF officers Air Marshal's cap. (Rice).
World War II Air Vice Marshal's RAF cap. Air Vice Marshal Sir Edward Arthur Beckton Rice
Sir Edward Arthur Beckton Rice. www.npg.org.uk
Sir Edward Arthur Beckton Rice
by Walter Stoneman
bromide print, March 1945
5 in. x 3 3/8 in. (128 mm x 87 mm) image size
Commissioned, 1945
Photographs Collection
NPG x159891
by Walter Stoneman
bromide print, March 1945
5 in. x 3 3/8 in. (128 mm x 87 mm) image size
Commissioned, 1945
Photographs Collection
NPG x159891
Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh William Lumsden Saunders GCB KBE MC DFC* MM
Historical Importance
Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Saunders had a very distinguished career, winning the Military Cross, Military Medal and Distinguished Flying Cross with bar. Rising up from private to the highest achievable rank, that of Air Chief Marshal. During the First World War he joined the Royal Flying Corps and quickly became an ace with 15 victories. He held key command positions in World War II, including RAF fighters for Operation Overlord - D Day. and later became Inspector General of the Royal Air Force, as well as Commander in Chief of HQ Air Forces Western Europe, ending his career as Air Deputy to Supreme Allied Commander Europe, at SHAPE (NATO).
Hugh Lumsden Saunders, known as “Dingbat”, was born on the 24th of August 1894, in Johannesburg, in the Transvaal Republic, modern day Republic of South Africa. He grew up in Germiston and went to school at Marist Brothers' College. When the First World War began Saunders joined the the South African Army in August 1914, aged 20, with the Witwatersrand Rifles regiment, before serving with the 8th South African Horse. He remained in Africa during the first three years of the conflict, promoted to Lance Corporal and winning the Military Medal on the 12th of March 1917. In May 1917 he joined the Royal Flying Corps. in England, as a Cadet and in August 1917 was promoted to Temporary Second Lieutenant, confirmed in October. Promotion to Captain came on the 25th of May 1918. On the 16th of August 1918 he was awarded the Military Cross, for destroying five airplanes and shooting down four more. Then three months later, on the 2nd of November, a Distinguished Flying Cross, for shooting down two enemy balloons and another six aircraft. After the war, in August of 1919 Saunders was given a permanent commission in the RAF. Having racked up an impressive fifteen victories and earning the reputation as a WW1 air ace.
He was then posted overseas and rejoined 84 Squadron in Mesopotamia, modern day Iraq, where he took part in the relief of the gunboat, HMS Greenfly and the garrison at Samawah, for which he was awarded a bar to his DFC, on the 28th of October 1921. (Incidentally on the same date as Flying Officer David D’Arcy Greig, later Air Commodore, was awarded his DFC). In December 1923 he was posted back to England and from 1924 until 1928 was at the Air Ministry, before a spell at the RAF Staff college and promotion to Squadron Leader on the 29th of May 1929. In December he was posted to the ADGB HQ (Air Defence Great Britain) until January 1932 when he became CO of No. 45 Squadron, in the Middle East. In 1935 he was training at the Air Ministry and was promoted to Wing Commander 1936. However, in January 1938 he attended the Imperial Defence College. In February 1939 Saunders became Chief of Air Staff, New Zealand, and was made Group Captain on the 1st of April 1939. On the 1st March 1941 he was promoted to Temporary Air Commodore. In December 1941 he was appointed AOA (Air Officer Administration) of Fighter Command HQ, until November 1942 when he became AOC of No.11 Group. Promotion to Temporary Air Vice Marshal came just a month later. He was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath on the 2nd of June 1943. During the D Day landings he was was responsible for RAF fighter operations. Then followed a posting to the Air Ministry. On the 12th of June 1945 Saunders was awarded the Polish Order of Polonia Restituta, 2nd class. He served as Director General of Personal until July 1945 when he was posted to the Far East as Commander of RAF Burma, now an Air Marshal. He then served as AOC or Bomber Command from January 1947 until October 1949 when he was appointed Inspector General of the Royal Air Force. For his outstanding command during the war he was awarded the Legion of Merit Commander, on the 20th of April 1948, by the US President.
He was promoted to Air Chief Marshal in May 1950. In February 1951 he was made the Commander in Chief of Air Forces, Western Forces before becoming the Air Deputy to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General Dwight Eisenhower, where he attended the SHAPE conference in December 1951, planning the organising and future of NATO defence in Western Europe. Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Saunders was made a Knight Grand Cross of Most Honourable Order of the Bath in June 1953, prior to his retirement on the 27th of July 1953. After an impressive military career, rising up from humble foot soldier to the highest ranks of the Royal Air Force, and an astonishing thirty nine years service. His retirement was anything but quiet as he then became an advisor to the Danish Government on the reconstruction and organisation of their air force, for which he was awarded the Grand Cross Order of Dannebrog, on the 20th of November 1956. Returning to the United Kingdom, he settled down in Wiltshire and passed away on the 8th of May 1987, aged 92. This uniform and peaked cap worn by Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Saunders are unique and historically significant, showing his impressive service history and senior rank status.
More about Sir Hugh Saunders can be found in the London Gazette, www.gulabin.com, iwm.org.uk, Australian War Memorial, www.samilhistory.com,
www.oxforddnb.com, www.salegion.org.uk, www.durhammuseum.contentdm.oclc.org,
www.theaerodrome.com, nara.getarchive.net, npg.org.uk, and rafweb.org, and ukwhoswho.com.
Makers: Unknown. T. W. Castle Ltd.
Tag: Second World War RAF officers Air Chief Marshal's cap and Service Dress uniform. (Saunders).
Historical Importance
Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Saunders had a very distinguished career, winning the Military Cross, Military Medal and Distinguished Flying Cross with bar. Rising up from private to the highest achievable rank, that of Air Chief Marshal. During the First World War he joined the Royal Flying Corps and quickly became an ace with 15 victories. He held key command positions in World War II, including RAF fighters for Operation Overlord - D Day. and later became Inspector General of the Royal Air Force, as well as Commander in Chief of HQ Air Forces Western Europe, ending his career as Air Deputy to Supreme Allied Commander Europe, at SHAPE (NATO).
Hugh Lumsden Saunders, known as “Dingbat”, was born on the 24th of August 1894, in Johannesburg, in the Transvaal Republic, modern day Republic of South Africa. He grew up in Germiston and went to school at Marist Brothers' College. When the First World War began Saunders joined the the South African Army in August 1914, aged 20, with the Witwatersrand Rifles regiment, before serving with the 8th South African Horse. He remained in Africa during the first three years of the conflict, promoted to Lance Corporal and winning the Military Medal on the 12th of March 1917. In May 1917 he joined the Royal Flying Corps. in England, as a Cadet and in August 1917 was promoted to Temporary Second Lieutenant, confirmed in October. Promotion to Captain came on the 25th of May 1918. On the 16th of August 1918 he was awarded the Military Cross, for destroying five airplanes and shooting down four more. Then three months later, on the 2nd of November, a Distinguished Flying Cross, for shooting down two enemy balloons and another six aircraft. After the war, in August of 1919 Saunders was given a permanent commission in the RAF. Having racked up an impressive fifteen victories and earning the reputation as a WW1 air ace.
He was then posted overseas and rejoined 84 Squadron in Mesopotamia, modern day Iraq, where he took part in the relief of the gunboat, HMS Greenfly and the garrison at Samawah, for which he was awarded a bar to his DFC, on the 28th of October 1921. (Incidentally on the same date as Flying Officer David D’Arcy Greig, later Air Commodore, was awarded his DFC). In December 1923 he was posted back to England and from 1924 until 1928 was at the Air Ministry, before a spell at the RAF Staff college and promotion to Squadron Leader on the 29th of May 1929. In December he was posted to the ADGB HQ (Air Defence Great Britain) until January 1932 when he became CO of No. 45 Squadron, in the Middle East. In 1935 he was training at the Air Ministry and was promoted to Wing Commander 1936. However, in January 1938 he attended the Imperial Defence College. In February 1939 Saunders became Chief of Air Staff, New Zealand, and was made Group Captain on the 1st of April 1939. On the 1st March 1941 he was promoted to Temporary Air Commodore. In December 1941 he was appointed AOA (Air Officer Administration) of Fighter Command HQ, until November 1942 when he became AOC of No.11 Group. Promotion to Temporary Air Vice Marshal came just a month later. He was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath on the 2nd of June 1943. During the D Day landings he was was responsible for RAF fighter operations. Then followed a posting to the Air Ministry. On the 12th of June 1945 Saunders was awarded the Polish Order of Polonia Restituta, 2nd class. He served as Director General of Personal until July 1945 when he was posted to the Far East as Commander of RAF Burma, now an Air Marshal. He then served as AOC or Bomber Command from January 1947 until October 1949 when he was appointed Inspector General of the Royal Air Force. For his outstanding command during the war he was awarded the Legion of Merit Commander, on the 20th of April 1948, by the US President.
He was promoted to Air Chief Marshal in May 1950. In February 1951 he was made the Commander in Chief of Air Forces, Western Forces before becoming the Air Deputy to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General Dwight Eisenhower, where he attended the SHAPE conference in December 1951, planning the organising and future of NATO defence in Western Europe. Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Saunders was made a Knight Grand Cross of Most Honourable Order of the Bath in June 1953, prior to his retirement on the 27th of July 1953. After an impressive military career, rising up from humble foot soldier to the highest ranks of the Royal Air Force, and an astonishing thirty nine years service. His retirement was anything but quiet as he then became an advisor to the Danish Government on the reconstruction and organisation of their air force, for which he was awarded the Grand Cross Order of Dannebrog, on the 20th of November 1956. Returning to the United Kingdom, he settled down in Wiltshire and passed away on the 8th of May 1987, aged 92. This uniform and peaked cap worn by Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Saunders are unique and historically significant, showing his impressive service history and senior rank status.
More about Sir Hugh Saunders can be found in the London Gazette, www.gulabin.com, iwm.org.uk, Australian War Memorial, www.samilhistory.com,
www.oxforddnb.com, www.salegion.org.uk, www.durhammuseum.contentdm.oclc.org,
www.theaerodrome.com, nara.getarchive.net, npg.org.uk, and rafweb.org, and ukwhoswho.com.
Makers: Unknown. T. W. Castle Ltd.
Tag: Second World War RAF officers Air Chief Marshal's cap and Service Dress uniform. (Saunders).
Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh William Lumsden Saunders RAF peaked cap from 1945.
World War II RAF Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh William Lumsden Saunders signed Letter, dated 1982.
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Impressive medal ribbon of RAF Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh William Lumsden Saunders, showing (Top downwards, L to R): the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, Knight of the Order of the British Empire, Military Cross, Distinguished Flying Cross with Bar, Military Medal, 1914-1915 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal 1914 -1918 with Mentioned in Dispatches, General Service Medal 1918, Burma Star, Defence Medal, War Medal 1939 - 1945 with Mentioned in Dispatches, Cross of Merit (Poland), Legion of Merit - Commander (USA), Legion Of Honour - Chevalier (France), Order of Dannebrog - Grand Cross (Danish) decorations.
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Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh William Lumsden Saunders Service dress tunic, dated to 1953
© IWM CH 7952 / AIR VICE MARSHAL H.W.L. SAUNDERS, CBE.,MC.,DFC.,MM., AIR OFFICER COMMANDING NO.11 GROUP, ROYAL AIR FORCE. IWM Non-Commercial Licence
Penang, Malaya. C. 1945-07. Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Park, Allied Air Commander-in-Chief, South East Asia (centre), with Air Marshal Sir Hugh Saunders, Air Marshal Commanding RAF Burma (right), and Air Vice Marshal A. T. Cole, RAAF Observer Officer (extreme left), on Georgetown airfield, near Penang. Source: Australian War Memorial. SUK14753. Copyright expired - public domain
Air Commodore David D'Arcy Alexander Greig DFC AFC
Historical Importance
Air Commodore David D'Arcy Alexander Greig had an incredible and impressive Royal Air Force career, from flying fragile biplanes in WW1 to testing G suits and the first jet plane in WW2. He was a skilled pilot, flying 140 different airplanes, escaped enemy territory during wartime, set a world speed record, and was even part of Britain's 1929 Schneider Trophy winning team, securing 3rd place. You can watch the actual footage of Flight Lieutenant D'Arcy Greig setting the world speed record of 319.57mph in 1928, on the British Pathé website.
Greig’s eventful career was carefully noted down in his amusing and must read autobiography, My Golden Flying Years: From 1918 Over France, Through Iraq in the 1920s, to the Schneider Trophy Race of 1929, (Grub Street Publishing, London 2011). Reviewed here. It was a career filled with adventure and the almost carefree atmosphere of the golden age of flight, mixed with antics and pranks, and an obvious amount of fun thrown in, such as toilet paper bombing raids on neighbouring units or fireworks in the mess!
David D‘Arcy Alexander Greig was born on the 1st of February 1900. He was schooled at Weston House School, Elgin Academy and Shrewsbury House. In 1917 he became a Flying Cadet with the Royal Flying Corps. before being commissioned a Second Lieutenant on the 20th of August 1918, in the newly formed Royal Air Force. During the closing stages of the war he flew with 83 Squadron on Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2.b bombers. During one bombing raid his aircraft was shot down and forced to land behind enemy lines. Along with his Observer, they managed to evade the enemy and sneak back 13 miles to safely. He was then posted back to England. On the 1st of August 1919 he was promoted to Pilot Officer with further promotion to Flying Officer coming just over a month later, on the 12th of September, 1919. In 1920 he joined 6th Squadron and was posted to Mesopotamia, where he flew observation, strafing and bomber escort missions, mainly flying the Bristol Fighter, against the insurgent uprising. “Mespot” was a mixture or fun and adventure, with the odd sombre moments of tragedy.
In his downtime, together with a few of his fellow officers, Grieg repaired surplus cars and motorcycles for the recreational use of the squadron and can be seen posing, in the propeller tip frame, on a Douglas around 1921. The mahogany frame itself may well have come from a RE8 or Avro 504, flown by Grieg during this time. For his bold low level actions in Mespot he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, on the 28th of October 1921. Incidentally, Greig’s CO whilst at 6th Squadron was none other than Ed Rice (later Air Vice Marshal Sir Edward Arthur Beckton Rice KBE, CB, MC, MID. See earlier biography ). After three years to the day in Iraq he arrived back in England on the 13th of February 1923. He was then given a permanent commission, with official London Gazette date of 22nd of May, as well as six months well deserved leave before a brief Air Pilotage Course and a posting to 24th Squadron. In March 1924 he was then posted to No.13 Flying Instructors’ Course, at the Central Flying School in Upavon, flying Avro 504K trainers. On completion he was given the honour of appointment as an instructor at the CFS. During the next years he experimented and developed his aerobatics skills and repertoire, most notably his trademark “Falling Leaf” stunt. In August 1926, whilst performing the stunt in front of a crowd he crashed to the ground, miraculously emerging from the wreckage unharmed. His display team would later perform at Hendon and other events.
On the 1st of January 1927 he was made a Flight Lieutenant, and was duly posted to Headquarters Fighting Area, RAF Uxbridge, becoming the RAF‘s first Examining Officer, in April 1927. There, he was quickly tasked with investigating reports into the potentially fatal spinning of Gloster Gamecocks. During one test flight his Gamecock failed to recover from a spin, forcing Greig to bail out at the last moment using one of the relatively recent issued parachutes. The airplane crashed mere minutes later. For his actions he was to be awarded the Air Force Cross on the 4th of June 1928. During that time he also took part in air displays and smaller flying competitions, as well as working closely with the aircraft manufacturer De Havilland. In May 1928 Greig was chosen as the new CO of the High Speed Flight, Experimental Section, seeking to win gain the world speed record for Great Britain.
In May 1928 Greig was chosen as the new CO of the High Speed Flight, Experimental Section, seeking to win the world speed record for Great Britain. In November of that year, flying Supermarine N220, he unofficially broke the world speed record, with 319.57mph, and set the record for the British Seaplane Class C. In September 1929, he was one of the three pilots in Britain‘s Schneider Trophy racing team, which won, with Greig coming in third. On the 28th of October 1929 he was posted to 9 Bomber/Transport Squadron, then in March 1930 to No.216 Bomber Squadron, at RAF Heliopolis, Cairo, flying the Vickers Victoria troop transport. A cumbersome twin engine biplane. Between January 1932 and 1933 he was Station Adjutant at the Aircraft Depot, RAF Aboukir, near Alexandria, before becoming the Adjutant at RAF Amman. In August 1934 he returned to the UK and became the CO of the Aerodynamic Flight, at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, RAF Farnborough. The following December,1935, he was promoted to Squadron Leader. In March 1936 he took a training course at the CFS, then became a squadron Chief Flying Instructor at No. 9 FTS. In 1937 he was made Chief Instructor at the Central Flying School. On the 1st of November 1938 came promotion to Wing Commander and the post of Commanding Officer of No. 75 Bomber Squadron, which in mid 1939 were flying Wellington Bombers, at RAF Honington. In January 1940 however, he was posted to the Royal Canadian Air Force and No. 1 Training Command, in Canada. It was during this time that he began testing the Franks Hydrostatic Suit, in a Spitfire, to combat blackouts during fast and tight G manoeuvres. He made Group Captain on the 1st of March 1941, which was confirmed in December 1944, and became Senior Air Officer to No. 4 Training Command.
In April 1942 he was posted to No. 31 Service Flying Training School, however in September he returned to England as Commanding Officer of the Marine Experimental Establishment. Then on the 25th of April 1943 he was promoted to Air Commodore, assuming command of the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE) at Boscombe Down, where researching and testing of new aircraft and components was carried out. In early 1944 he was one of the first service pilots to fly the Gloster Whittle jet powered prototype and in April also flew de Havilland‘s Spider Crab prototype. Which entered service as the D.100 in 1946. In June 1944 he became the CO of No. 3 Group Area, Bomber Command, until July 1946, and his last command, that of AOC, HQ 91 Group. After a career spanning nearly thirty years and overseeing the transition from biplanes to monoplanes to jet planes he retired from the Royal Air Force, on the 27th of November 1946, retaining his rank of Air Commodore. In retirement Greig became President of the Bexhill RAF Association Club and continued flying in civilian clubs and indulging his love of motorbikes. Air Commodore David D'Arcy Alexander Greig DFC AFC passed away on the 7th of July 1986, aged 86 years old.
More about Air Commodore David D'Arcy Alexander Greig can be found in the Air Force Lists, London Gazette, rafweb.org, www.iwm.org.uk, www.britishpathe.com, and in his published autobiography.
Maker: Bates Hatters.
Tag: Second World War RAF officers Air Commodore's side cap and paraphernalia. (Grieg).
Historical Importance
Air Commodore David D'Arcy Alexander Greig had an incredible and impressive Royal Air Force career, from flying fragile biplanes in WW1 to testing G suits and the first jet plane in WW2. He was a skilled pilot, flying 140 different airplanes, escaped enemy territory during wartime, set a world speed record, and was even part of Britain's 1929 Schneider Trophy winning team, securing 3rd place. You can watch the actual footage of Flight Lieutenant D'Arcy Greig setting the world speed record of 319.57mph in 1928, on the British Pathé website.
Greig’s eventful career was carefully noted down in his amusing and must read autobiography, My Golden Flying Years: From 1918 Over France, Through Iraq in the 1920s, to the Schneider Trophy Race of 1929, (Grub Street Publishing, London 2011). Reviewed here. It was a career filled with adventure and the almost carefree atmosphere of the golden age of flight, mixed with antics and pranks, and an obvious amount of fun thrown in, such as toilet paper bombing raids on neighbouring units or fireworks in the mess!
David D‘Arcy Alexander Greig was born on the 1st of February 1900. He was schooled at Weston House School, Elgin Academy and Shrewsbury House. In 1917 he became a Flying Cadet with the Royal Flying Corps. before being commissioned a Second Lieutenant on the 20th of August 1918, in the newly formed Royal Air Force. During the closing stages of the war he flew with 83 Squadron on Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2.b bombers. During one bombing raid his aircraft was shot down and forced to land behind enemy lines. Along with his Observer, they managed to evade the enemy and sneak back 13 miles to safely. He was then posted back to England. On the 1st of August 1919 he was promoted to Pilot Officer with further promotion to Flying Officer coming just over a month later, on the 12th of September, 1919. In 1920 he joined 6th Squadron and was posted to Mesopotamia, where he flew observation, strafing and bomber escort missions, mainly flying the Bristol Fighter, against the insurgent uprising. “Mespot” was a mixture or fun and adventure, with the odd sombre moments of tragedy.
In his downtime, together with a few of his fellow officers, Grieg repaired surplus cars and motorcycles for the recreational use of the squadron and can be seen posing, in the propeller tip frame, on a Douglas around 1921. The mahogany frame itself may well have come from a RE8 or Avro 504, flown by Grieg during this time. For his bold low level actions in Mespot he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, on the 28th of October 1921. Incidentally, Greig’s CO whilst at 6th Squadron was none other than Ed Rice (later Air Vice Marshal Sir Edward Arthur Beckton Rice KBE, CB, MC, MID. See earlier biography ). After three years to the day in Iraq he arrived back in England on the 13th of February 1923. He was then given a permanent commission, with official London Gazette date of 22nd of May, as well as six months well deserved leave before a brief Air Pilotage Course and a posting to 24th Squadron. In March 1924 he was then posted to No.13 Flying Instructors’ Course, at the Central Flying School in Upavon, flying Avro 504K trainers. On completion he was given the honour of appointment as an instructor at the CFS. During the next years he experimented and developed his aerobatics skills and repertoire, most notably his trademark “Falling Leaf” stunt. In August 1926, whilst performing the stunt in front of a crowd he crashed to the ground, miraculously emerging from the wreckage unharmed. His display team would later perform at Hendon and other events.
On the 1st of January 1927 he was made a Flight Lieutenant, and was duly posted to Headquarters Fighting Area, RAF Uxbridge, becoming the RAF‘s first Examining Officer, in April 1927. There, he was quickly tasked with investigating reports into the potentially fatal spinning of Gloster Gamecocks. During one test flight his Gamecock failed to recover from a spin, forcing Greig to bail out at the last moment using one of the relatively recent issued parachutes. The airplane crashed mere minutes later. For his actions he was to be awarded the Air Force Cross on the 4th of June 1928. During that time he also took part in air displays and smaller flying competitions, as well as working closely with the aircraft manufacturer De Havilland. In May 1928 Greig was chosen as the new CO of the High Speed Flight, Experimental Section, seeking to win gain the world speed record for Great Britain.
In May 1928 Greig was chosen as the new CO of the High Speed Flight, Experimental Section, seeking to win the world speed record for Great Britain. In November of that year, flying Supermarine N220, he unofficially broke the world speed record, with 319.57mph, and set the record for the British Seaplane Class C. In September 1929, he was one of the three pilots in Britain‘s Schneider Trophy racing team, which won, with Greig coming in third. On the 28th of October 1929 he was posted to 9 Bomber/Transport Squadron, then in March 1930 to No.216 Bomber Squadron, at RAF Heliopolis, Cairo, flying the Vickers Victoria troop transport. A cumbersome twin engine biplane. Between January 1932 and 1933 he was Station Adjutant at the Aircraft Depot, RAF Aboukir, near Alexandria, before becoming the Adjutant at RAF Amman. In August 1934 he returned to the UK and became the CO of the Aerodynamic Flight, at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, RAF Farnborough. The following December,1935, he was promoted to Squadron Leader. In March 1936 he took a training course at the CFS, then became a squadron Chief Flying Instructor at No. 9 FTS. In 1937 he was made Chief Instructor at the Central Flying School. On the 1st of November 1938 came promotion to Wing Commander and the post of Commanding Officer of No. 75 Bomber Squadron, which in mid 1939 were flying Wellington Bombers, at RAF Honington. In January 1940 however, he was posted to the Royal Canadian Air Force and No. 1 Training Command, in Canada. It was during this time that he began testing the Franks Hydrostatic Suit, in a Spitfire, to combat blackouts during fast and tight G manoeuvres. He made Group Captain on the 1st of March 1941, which was confirmed in December 1944, and became Senior Air Officer to No. 4 Training Command.
In April 1942 he was posted to No. 31 Service Flying Training School, however in September he returned to England as Commanding Officer of the Marine Experimental Establishment. Then on the 25th of April 1943 he was promoted to Air Commodore, assuming command of the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE) at Boscombe Down, where researching and testing of new aircraft and components was carried out. In early 1944 he was one of the first service pilots to fly the Gloster Whittle jet powered prototype and in April also flew de Havilland‘s Spider Crab prototype. Which entered service as the D.100 in 1946. In June 1944 he became the CO of No. 3 Group Area, Bomber Command, until July 1946, and his last command, that of AOC, HQ 91 Group. After a career spanning nearly thirty years and overseeing the transition from biplanes to monoplanes to jet planes he retired from the Royal Air Force, on the 27th of November 1946, retaining his rank of Air Commodore. In retirement Greig became President of the Bexhill RAF Association Club and continued flying in civilian clubs and indulging his love of motorbikes. Air Commodore David D'Arcy Alexander Greig DFC AFC passed away on the 7th of July 1986, aged 86 years old.
More about Air Commodore David D'Arcy Alexander Greig can be found in the Air Force Lists, London Gazette, rafweb.org, www.iwm.org.uk, www.britishpathe.com, and in his published autobiography.
Maker: Bates Hatters.
Tag: Second World War RAF officers Air Commodore's side cap and paraphernalia. (Grieg).
Second World War 1943 Air Commodore's Field Service cap. Air Commodore David D'Arcy Alexander Greig
Air Commodore David D'Arcy Alexander Greig DFC AFC, "My Golden Flying Years".
Flying Officer David D'Arcy Alexander Greig in "Mespot" during the 1920s. Mesopotamia - modern day Iraq.
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Air Commodore David D'Arcy Alexander Greig DFC AFC, Schneider Trophy Contest 1929 programme and Aviator's Assistant armband.
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© IWM H(am) 323 / Supermarine S.5 seaplane at Calshot for the 1929 Schneider Trophy Competition held on 6 - 7 September. This machine, flown by Flight Lieutenant David D'Arcy Alexander Greig, finished in third place. IWM Non-Commercial Licence.
Air Marshal Sir John Rene Whitley KBE, CB, DSO, AFC*, MiD.
Air Marshal Sir John Rene Whitley’s RAF career must rank up there as being among the most unique and indeed colourful, from piloting movie stars and Prime Ministers, to being shot down over occupied France and daring escape back to England. He was awarded the Air Force Cross with Bar (twice) and Mentioned in Dispatches 3 times during the war. One of Bomber Command’s wartime commanders he became Inspector General of the Royal Air Force postwar and was even a flight record holder.
John Rene Whitley was born on the 7th of September 1905, to an English father and French mother. Due to his father’s work he spent his childhood in Chile and France, attending the prestigious Haileybury school in Hertfordshire. In 1926 he joined the Royal Air Force as a Pilot Officer, serving with 7 Squadron, flying the Vickers Virginia heavy bomber, before being posted to 101 Squadron on medium bombers. He was confirmed a Flying Officer on the 27th of May 1931 and in February 1932 was promoted to Flight Lieutenant. Then followed an overseas posting to India, with the Bomber Transport Flight. It was during this posting that he was awarded his first Air Force Cross, on the 2nd of February 1937, for his contribution to the relief effort of the 1935 Quetta earthquake. 1937 saw promotion to Squadron Leader and in August he became Flight Commander of 38 (B) Squadron, with Hendon and Wellington bombers. A command he held until August 1939 when he assumed command of the VIP Flight, No. 24 Squadron. With the esteemed honour of piloting Prime Ministers, Neville Chamberlain and Winston Churchill, as as well as other VIPs and film stars. On the 12th of March 1940 he made Wing Commander, prior to assuming command of 149 Squadron, equipped with Wellingtons. For the next 6 months Whitley served in Bomber Command, as Wing Commander of Operations, before becoming Station Commander of RAF Linton-on-Ouse, from May 1941. He was Mentioned in Dispatches on the 24th of September 1941, with further promotion to Temporary Group Captain in June 1942, and was Mentioned in Dispatches again (Dated 2nd of June 1943, whilst posted as missing). He remained at Linton-on-Ouse until April 1943, when his Halifax bomber was shot down over France but managed to escape to Spain, with the help of the French Resistance. For which he was awarded a Distinguished Service Order on the 9th of July 1943. A gripping account of which can be read in Paul Brickhill’s excellent WW2 RAF escape book, “Escape -or die”. A most enjoyable and recommended read indeed. Back home Whitley took over command of RAF Lissett in September 1943. After six months he was promoted to Air Rank, with Air Commodore, becoming Air Officer Commanding of No. 43 Base (Driffield) in April 1944. In June 1944 he was Mentioned in Dispatches for a third time. In October he was confirmed Group Captain. On the 12th of February 1945 he was promoted to Acting Air Vice Marshal and was AOC of No. 4 Group until May when he became the Air Officer Commanding of No. 8 (Pathfinder Force) Group. In June of 1945 he was made a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, then in November 1945 served as Air Officer Administration, Air Command South East Asia, HQ Singapore. In the January 1946 New Year Honour’s List he was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath, with promotion to Air Commodore, rank confirmed in July 1947. In December he served a term as Director of Organisation (Establishments) at the Air Ministry in London, prior to attending the Imperial Defence College in 1950. The 26th of January saw him reinstated as Acting Air Vice Marshal, which was confirmed in June of that year, during his posting as AOA, 2nd Tactical Air Force in Germany, from January till April 1953. He was then appointed Air Officer Commanding No.1 Group Bomber/Strike Command. As CO he took part in the 1955 tour of Canada and the Carribean, with Canberras and Hastings from 511 Squadron and 139 (Jamaica) Squadron, as well as across the globe, setting a speed record for flying from Scampton to Cyprus, in an English Electric Canberra. At the end of May 1956 he was awarded a Bar to his Air Force Cross, and was also elevated to Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. On the 1st of November he was promoted Acting Air Marshal, which was confirmed in January of 1957, when he was appointed Air Member for Personal. On the 3rd of June 1959 he was given his final command, that of Inspector General of the Royal Air Force, before retiring on the 1st of June 1962. In retirement Air Marshal Whitley was involved with the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund and recorded his service memoirs for the Imperial War Museum, in 1992. At the ripe old age of 92, he passed away on the 26th of December 1997.
More about Air Marshal Sir John Rene Whitley can be found in the Air Force Lists, London Gazette, rafweb.org, www.iwm.org.uk, www.gulabin.com, www.bywat.co.uk, www.key.aero, www.raf.mod.uk, www.ancestry.com, and ukwhoswho.com.
Maker: Gieves Ltd.
Tag: Second World War RAF officers Air Marshal's side cap. (Whitley).
Air Marshal Sir John Rene Whitley’s RAF career must rank up there as being among the most unique and indeed colourful, from piloting movie stars and Prime Ministers, to being shot down over occupied France and daring escape back to England. He was awarded the Air Force Cross with Bar (twice) and Mentioned in Dispatches 3 times during the war. One of Bomber Command’s wartime commanders he became Inspector General of the Royal Air Force postwar and was even a flight record holder.
John Rene Whitley was born on the 7th of September 1905, to an English father and French mother. Due to his father’s work he spent his childhood in Chile and France, attending the prestigious Haileybury school in Hertfordshire. In 1926 he joined the Royal Air Force as a Pilot Officer, serving with 7 Squadron, flying the Vickers Virginia heavy bomber, before being posted to 101 Squadron on medium bombers. He was confirmed a Flying Officer on the 27th of May 1931 and in February 1932 was promoted to Flight Lieutenant. Then followed an overseas posting to India, with the Bomber Transport Flight. It was during this posting that he was awarded his first Air Force Cross, on the 2nd of February 1937, for his contribution to the relief effort of the 1935 Quetta earthquake. 1937 saw promotion to Squadron Leader and in August he became Flight Commander of 38 (B) Squadron, with Hendon and Wellington bombers. A command he held until August 1939 when he assumed command of the VIP Flight, No. 24 Squadron. With the esteemed honour of piloting Prime Ministers, Neville Chamberlain and Winston Churchill, as as well as other VIPs and film stars. On the 12th of March 1940 he made Wing Commander, prior to assuming command of 149 Squadron, equipped with Wellingtons. For the next 6 months Whitley served in Bomber Command, as Wing Commander of Operations, before becoming Station Commander of RAF Linton-on-Ouse, from May 1941. He was Mentioned in Dispatches on the 24th of September 1941, with further promotion to Temporary Group Captain in June 1942, and was Mentioned in Dispatches again (Dated 2nd of June 1943, whilst posted as missing). He remained at Linton-on-Ouse until April 1943, when his Halifax bomber was shot down over France but managed to escape to Spain, with the help of the French Resistance. For which he was awarded a Distinguished Service Order on the 9th of July 1943. A gripping account of which can be read in Paul Brickhill’s excellent WW2 RAF escape book, “Escape -or die”. A most enjoyable and recommended read indeed. Back home Whitley took over command of RAF Lissett in September 1943. After six months he was promoted to Air Rank, with Air Commodore, becoming Air Officer Commanding of No. 43 Base (Driffield) in April 1944. In June 1944 he was Mentioned in Dispatches for a third time. In October he was confirmed Group Captain. On the 12th of February 1945 he was promoted to Acting Air Vice Marshal and was AOC of No. 4 Group until May when he became the Air Officer Commanding of No. 8 (Pathfinder Force) Group. In June of 1945 he was made a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, then in November 1945 served as Air Officer Administration, Air Command South East Asia, HQ Singapore. In the January 1946 New Year Honour’s List he was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath, with promotion to Air Commodore, rank confirmed in July 1947. In December he served a term as Director of Organisation (Establishments) at the Air Ministry in London, prior to attending the Imperial Defence College in 1950. The 26th of January saw him reinstated as Acting Air Vice Marshal, which was confirmed in June of that year, during his posting as AOA, 2nd Tactical Air Force in Germany, from January till April 1953. He was then appointed Air Officer Commanding No.1 Group Bomber/Strike Command. As CO he took part in the 1955 tour of Canada and the Carribean, with Canberras and Hastings from 511 Squadron and 139 (Jamaica) Squadron, as well as across the globe, setting a speed record for flying from Scampton to Cyprus, in an English Electric Canberra. At the end of May 1956 he was awarded a Bar to his Air Force Cross, and was also elevated to Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. On the 1st of November he was promoted Acting Air Marshal, which was confirmed in January of 1957, when he was appointed Air Member for Personal. On the 3rd of June 1959 he was given his final command, that of Inspector General of the Royal Air Force, before retiring on the 1st of June 1962. In retirement Air Marshal Whitley was involved with the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund and recorded his service memoirs for the Imperial War Museum, in 1992. At the ripe old age of 92, he passed away on the 26th of December 1997.
More about Air Marshal Sir John Rene Whitley can be found in the Air Force Lists, London Gazette, rafweb.org, www.iwm.org.uk, www.gulabin.com, www.bywat.co.uk, www.key.aero, www.raf.mod.uk, www.ancestry.com, and ukwhoswho.com.
Maker: Gieves Ltd.
Tag: Second World War RAF officers Air Marshal's side cap. (Whitley).
Air Marshal Sir John Rene Whitley KBE, CB, DSO, AFC*, MiD daring escape exploit in "Escape or Die".
Second World War 1944 Air Marshal's Field Service cap. Air Marshal Sir John Rene Whitley.
© IWM CH 15248 / Air Vice Marshal J R Whitley. ROYAL AIR FORCE BOMBER COMMAND, 1942-1945. IWM Non-Commercial Licence.
© IWM CH 13592 / H.R.H. THE DUKE OF GLOUCESTER VISITS R.A.A.F. SQUADRON. (Image dated 1944. A/Cdre Whitley 6th from right). IWM Non-Commercial Licence.
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© IWM CH 13593 / H.R.H. THE DUKE OF GLOUCESTER VISITS R.A.A.F. SQUADRON. (Image dated 1944. A/Cdre Whitley standing in doorway). IWM Non-Commercial Licence.
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Air Marshal The Reverend Sir Henry Paterson Fraser KBE, CB, AFC, BA, FRAeS.
Historical Importance
Sir Henry Paterson Fraser was a senior Second World Officer whose modest contribution to prewar fighter development played a small yet vital part in the successful outcome of the Battle of Britain and the Battle of the Atlantic. He was a DDay planner and later Inspector General of the Royal Air Force, before becoming a Reverend in retirement.
Henry Paterson Fraser was born in Johannesburg, South Africa on the 15th of July 1907. He was schooled at the prestigious St Andrew’s College in Grahamstown before attending Pembroke College, Cambridge. Whilst there he was commissioned a Pilot Officer in The Reserve of Air Force Officers, Class AA, into the University Air Squadron on the 2nd of August 1927, (confirmed a year later) eventually becoming its Student President. Upon graduating with an MA he was given a permanent commission in the RAF on the 7th of September 1929 and was promoted Flying Officer on the 7th of March 1930. Fraser spent his training at Old Sarum in Wiltshire, flying the Bristol F2 Fighter with No.16 Squadron, specialising in army air force support, before joining No. 31 Squadron in India on the infamous Northwest Frontier. Based at Quetta he was tasked with flying resupply sorties, as well as other duties. It was during this time that he prepared a manual on the subject which aided later operations. In 1933 he was posted back to the United Kingdom and spent the next year at Henlow on the Aircraft Engineering Course. After its successful completion Fraser was promoted to Flight Lieutenant on the 1st of August 1934 and sent to the Royal Aircraft Establishment as an engineer and test pilot. At Farnborough he was part of the Experimental Section, where he flew the Hawker Hurricaine and Supermarine Spitfire, preparing them for war spec, a job that proved crucial when the Second World War broke out. In October 1937 he was made Squadron Leader. At the RAE he was also involved in developing ship catapults for fighters, which were used successfully during the Battle of the Atlantic. The role that Fraser and his team played, although minor, helped shape the outcome of the future war and resulted in him being awarded the Air Force Cross on the 1st of February 1937. A year later Squadron Leader Fraser was posted to RAF Staff College before being sent to the Directorate of War Organization at the Air Ministry. His organisational and writing skills were quickly recognised and he was tasked with drawing up the plans for the RAF’s deployment to France in late 1939 to bolster the British Expeditionary Force. He was also called upon to rewrite the branch’s Organisation and Administarton manuel. In 1941, he was assigned back to the Farnborough but this time as the Commanding Officer of the Experimental Flying Section. However the next year he was posted to the USA and Washington DC, on the Combined Chief's of Staff, as an RAF representative, with promotion to Temporary Group Captain coming on the 1st of September. On his return to the United Kingdom in 1942 he found himself once again at the Air Ministry in London as the Deputy Director of War Organization, where he helped draw up plans for the Allied invasion of Sicily and preliminary explorations into the proposed invasion of Normandy. In early 1943, now recognised as a talented planner he was posted to the 2nd Tactical Air Force, as Senior Administrative Planner, where he continued in the preparations for D Day. His fire support coordination for the landing crafts proved vital to the operations’s successful outcome, particularly at Juno Beach m for which The First Canadian Army commander General Crerer would write a commendation. In July 1944, as the Allies advanced from the Normandy beachhead Fraser was promoted to Acting Air Commodore and made Deputy Air Officer in Charge of Administration, based in France, where he assumed the task of logistical support for all Royal Air Force operations in the ETO. On March the 26th he was officially promoted to War Subs Group Captain, yet retained his acting rank. A/Cdre Fraser remained in command until the war in Europe ended on the 8th of May 1945, for which he was made a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in the January 1945 New Year’s Honour List. He was then given the prestigious command of the Aircraft and Armament Experimental Establishment at RAF Boscombe Down in Wiltshire, serving as Commandant. Confirmation to Group Captain came in October 1946. In 1947 he was made Deputy Director of Policy for the Air Staff at the Air Ministry then the Defence Research Policy. Whilst in the post his confirmation to Air Commodore came through on the 1st of July 1951. In December of that year he attended the Imperial Defence College before promotion to Acting Air Vice Marshal on the 9th of January 1952 and a posting to HQ Fighter Command, as Senior Air Staff Officer. He was confirmed in that rank a year later. In 1953 he was appointed a Companion of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath. Upon promotion to Acting Air Marshal in April 1954 Fraser was posted to the HQ of Allied Air Forces in Europe, as Chief of Staff. He relinquished the acting rank in May 1956 and became Air Officer Commanding of No.12 Group, Fighter Command. However in 1958 he was appointed Director of RAF Exercise Planning prior to appointment as the British Military Representative of the Central Treaty Organization, a Middle East military alliance, lasting from 1959 to 1962. During which time Fraser was promoted to Air Marshal in January 1960 and knighted in 1961 to Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. In June 1962 he became Inspector General of Royal Air Force, taking over the role from Air Marshal Sir John Rene Whitley (biography shown above). He held this post until retiring in 1964, after a remarkable 35 year career. He then became a construction consultant and was heavily involved in local and church affairs on the Isle of Man, ordaining as a Reverend in 1977. Air Marshal the Reverend Sir Henry Paterson Fraser passed away on the 4th of August 2001, aged 94 years old.
More about Air Marshal The Reverand Sir Henry Paterson Fraser can be found in the London Gazette, rafweb.org, www.npg.org.uk, www.gulabin.com, www.historicflyingclothing.com,
www.telegraph.co.uk, and ukwhoswho.com.
Maker: Private purchase, possibly Beret Industries Ltd.
Tag: Second World War RAF Air Officer's beret. (Fraser).
Historical Importance
Sir Henry Paterson Fraser was a senior Second World Officer whose modest contribution to prewar fighter development played a small yet vital part in the successful outcome of the Battle of Britain and the Battle of the Atlantic. He was a DDay planner and later Inspector General of the Royal Air Force, before becoming a Reverend in retirement.
Henry Paterson Fraser was born in Johannesburg, South Africa on the 15th of July 1907. He was schooled at the prestigious St Andrew’s College in Grahamstown before attending Pembroke College, Cambridge. Whilst there he was commissioned a Pilot Officer in The Reserve of Air Force Officers, Class AA, into the University Air Squadron on the 2nd of August 1927, (confirmed a year later) eventually becoming its Student President. Upon graduating with an MA he was given a permanent commission in the RAF on the 7th of September 1929 and was promoted Flying Officer on the 7th of March 1930. Fraser spent his training at Old Sarum in Wiltshire, flying the Bristol F2 Fighter with No.16 Squadron, specialising in army air force support, before joining No. 31 Squadron in India on the infamous Northwest Frontier. Based at Quetta he was tasked with flying resupply sorties, as well as other duties. It was during this time that he prepared a manual on the subject which aided later operations. In 1933 he was posted back to the United Kingdom and spent the next year at Henlow on the Aircraft Engineering Course. After its successful completion Fraser was promoted to Flight Lieutenant on the 1st of August 1934 and sent to the Royal Aircraft Establishment as an engineer and test pilot. At Farnborough he was part of the Experimental Section, where he flew the Hawker Hurricaine and Supermarine Spitfire, preparing them for war spec, a job that proved crucial when the Second World War broke out. In October 1937 he was made Squadron Leader. At the RAE he was also involved in developing ship catapults for fighters, which were used successfully during the Battle of the Atlantic. The role that Fraser and his team played, although minor, helped shape the outcome of the future war and resulted in him being awarded the Air Force Cross on the 1st of February 1937. A year later Squadron Leader Fraser was posted to RAF Staff College before being sent to the Directorate of War Organization at the Air Ministry. His organisational and writing skills were quickly recognised and he was tasked with drawing up the plans for the RAF’s deployment to France in late 1939 to bolster the British Expeditionary Force. He was also called upon to rewrite the branch’s Organisation and Administarton manuel. In 1941, he was assigned back to the Farnborough but this time as the Commanding Officer of the Experimental Flying Section. However the next year he was posted to the USA and Washington DC, on the Combined Chief's of Staff, as an RAF representative, with promotion to Temporary Group Captain coming on the 1st of September. On his return to the United Kingdom in 1942 he found himself once again at the Air Ministry in London as the Deputy Director of War Organization, where he helped draw up plans for the Allied invasion of Sicily and preliminary explorations into the proposed invasion of Normandy. In early 1943, now recognised as a talented planner he was posted to the 2nd Tactical Air Force, as Senior Administrative Planner, where he continued in the preparations for D Day. His fire support coordination for the landing crafts proved vital to the operations’s successful outcome, particularly at Juno Beach m for which The First Canadian Army commander General Crerer would write a commendation. In July 1944, as the Allies advanced from the Normandy beachhead Fraser was promoted to Acting Air Commodore and made Deputy Air Officer in Charge of Administration, based in France, where he assumed the task of logistical support for all Royal Air Force operations in the ETO. On March the 26th he was officially promoted to War Subs Group Captain, yet retained his acting rank. A/Cdre Fraser remained in command until the war in Europe ended on the 8th of May 1945, for which he was made a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in the January 1945 New Year’s Honour List. He was then given the prestigious command of the Aircraft and Armament Experimental Establishment at RAF Boscombe Down in Wiltshire, serving as Commandant. Confirmation to Group Captain came in October 1946. In 1947 he was made Deputy Director of Policy for the Air Staff at the Air Ministry then the Defence Research Policy. Whilst in the post his confirmation to Air Commodore came through on the 1st of July 1951. In December of that year he attended the Imperial Defence College before promotion to Acting Air Vice Marshal on the 9th of January 1952 and a posting to HQ Fighter Command, as Senior Air Staff Officer. He was confirmed in that rank a year later. In 1953 he was appointed a Companion of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath. Upon promotion to Acting Air Marshal in April 1954 Fraser was posted to the HQ of Allied Air Forces in Europe, as Chief of Staff. He relinquished the acting rank in May 1956 and became Air Officer Commanding of No.12 Group, Fighter Command. However in 1958 he was appointed Director of RAF Exercise Planning prior to appointment as the British Military Representative of the Central Treaty Organization, a Middle East military alliance, lasting from 1959 to 1962. During which time Fraser was promoted to Air Marshal in January 1960 and knighted in 1961 to Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. In June 1962 he became Inspector General of Royal Air Force, taking over the role from Air Marshal Sir John Rene Whitley (biography shown above). He held this post until retiring in 1964, after a remarkable 35 year career. He then became a construction consultant and was heavily involved in local and church affairs on the Isle of Man, ordaining as a Reverend in 1977. Air Marshal the Reverend Sir Henry Paterson Fraser passed away on the 4th of August 2001, aged 94 years old.
More about Air Marshal The Reverand Sir Henry Paterson Fraser can be found in the London Gazette, rafweb.org, www.npg.org.uk, www.gulabin.com, www.historicflyingclothing.com,
www.telegraph.co.uk, and ukwhoswho.com.
Maker: Private purchase, possibly Beret Industries Ltd.
Tag: Second World War RAF Air Officer's beret. (Fraser).
Second World War 1944 Air Commodore's beret. Air Marshal The Reverend Sir Henry Paterson Fraser.
Air Commodore Walter Karl Beisiegel OBE
Walter Karl Beisiegel was born in Uppingham Rutland on the 13th of July 1907. He went to Uppingham School where he developed quite a skill for playing cricket, going on to become a professional player for the Royal Air Force and the county of Leicestershire during the 1920s and 30s. After Attending the Royal Air Force Cadet College Cranwell he was made a Pilot Officer on the 17th December 1927 and then Flying Officer in June 1929. In August 1937 he was promoted to Squadron Leader and in June 1940 a Temporary Wing Commander. In December 1943 as a Temporay Group Captain, he was confirmed a Wing Commander and in July of 1947 made a Substantive Group Captain. However upon his posting to South America in April 1945 he was promoted to Acting Air Commodore and appointed Air Attaché for Beunos Aires, Asuncion and Montevideo, a hotbed for international espionage during WW2. After the war he was made Senior RAF Officer Kenya from May 1954 until September 1955, improving air operations in the country and relations with that government. In June 1950 he was awarded an OBE before retiring from the RAF on the 10th of April 1956. When he then moved to Kenya, becoming a farmer. Air Commodore Walter Karl Beisiegel passed away on the 8th of January 1973, at the young age of 65.
Beisiegel and the royal connection.
In 1929 a low flying adventurous young Pilot Officer buzzed a stately home in Scotland, where the future Queen Mother was staying. Sometime around this time her Royal Highness suffered a miscarriage. Walter Beisiegel was that pilot and apparently felt responsible. Whether or not this was true or just coincident we shall never know, but you can read about the intriguing story in an excellent article from the Daily Mail British newspaper. (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2225089/Did-buzzed-biplane-make-Queen-Mother-lose-son-King.html).
Interestingly, even the British Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill shared this rank in the Royal Air Force and was appointed an Honorary Air Commodore.
More about Air Commodore Walter Karl Beisiegel can be found in the London Gazette, rafweb.org, https://digital.nls.uk/gallery/ and www.dailymail.co.uk.
Maker: Gieves Ltd.
Tag: Second World War RAF officers Air Commodore's service cap. (Beisegel).
Walter Karl Beisiegel was born in Uppingham Rutland on the 13th of July 1907. He went to Uppingham School where he developed quite a skill for playing cricket, going on to become a professional player for the Royal Air Force and the county of Leicestershire during the 1920s and 30s. After Attending the Royal Air Force Cadet College Cranwell he was made a Pilot Officer on the 17th December 1927 and then Flying Officer in June 1929. In August 1937 he was promoted to Squadron Leader and in June 1940 a Temporary Wing Commander. In December 1943 as a Temporay Group Captain, he was confirmed a Wing Commander and in July of 1947 made a Substantive Group Captain. However upon his posting to South America in April 1945 he was promoted to Acting Air Commodore and appointed Air Attaché for Beunos Aires, Asuncion and Montevideo, a hotbed for international espionage during WW2. After the war he was made Senior RAF Officer Kenya from May 1954 until September 1955, improving air operations in the country and relations with that government. In June 1950 he was awarded an OBE before retiring from the RAF on the 10th of April 1956. When he then moved to Kenya, becoming a farmer. Air Commodore Walter Karl Beisiegel passed away on the 8th of January 1973, at the young age of 65.
Beisiegel and the royal connection.
In 1929 a low flying adventurous young Pilot Officer buzzed a stately home in Scotland, where the future Queen Mother was staying. Sometime around this time her Royal Highness suffered a miscarriage. Walter Beisiegel was that pilot and apparently felt responsible. Whether or not this was true or just coincident we shall never know, but you can read about the intriguing story in an excellent article from the Daily Mail British newspaper. (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2225089/Did-buzzed-biplane-make-Queen-Mother-lose-son-King.html).
Interestingly, even the British Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill shared this rank in the Royal Air Force and was appointed an Honorary Air Commodore.
More about Air Commodore Walter Karl Beisiegel can be found in the London Gazette, rafweb.org, https://digital.nls.uk/gallery/ and www.dailymail.co.uk.
Maker: Gieves Ltd.
Tag: Second World War RAF officers Air Commodore's service cap. (Beisegel).
Second World War Air Commodore's peak cap. Air Commodore Walter Karl Beisiegel
Air Vice Marshal Norman Stuart Allinson CB, MiD.
During the Second World War Air Vice Marshal Allinson served in the Middle East with distinction, being mentioned in despatches twice and overseeing coastal and training commands. He was also part of the committee planning Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1952.
Norman Stuart Allinson was born on the 9th of April 1904 and educated at Trent college in Nottingham, before attending the Royal Air Force Cadet College, Cranwell. From there he was commissioned a Pilot Officer on the 17th of December 1924. In the late 20s he was promoted to Flying Officer and then Flight Lieutenant on the 14th of May 1930. On the 1st of February 1937 he became a Squadron Leader. During the Second World War he served in Coastal Command before postings in the Middle East. In March 1940 he was promoted Wing Commander and made a Group Captain (Temp) in March 1942. He was Mentioned in Dispatches on the 1st of January 1944. In March of that year he became the Air Officer Commanding of Number 212 Group, specialising in sea rescue and coastal patrols, with promotion to Temporary Air Commodore, then took command of Force 438. On the 8th of June he was Mentioned in Disptaches a second time. In September 1944 he was promoted to War Subs Group Captain and on the 1st January 1946 confirmed Group Captain, with official promotion to Air Commodore (Temp), from Wing Commander Temporary Air Commodore. He was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath, on the 1st of January 1946. On the 1st of July 1947 he was confirmed Air Commodore. He was then appointed Air Officer Commanding in Southern Rhodesia, for the Rhodesian Air Training Group, before assuming various command posts in personnel and administration, during the 1950s. On the 15th of May 1951 he was promoted to Acting Air Vice Marshal, which was confirmed 2 months later. When Queen Elizabeth II succeeded the throne from the late King George VI, Air Vice Marshal Allinson was a member of the Executive Committee overseeing the coronation planning. On the 17th of September 1956 he retired from the Royal Air Force, becoming a Deputy Lieutenant for the county of Essex, from July 1962 until September 1984. Air Vice Marshal Allinson passed away on the 8th of October 1984.
More about AVM N. S. Allinson CB MID can be found at the London Gazette, rafweb.org, and ukwhoswho.com.
Makers: Moss Brothers. Bates Hatters.
During the Second World War Air Vice Marshal Allinson served in the Middle East with distinction, being mentioned in despatches twice and overseeing coastal and training commands. He was also part of the committee planning Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1952.
Norman Stuart Allinson was born on the 9th of April 1904 and educated at Trent college in Nottingham, before attending the Royal Air Force Cadet College, Cranwell. From there he was commissioned a Pilot Officer on the 17th of December 1924. In the late 20s he was promoted to Flying Officer and then Flight Lieutenant on the 14th of May 1930. On the 1st of February 1937 he became a Squadron Leader. During the Second World War he served in Coastal Command before postings in the Middle East. In March 1940 he was promoted Wing Commander and made a Group Captain (Temp) in March 1942. He was Mentioned in Dispatches on the 1st of January 1944. In March of that year he became the Air Officer Commanding of Number 212 Group, specialising in sea rescue and coastal patrols, with promotion to Temporary Air Commodore, then took command of Force 438. On the 8th of June he was Mentioned in Disptaches a second time. In September 1944 he was promoted to War Subs Group Captain and on the 1st January 1946 confirmed Group Captain, with official promotion to Air Commodore (Temp), from Wing Commander Temporary Air Commodore. He was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath, on the 1st of January 1946. On the 1st of July 1947 he was confirmed Air Commodore. He was then appointed Air Officer Commanding in Southern Rhodesia, for the Rhodesian Air Training Group, before assuming various command posts in personnel and administration, during the 1950s. On the 15th of May 1951 he was promoted to Acting Air Vice Marshal, which was confirmed 2 months later. When Queen Elizabeth II succeeded the throne from the late King George VI, Air Vice Marshal Allinson was a member of the Executive Committee overseeing the coronation planning. On the 17th of September 1956 he retired from the Royal Air Force, becoming a Deputy Lieutenant for the county of Essex, from July 1962 until September 1984. Air Vice Marshal Allinson passed away on the 8th of October 1984.
More about AVM N. S. Allinson CB MID can be found at the London Gazette, rafweb.org, and ukwhoswho.com.
Makers: Moss Brothers. Bates Hatters.
Second World War Air Vice Marshal's peak cap. AVM N. S. Allinson.
Second World War Air Vice Marshal's best peak cap. AVM N. S. Allinson.
Air Vice Marshal Robert Linton Ragg CB, CBE, AFC, CBD (SC), MiD
AVM Ragg began his career during the formative adventurous years of the Royal Air Force, was an experimental test pilot and held key commands during and after the Second World War. He was also one of a small number to be awarded the AFC between the wars, as well as the prestigious Chinese Cloud and Banner Decoration with Special Cravat, for his exemplary service in WW2.
Robert Linton Ragg was born in Reigate on the 9th of April 1901. He was educated at Dragon School, before going on to Dulwich College in London. He joined the Royal Air Force just three months shy of his 20th birthday, commissioning as a Pilot Officer on the 15th of January 1921, at the dawning of the Golden Age of flight. He was swiftly posted to Kurdistan where he flew sorties with the young “Bomber” Harris, on operations to protect British interest in neighbouring Iraq. On the 23rd of December 1924 he was promoted to Flying officer. In 1925 he returned to the UK and took up a posting as test pilot for the coveted Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE), Farnborough. In October 1926 he was part of an elite team exploring the feasibility of airborne aircraft carriers. Strapped into two Gloster Grebes fighters, Ragg and a fellow pilot, C. Mackenzie-Richards, were released from Airship R33 and landed ultimately successfully, reminiscent of a scene from an “Indiana Jones” movie. As if that wasn’t enough adventure in 1926 Flying Officer Ragg also won Second Prize from the Daily Mail Light Aeroplane Competition, together with Flight Lieutenant J. H. Chick MC AFC, flying a Hawker Cygnet. As well as taking home the Pilcher Memorial Prize, from the Royal Aeronautical Society. In July 1927 he made Flight Lieutenant. Incidentally, Ragg was hoping to set a non-stop record to Bucharest from Lympne Airfield in Kent, with the Hawker Cygnet on the 23rd of August 1927, when overloaded with fuel, it crashed on take-off. For his attachment to the RAE Ragg was awarded the Air Force Cross on the 2nd of January 1928. From 1931 he was posted to RAF Basra in Iraq and served through 1933, with No. 203 (F.B) Squadron. Most probably being awarded King Feisal's War Medal, for Iraq, during this period. Promotion to Squadron Leader also came in February 1936, by which time Ragg had become a specialist in Navigation, working on interception techniques, with Gloster Gauntlets, from 30 Squadron, as mentioned in David Zimmerman’s “Britain's Shield: Radar and the Defeat of the Luftwaffe”, Amberley Publishing 2010. Around January 1938 Ragg was listed as a student at RAF Staff College, before being Attached to the Staff of No.2 Bomber Group, Bomber Command by May 1938. Just prior to the start of the Second World War he was promoted to Wing Commander, on the 3rd of January 1939. A year later he was posted to Bomber Command HQ, specialising on Navigation Staff Duties. On the 10th of June 1941 he was made a Group Captain (Temp), which was followed by a position at the British Air Commission in Washington D.C. Returning from the USA he was made Senior Air Staff Officer No.15 Group and reached Air Rank in December 1943 with promotion to Air Commodore (Temp). On the 14th of January 1944 he was Mentioned in Dispatches and in April appointed Deputy Air Officer Commanding, No. 222 Group in Colombo, Ceylon. On the 8th of June 1944 he was Mentioned in Dispatches again. In the New Year’s Honours list of 1945, he was made a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. With promotion to Acting Air Vice Marshal, on the 23rd of April 1945. Reverting to Air Commodore at the end of June 1946. By the 23rd of April 1945 he was the Air Officer Administration (AOA) for HQ Base Air Forces, South-East Asia, Headquarters, located In Delhi. Incidentally, he was also the last the AOA at RAF HQ Delhi, before Indian Independence. Serving from the start of April 1946 until August 1947. On the 11th of February 1947 Air Commodore Ragg was awarded the prestigious Chinese decoration, the Cloud and Banner with Special Cravat, for recognition of his contributions during the war. Final promotion to Air Vice Marshal came on the 1st of January 1948, with appointment as the Senior Air Staff Officer, Transport Command. In November of that year he published a paper entitled, “The role and problems of air transport”. He then became Senior Air Staff Officer HQ Far East, from 1949 until 1951. In 1952 he also served a term as Director General of Personnel at the Air Ministry. He was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath, on the 9th of June 1949. In September 1952 he became the NATO Air Commander Northern Sub-area, Atlantic, until 1955, and was also Air Officer Commanding of No 18 Group and the RAF’s Senior Air Force Officer in Scotland.
After a colourful career Air Vice Marshal Robert Linton Ragg retired on the 29th of April 1955. In retirement, from the late 1950s to early 60s, he was on the Board of Governor’s for several schools, including HM Prince Phillip‘s old Gordonstoun. On the 19th of December 1973 Air Vice Marshal Robert Linton Ragg CB CBE AFC CBD (SC) MID passed away, at the relatively young age of 72 years old.
More about AVM R. L. Ragg CB CBE CBD (SC) AFC MID can be found in the Air Force Lists, London Gazette, rafweb.org, ukwhoswho.com, www.npg.org.uk, www.nationalarchives.gov.uk, www.bharat-rakshak.com, www.nato.int, www.aviation-safety.net, www.gracesguide.co.uk (1933 Who's Who in British Aviation), 1926 | 0798 | Flight Archive, nlb.gov.sg, and www.spink.com
Maker: Flights Ltd.
AVM Ragg began his career during the formative adventurous years of the Royal Air Force, was an experimental test pilot and held key commands during and after the Second World War. He was also one of a small number to be awarded the AFC between the wars, as well as the prestigious Chinese Cloud and Banner Decoration with Special Cravat, for his exemplary service in WW2.
Robert Linton Ragg was born in Reigate on the 9th of April 1901. He was educated at Dragon School, before going on to Dulwich College in London. He joined the Royal Air Force just three months shy of his 20th birthday, commissioning as a Pilot Officer on the 15th of January 1921, at the dawning of the Golden Age of flight. He was swiftly posted to Kurdistan where he flew sorties with the young “Bomber” Harris, on operations to protect British interest in neighbouring Iraq. On the 23rd of December 1924 he was promoted to Flying officer. In 1925 he returned to the UK and took up a posting as test pilot for the coveted Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE), Farnborough. In October 1926 he was part of an elite team exploring the feasibility of airborne aircraft carriers. Strapped into two Gloster Grebes fighters, Ragg and a fellow pilot, C. Mackenzie-Richards, were released from Airship R33 and landed ultimately successfully, reminiscent of a scene from an “Indiana Jones” movie. As if that wasn’t enough adventure in 1926 Flying Officer Ragg also won Second Prize from the Daily Mail Light Aeroplane Competition, together with Flight Lieutenant J. H. Chick MC AFC, flying a Hawker Cygnet. As well as taking home the Pilcher Memorial Prize, from the Royal Aeronautical Society. In July 1927 he made Flight Lieutenant. Incidentally, Ragg was hoping to set a non-stop record to Bucharest from Lympne Airfield in Kent, with the Hawker Cygnet on the 23rd of August 1927, when overloaded with fuel, it crashed on take-off. For his attachment to the RAE Ragg was awarded the Air Force Cross on the 2nd of January 1928. From 1931 he was posted to RAF Basra in Iraq and served through 1933, with No. 203 (F.B) Squadron. Most probably being awarded King Feisal's War Medal, for Iraq, during this period. Promotion to Squadron Leader also came in February 1936, by which time Ragg had become a specialist in Navigation, working on interception techniques, with Gloster Gauntlets, from 30 Squadron, as mentioned in David Zimmerman’s “Britain's Shield: Radar and the Defeat of the Luftwaffe”, Amberley Publishing 2010. Around January 1938 Ragg was listed as a student at RAF Staff College, before being Attached to the Staff of No.2 Bomber Group, Bomber Command by May 1938. Just prior to the start of the Second World War he was promoted to Wing Commander, on the 3rd of January 1939. A year later he was posted to Bomber Command HQ, specialising on Navigation Staff Duties. On the 10th of June 1941 he was made a Group Captain (Temp), which was followed by a position at the British Air Commission in Washington D.C. Returning from the USA he was made Senior Air Staff Officer No.15 Group and reached Air Rank in December 1943 with promotion to Air Commodore (Temp). On the 14th of January 1944 he was Mentioned in Dispatches and in April appointed Deputy Air Officer Commanding, No. 222 Group in Colombo, Ceylon. On the 8th of June 1944 he was Mentioned in Dispatches again. In the New Year’s Honours list of 1945, he was made a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. With promotion to Acting Air Vice Marshal, on the 23rd of April 1945. Reverting to Air Commodore at the end of June 1946. By the 23rd of April 1945 he was the Air Officer Administration (AOA) for HQ Base Air Forces, South-East Asia, Headquarters, located In Delhi. Incidentally, he was also the last the AOA at RAF HQ Delhi, before Indian Independence. Serving from the start of April 1946 until August 1947. On the 11th of February 1947 Air Commodore Ragg was awarded the prestigious Chinese decoration, the Cloud and Banner with Special Cravat, for recognition of his contributions during the war. Final promotion to Air Vice Marshal came on the 1st of January 1948, with appointment as the Senior Air Staff Officer, Transport Command. In November of that year he published a paper entitled, “The role and problems of air transport”. He then became Senior Air Staff Officer HQ Far East, from 1949 until 1951. In 1952 he also served a term as Director General of Personnel at the Air Ministry. He was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath, on the 9th of June 1949. In September 1952 he became the NATO Air Commander Northern Sub-area, Atlantic, until 1955, and was also Air Officer Commanding of No 18 Group and the RAF’s Senior Air Force Officer in Scotland.
After a colourful career Air Vice Marshal Robert Linton Ragg retired on the 29th of April 1955. In retirement, from the late 1950s to early 60s, he was on the Board of Governor’s for several schools, including HM Prince Phillip‘s old Gordonstoun. On the 19th of December 1973 Air Vice Marshal Robert Linton Ragg CB CBE AFC CBD (SC) MID passed away, at the relatively young age of 72 years old.
More about AVM R. L. Ragg CB CBE CBD (SC) AFC MID can be found in the Air Force Lists, London Gazette, rafweb.org, ukwhoswho.com, www.npg.org.uk, www.nationalarchives.gov.uk, www.bharat-rakshak.com, www.nato.int, www.aviation-safety.net, www.gracesguide.co.uk (1933 Who's Who in British Aviation), 1926 | 0798 | Flight Archive, nlb.gov.sg, and www.spink.com
Maker: Flights Ltd.
AOC's Inspection No. 18 Group, Air Vice Marshal Robert Linton Ragg
Post WW2 Air Officer's uniform. Air Vice Marshal Robert Linton Ragg
Air Vice Marshal Robert Linton Ragg
Robert Linton Ragg. www.npg.org.uk
Robert Linton Ragg
by Elliott & Fry
bromide print, circa 1952
6 1/2 in. x 4 5/8 in. (166 mm x 117 mm) overall
Purchased, 1996
Photographs Collection
NPG x90778
by Elliott & Fry
bromide print, circa 1952
6 1/2 in. x 4 5/8 in. (166 mm x 117 mm) overall
Purchased, 1996
Photographs Collection
NPG x90778
Air Vice Marshal Edward Alfred Daley CBE, MB. RAAF.
Edward Alfred Daley was born on the 23rd of January 1901. After studying medicine at Melbourne University he joined the Royal Australian Air Force in July 1928 as a Flight Lieutenant and was swifly promoted to Squadron Leader in 1930. In 1936 he took part in an exchange programme with the Royal Air Force and studied Tropical Medicine at Liverpool University during that time. After returning to Australia in 1938 he was appointed Deputy Director of Medical Services and then a year later Director. His experiences with the RAF helped establish a smooth cooperation between the RAAF during the Second World, forming a solid foundation from which the RAAF Medical Services developed. In 1940 he was promoted Temporary Group Captain and by August 1945 Acting Air Commodore. During the war Daley set up No.1 RAAF Hospital Laverton and in 1941, whilst posted to the Middle East, No.1 Air Ambulance. He was made an Honorary Physician to King George VI as well as Queen Elizabeth II. In March 1952 he reached Vice Air Marshal . For his services during the Korean War he was made Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. He retired from the RAAF in March 1962 and became National Director of the St John Ambulance Association. Air Vice Marshal Edward Alfred Daley passed away in East Malvern, a suburb of Melbourne, on the 15th of March 1985.
More about Air Vice Marshal Edward Alfred Daley can be found in the London Gazette, awm.gov.au, npg.org.uk and www.adb.anu.edu.au.
Edward Alfred Daley was born on the 23rd of January 1901. After studying medicine at Melbourne University he joined the Royal Australian Air Force in July 1928 as a Flight Lieutenant and was swifly promoted to Squadron Leader in 1930. In 1936 he took part in an exchange programme with the Royal Air Force and studied Tropical Medicine at Liverpool University during that time. After returning to Australia in 1938 he was appointed Deputy Director of Medical Services and then a year later Director. His experiences with the RAF helped establish a smooth cooperation between the RAAF during the Second World, forming a solid foundation from which the RAAF Medical Services developed. In 1940 he was promoted Temporary Group Captain and by August 1945 Acting Air Commodore. During the war Daley set up No.1 RAAF Hospital Laverton and in 1941, whilst posted to the Middle East, No.1 Air Ambulance. He was made an Honorary Physician to King George VI as well as Queen Elizabeth II. In March 1952 he reached Vice Air Marshal . For his services during the Korean War he was made Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. He retired from the RAAF in March 1962 and became National Director of the St John Ambulance Association. Air Vice Marshal Edward Alfred Daley passed away in East Malvern, a suburb of Melbourne, on the 15th of March 1985.
More about Air Vice Marshal Edward Alfred Daley can be found in the London Gazette, awm.gov.au, npg.org.uk and www.adb.anu.edu.au.
Second World War Royal Australian Air Force Air Vice Marshal Edward Alfred Daley
Air Vice Marshal Edward Alfred Daley, RAAF. Source: Australian War Memorial. 043286. Copyright expired - public domain
Air Marshal Sir Patrick "Paddy" Hunter Dunn KBE, CB, DFC, FRAeS
Air Marshal Dunn was a Second World War biplane and Hurricane ace, who served in the Western Desert. Description coming soon.
More about Air Marshal Sir Patrick Dunn can be found in the London Gazette, rafweb.org & ukwhoswho.com
Makers: Moss Brothers. R. E. City Ltd.
Air Marshal Dunn was a Second World War biplane and Hurricane ace, who served in the Western Desert. Description coming soon.
More about Air Marshal Sir Patrick Dunn can be found in the London Gazette, rafweb.org & ukwhoswho.com
Makers: Moss Brothers. R. E. City Ltd.
Uniform from Air Marshal Sir Patrick Dunn, showing KBE, CB and DFC ribbons.
Signature and side hat from Air Marshal Sir Patrick Dunn.
Air Commodore Edward James Morris CB, CBE, DSO, DFC.
Historical Importance
Air Commodore Morris was a Second World War Royal Air Force fighter pilot ace, credited with 3 enemy airplanes destroyed (1 probable), 3 damaged and 5 shared, as well as destroying numerous ground targets. He was one of the Battle of Britain “Few”, flying Hurricanes, Spitfires, Tomahawks, and Kittyhawks during the war.
Edward James “Teddy” Morris was born on the 6th of April 1915, in Southern Rhodesia. He went to school at Michaelhouse in the former province of Natal, South Africa, before joining the Royal Air Force as a Pilot Officer on the 5th of September 1937. Prior to joining 79 Squadron, based at Biggin Hill, he trained at RAF Netheravon then was posted to RAF Henlow where he was part of the Parachute Test Flight. He was promoted to Flying Officer on the 12th of January 1940 and flew sorties during the “Phoney War before participating in the Battle of Britain. In August he was wounded in aerial combat and upon promotion to Flight Lieutenant on the 1st of January 1941, was posted to 238 Squadron. In May of that year, he was posted to 274 Squadron in the Middle East. By September 1941 he had become the Commanding Officer of 250 Squadron, part of the Desert Air Force. In April 1942 he awarded a Distinguished Service Order for his invaluable leadership of the squadron, resulting in 34 aircraft shot down, and made Group Training Instructor of Fighters. In July 1942 he was further promoted to Squadron Leader prior to being attached to the 2nd New Zealand Division in North Africa, as an Air Advisor in 1943. He was then made Station Commander of the newly captured Italian Airport, RAF Castel Benito near Tripoli. Then joined 71 Squadron as a Chief Instructor before moving to the South of France as Wing Leader of 251 Wing, for Operation Dragoon. From September 1944, for the Italy campaign, Morris was involved in planning for the joint US and British command of the Tactical Air Force, for which he was awarded an American DFC in September 1947. By November 1944 he had been promoted Acting Wing Commander and on the 14th was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross, for his leadership of the Wing, resulting in over 1000 damaged enemy vehicles prior to and after the Battle of Monte Cassino. On the 9th of September 1945 he was confirmed a permanent Squadron Leader.
After the war he attended RAF Staff College and became the Commanding Officer of RAF Sarum from August 1949. He was then briefly attached to the USAF. On the 1st of January 1956 he was promoted to Group Captain and was the CO of RAF Wattisham. In the Queen’s New Year Honours List of January 1959, he was made an Ordinary Commander of the Military Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire and upon posting to HQ Fighter Command in December 1959 became an Acting Air Commodore, confirmed on the 1st of January 1962. He then served as Chief of Staff through the Aden insurgency and Rhodesian Independence, of HQ Middle East Command. On the 11th of June 1966 he was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath before being appointed the Air Officer Commanding of the Air Training Corps. Air Cadets. Morris retired on the 16th of July 1968. An exceptional officer with a distinguished career spanning 30 years, Air Commodore Edward James Morris passed away in South Africa on the 1st of November 1999.
More about Air Commodore Edward James Morris can be found in the London Gazette, iwm.org, oldsarumairfield.co.uk, rafweb.org, bbm.org.uk & ukwhoswho.com
Makers: Moss Brothers. R. E. City Ltd.
Historical Importance
Air Commodore Morris was a Second World War Royal Air Force fighter pilot ace, credited with 3 enemy airplanes destroyed (1 probable), 3 damaged and 5 shared, as well as destroying numerous ground targets. He was one of the Battle of Britain “Few”, flying Hurricanes, Spitfires, Tomahawks, and Kittyhawks during the war.
Edward James “Teddy” Morris was born on the 6th of April 1915, in Southern Rhodesia. He went to school at Michaelhouse in the former province of Natal, South Africa, before joining the Royal Air Force as a Pilot Officer on the 5th of September 1937. Prior to joining 79 Squadron, based at Biggin Hill, he trained at RAF Netheravon then was posted to RAF Henlow where he was part of the Parachute Test Flight. He was promoted to Flying Officer on the 12th of January 1940 and flew sorties during the “Phoney War before participating in the Battle of Britain. In August he was wounded in aerial combat and upon promotion to Flight Lieutenant on the 1st of January 1941, was posted to 238 Squadron. In May of that year, he was posted to 274 Squadron in the Middle East. By September 1941 he had become the Commanding Officer of 250 Squadron, part of the Desert Air Force. In April 1942 he awarded a Distinguished Service Order for his invaluable leadership of the squadron, resulting in 34 aircraft shot down, and made Group Training Instructor of Fighters. In July 1942 he was further promoted to Squadron Leader prior to being attached to the 2nd New Zealand Division in North Africa, as an Air Advisor in 1943. He was then made Station Commander of the newly captured Italian Airport, RAF Castel Benito near Tripoli. Then joined 71 Squadron as a Chief Instructor before moving to the South of France as Wing Leader of 251 Wing, for Operation Dragoon. From September 1944, for the Italy campaign, Morris was involved in planning for the joint US and British command of the Tactical Air Force, for which he was awarded an American DFC in September 1947. By November 1944 he had been promoted Acting Wing Commander and on the 14th was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross, for his leadership of the Wing, resulting in over 1000 damaged enemy vehicles prior to and after the Battle of Monte Cassino. On the 9th of September 1945 he was confirmed a permanent Squadron Leader.
After the war he attended RAF Staff College and became the Commanding Officer of RAF Sarum from August 1949. He was then briefly attached to the USAF. On the 1st of January 1956 he was promoted to Group Captain and was the CO of RAF Wattisham. In the Queen’s New Year Honours List of January 1959, he was made an Ordinary Commander of the Military Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire and upon posting to HQ Fighter Command in December 1959 became an Acting Air Commodore, confirmed on the 1st of January 1962. He then served as Chief of Staff through the Aden insurgency and Rhodesian Independence, of HQ Middle East Command. On the 11th of June 1966 he was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath before being appointed the Air Officer Commanding of the Air Training Corps. Air Cadets. Morris retired on the 16th of July 1968. An exceptional officer with a distinguished career spanning 30 years, Air Commodore Edward James Morris passed away in South Africa on the 1st of November 1999.
More about Air Commodore Edward James Morris can be found in the London Gazette, iwm.org, oldsarumairfield.co.uk, rafweb.org, bbm.org.uk & ukwhoswho.com
Makers: Moss Brothers. R. E. City Ltd.
Air Rank Officer's visor cap from Air Commodore E. J. Morris CB CBE DSO DFC
Royal Air Force Air Commodore Edward James Morris dress uniform showing the CB, CBE and DFC decorations.
Air Marshal Sir John Samuel Rowlands GC, KBE, BSc, CEng, FRAeS
Historical Importance
Air Marshal Sir John Samuel Rowlands GC was a Second World War bomb disposal officer, who was awarded the prestigious George Cross (equal to the Victoria Cross) for his vital and highly dangerous war work. He is one of only 166 direct recipients and the only RAF officer awarded to retire at the rank of Air Marshal. After the war he led the development team of Britain's first atomic bomb, the Blue Danube, and its service into the RAF, and was also an advisor for the development of Britain's H-Bomb.
John Samuel Rowlands was born on the 23rd of September 1915 in Hawarden, Flintshire, Wales. He attended Hawarden Grammar school before going on to study Physics at the University of Wales, during which time he served in the OTC. Upon graduating he joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, as a Pilot Officer on the 4th of April 1939, with the Honorary rank of Flying Officer, on the Administrative and Special Duties Branch. Confirmed on the 8th of September. On the 7th of October 1940 he was transferred to the Technical Branch. Promotion to Flight Lieutenant (Temporary) came on the 1st of December 1941. During this time, he specialised in bomb disposal, around the United Kingdom, and was a member a special committee set up to evaluate proposals to deal with enemy weapons and bombs, known as the UXB Committee. Rowlands was made a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire on the 11th of June 1942. On the 25th of May 1943 he was promoted to Flying Officer (War Subs) and a regarded a specialist on fuse design. During this period, he and his team defused hundreds of unexploded bombs around towns and airfields, under very difficult circumstances and complex fuses with anti-handling devices, saving many numerous lives. Promotion to Wing Commander followed shortly afterwards. On the 10th of August of 1943 Rowlands was awarded the George Cross. The highest award from bravery in the British honours system, which was personally invested by His Majesty King George VI on Friday the 20th of July 1945, at Buckingham Palace. His citation reads:
“For over 2 years, Wing Commander Rowlands has been employed on bomb disposal duties and has repeatedly displayed the most conspicuous courage and unselfish devotion to duty in circumstances of great personal danger”.
He was then posted to the Middle East and Africa. On the 1st of January 1944 he was promoted War Subs Squadron Leader and became the armament design Superintendant at the Royal Aircraft Establishement. A year later, on the first of January 1945 he was promoted to Squadron Leader (Temporary). In March he was further promoted to Flight Lieutenant, confirmed in September of that year with a Permanent Comission in the Royal Air Force. Postwar he continued in the Technical Branch and saw promotion to Squadron Leader on August the 1st 1947, working at the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment. Then in 1953 followed a term at the Bomber Command Armament School as commanding officer. In the New Years Honours List of 1954, he was made an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. He was then attached to the Armament Research Establishment, during which time he was involved in the development and testing of the Blue Danube, Britain’s atomic bomb. In January 1958 he became Group Captain. Then followed a posting to the USA and Washington D.C. on the British Defence Staff, at the British Embassy, as Chief Scientific Advisor. On the 1st of July 1963 he was promoted to Air Rank with Air Commodore, and attended Staff College before becoming Assistant Commandant of the Royal Air Force Cranwell. He then became an Acting Air Vice Marshal and Director General of Ground Training, from the 4th of June 1968 until the 7th of March 1970. He was confirmed an AVM on the 1st of July 1968. Rowlands was appointed Air Officer Commander-in-Chief of HQ Maintenance Command, at RAF Sealand, and Acting Air Marshal on the 13th of April 1970, confirmed on the 1st of July 1971. He was made a Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. After 34 years of gallant service, dedicated to saving lives through active deeds and deterrence, Air Marshal J. S. Rowlands GC KBE retired from active service. In retirement Rowlands held several educational positions at the University of London and Sheffield Polytechnic, before serving as a consultant for the Civil Aviation Administration. He was also on the Victoria Cross and George Cross Association committee. At the ripe old age of 90 years old John Samuel Rowlands passed away, on the 4th of June 2006.
More about Air Marshal Sir John Samuel Rowlands can be found in the London Gazette, www.rafweb.org, www.victoriacrossonline.co.uk, vwww.vcgca.org, www.theywerethere.co.uk, www.theguardian.com, www.thetimes.co.uk, www.rafbdassociation.com, www.gulabin.com, www.artuk.org, www.rafmuseum.org.uk, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, & ukwhoswho.com
Maker: Bates Hatters.
Historical Importance
Air Marshal Sir John Samuel Rowlands GC was a Second World War bomb disposal officer, who was awarded the prestigious George Cross (equal to the Victoria Cross) for his vital and highly dangerous war work. He is one of only 166 direct recipients and the only RAF officer awarded to retire at the rank of Air Marshal. After the war he led the development team of Britain's first atomic bomb, the Blue Danube, and its service into the RAF, and was also an advisor for the development of Britain's H-Bomb.
John Samuel Rowlands was born on the 23rd of September 1915 in Hawarden, Flintshire, Wales. He attended Hawarden Grammar school before going on to study Physics at the University of Wales, during which time he served in the OTC. Upon graduating he joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, as a Pilot Officer on the 4th of April 1939, with the Honorary rank of Flying Officer, on the Administrative and Special Duties Branch. Confirmed on the 8th of September. On the 7th of October 1940 he was transferred to the Technical Branch. Promotion to Flight Lieutenant (Temporary) came on the 1st of December 1941. During this time, he specialised in bomb disposal, around the United Kingdom, and was a member a special committee set up to evaluate proposals to deal with enemy weapons and bombs, known as the UXB Committee. Rowlands was made a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire on the 11th of June 1942. On the 25th of May 1943 he was promoted to Flying Officer (War Subs) and a regarded a specialist on fuse design. During this period, he and his team defused hundreds of unexploded bombs around towns and airfields, under very difficult circumstances and complex fuses with anti-handling devices, saving many numerous lives. Promotion to Wing Commander followed shortly afterwards. On the 10th of August of 1943 Rowlands was awarded the George Cross. The highest award from bravery in the British honours system, which was personally invested by His Majesty King George VI on Friday the 20th of July 1945, at Buckingham Palace. His citation reads:
“For over 2 years, Wing Commander Rowlands has been employed on bomb disposal duties and has repeatedly displayed the most conspicuous courage and unselfish devotion to duty in circumstances of great personal danger”.
He was then posted to the Middle East and Africa. On the 1st of January 1944 he was promoted War Subs Squadron Leader and became the armament design Superintendant at the Royal Aircraft Establishement. A year later, on the first of January 1945 he was promoted to Squadron Leader (Temporary). In March he was further promoted to Flight Lieutenant, confirmed in September of that year with a Permanent Comission in the Royal Air Force. Postwar he continued in the Technical Branch and saw promotion to Squadron Leader on August the 1st 1947, working at the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment. Then in 1953 followed a term at the Bomber Command Armament School as commanding officer. In the New Years Honours List of 1954, he was made an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. He was then attached to the Armament Research Establishment, during which time he was involved in the development and testing of the Blue Danube, Britain’s atomic bomb. In January 1958 he became Group Captain. Then followed a posting to the USA and Washington D.C. on the British Defence Staff, at the British Embassy, as Chief Scientific Advisor. On the 1st of July 1963 he was promoted to Air Rank with Air Commodore, and attended Staff College before becoming Assistant Commandant of the Royal Air Force Cranwell. He then became an Acting Air Vice Marshal and Director General of Ground Training, from the 4th of June 1968 until the 7th of March 1970. He was confirmed an AVM on the 1st of July 1968. Rowlands was appointed Air Officer Commander-in-Chief of HQ Maintenance Command, at RAF Sealand, and Acting Air Marshal on the 13th of April 1970, confirmed on the 1st of July 1971. He was made a Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. After 34 years of gallant service, dedicated to saving lives through active deeds and deterrence, Air Marshal J. S. Rowlands GC KBE retired from active service. In retirement Rowlands held several educational positions at the University of London and Sheffield Polytechnic, before serving as a consultant for the Civil Aviation Administration. He was also on the Victoria Cross and George Cross Association committee. At the ripe old age of 90 years old John Samuel Rowlands passed away, on the 4th of June 2006.
More about Air Marshal Sir John Samuel Rowlands can be found in the London Gazette, www.rafweb.org, www.victoriacrossonline.co.uk, vwww.vcgca.org, www.theywerethere.co.uk, www.theguardian.com, www.thetimes.co.uk, www.rafbdassociation.com, www.gulabin.com, www.artuk.org, www.rafmuseum.org.uk, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, & ukwhoswho.com
Maker: Bates Hatters.
Air Rank Officer's visor cap from Air Marshal Sir John Samuel Rowlands GC KBE. George Cross recipient.
Air Marshal Sir John Samuel Rowlands GC KBE. Copyright 2024.
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Air Marshal J. S. Rowlands GC KBE (circa 1968).
by Olivier Dorrell Digital Media, 2024 Unofficial contemporary portrait. 11.7 in. x 8.3 in. (297 mm x 210 mm). Copyright, the artist 2024. Contact the museum to use this image. |
Air Marshal Sir John Samuel Rowlands GC KBE. George Cross recipient. Signed commemorative envelope, 1972. OC of Maintenance Command.
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The George Cross is equal to the Victoria Cross, which are Britain's highest awards for bravery. Unlike the VC, the GC was awarded for supreme acts of bravery, not in the enemy's presence.
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The Venerable Wilfred Ernest Granville Payton CB, QHC, MA, MiD.
The Venerable W. E. G. Payton was the Chaplain in Chief of the Royal Air Force and an Honorary Chaplain to HM Queen Elizabeth II. He was also a Canon of Lincoln Cathedral and Vicar of Abington, as well as a renowned cricketer.
Wilfred Ernest Granville Payton was born in Beeston, in the county of Nottinghamshire, on the 27th of December 1913. He was educated at Nottingham College, before attending Cambridge University. He played cricket for Nottinghamshire in 1935 and then represented Cambridge in 1937. He also represented Nottinghamshire at hockey. After the war he would play for the Royal Air Force as well as Derbyshire. Unlike his father and uncle who were professional cricketers, Payton junior remained at amateur level. In 1938, at the age of twenty five he was ordained as a priest into the Church of England. When war came Payton joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) as a Chaplain, on the 1st of January 1941, with the relative rank of Squadron Leader, and was later Mentioned in Dispatches during the war. In May 1947 he was given a permanent commission. January the 1st 1955 saw promotion to Wing Commander. In April 1959 he was the Assistant Chaplain in Chief for Bomber Command, and by 1964 had become Assistant Chaplain in Chief for Maintenance Command. During this time he also served as Principal of the RAF Chaplain’s School. No doubt having reached air officer status, and gaining the relative rank of Air Commodore. On the 13th of March 1965 he was promoted to Air Vice Marshal and appointed Chaplain in Chief of the Royal Air Force, a post he held until the 14th of March 1969. The highest rank achievable for a RAF Chaplain. He was also made an Archdeacon. One day later, on the 14th of March 1965 he also became an Honorary Chaplain (QHC) to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, until his retirement from the Royal Air Force, on April the 11th 1969. In the Queen’s Birthday Honours list of the 12th of June 1965, The Venerable Wilfred Payton was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath. In retirement he became the Vicar of Abingdon, and Shippon, and later Dean, until 1980, as well as an Honorary Canon of Lincoln Cathedral. At the age of 75 the Venerable Wilfred Ernest Granville Payton CB QHC MA MiD passed away on the 4th of September 1989.
More about the Venerable Wilfred Ernest Granville Payton CB QHC MA can be found in the Air Force List, London Gazette, whoswho, www.cricketarchive.com, www.espncricinfo.com, www.sthelenwithout-pc.co.uk, www.trentbridge.co.uk
The Venerable W. E. G. Payton was the Chaplain in Chief of the Royal Air Force and an Honorary Chaplain to HM Queen Elizabeth II. He was also a Canon of Lincoln Cathedral and Vicar of Abington, as well as a renowned cricketer.
Wilfred Ernest Granville Payton was born in Beeston, in the county of Nottinghamshire, on the 27th of December 1913. He was educated at Nottingham College, before attending Cambridge University. He played cricket for Nottinghamshire in 1935 and then represented Cambridge in 1937. He also represented Nottinghamshire at hockey. After the war he would play for the Royal Air Force as well as Derbyshire. Unlike his father and uncle who were professional cricketers, Payton junior remained at amateur level. In 1938, at the age of twenty five he was ordained as a priest into the Church of England. When war came Payton joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) as a Chaplain, on the 1st of January 1941, with the relative rank of Squadron Leader, and was later Mentioned in Dispatches during the war. In May 1947 he was given a permanent commission. January the 1st 1955 saw promotion to Wing Commander. In April 1959 he was the Assistant Chaplain in Chief for Bomber Command, and by 1964 had become Assistant Chaplain in Chief for Maintenance Command. During this time he also served as Principal of the RAF Chaplain’s School. No doubt having reached air officer status, and gaining the relative rank of Air Commodore. On the 13th of March 1965 he was promoted to Air Vice Marshal and appointed Chaplain in Chief of the Royal Air Force, a post he held until the 14th of March 1969. The highest rank achievable for a RAF Chaplain. He was also made an Archdeacon. One day later, on the 14th of March 1965 he also became an Honorary Chaplain (QHC) to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, until his retirement from the Royal Air Force, on April the 11th 1969. In the Queen’s Birthday Honours list of the 12th of June 1965, The Venerable Wilfred Payton was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath. In retirement he became the Vicar of Abingdon, and Shippon, and later Dean, until 1980, as well as an Honorary Canon of Lincoln Cathedral. At the age of 75 the Venerable Wilfred Ernest Granville Payton CB QHC MA MiD passed away on the 4th of September 1989.
More about the Venerable Wilfred Ernest Granville Payton CB QHC MA can be found in the Air Force List, London Gazette, whoswho, www.cricketarchive.com, www.espncricinfo.com, www.sthelenwithout-pc.co.uk, www.trentbridge.co.uk
RAF Chaplain Air Vice Marshal W. E. G. Payton CB QHC MA. Letter dated 1978.
RAF Chaplain Air Rank Officer's visor cap from Air Vice Marshal W. E. G. Payton CB QHC MA
Chaplain in Chief of the Royal Air Force, the Venerable W. E. G. Payton, Honorary Chaplain to HM Queen dress uniform showing the CB and WWII service.
Air Vice Marshal George Arthur Chesworth CB, OBE, DFC, DL
Historical Importance
AVM Chesworth is noted at being the brains behind Operation Black Buck. the RAF's longest bombing raid in its history, during the Falklands War. He also operational sorties during the Korean War.
Biography coming soon!
More about Air Vice Marshal Chesworth can be found in the London Gazette and rafweb.org
Maker: James Smith & Co. (Derby) Ltd. Compton Webb (Headress) Limited. F.W. Harmer & Co. Ltd.
Tag: Coldwar RAF officers Air Vice Marshal's No.2 uniform and letters. (Chesworth).
Historical Importance
AVM Chesworth is noted at being the brains behind Operation Black Buck. the RAF's longest bombing raid in its history, during the Falklands War. He also operational sorties during the Korean War.
Biography coming soon!
More about Air Vice Marshal Chesworth can be found in the London Gazette and rafweb.org
Maker: James Smith & Co. (Derby) Ltd. Compton Webb (Headress) Limited. F.W. Harmer & Co. Ltd.
Tag: Coldwar RAF officers Air Vice Marshal's No.2 uniform and letters. (Chesworth).
Air Vice Marshal George Arthur Chesworth's uniform showing the CB, awarded for Operation Black Buck, OBE and the DFC, aswell as Korean War service ribbons.
Air Vice Marshal George Arthur Chesworth CB, OBE, DFC, DL.letter dated 1993.
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Air Vice Marshal Chesworth's Falklands War period beret.
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Air Commodore Ernest Sydney “Martin”Chandler AFC, QCVSA, MID.
Known to all as Martin, Ernest Sydney Chandler was born on the 16th of September 1927. From Godmanchester, in Cambridgeshire, he joined the Royal Air Force on the 9th December 1948 and was commissioned a Pilot Officer. In December 1949 he was promoted to Flying Officer, which was confirmed in 1950. In July 1951 he was one of 26 pilots that volunteered to served in 77 Squadron Royal Australian Air Force during the Korean War, flying Gloster Meteors. On the 9th June 1952 he was further promoted to Flight Lieutenant and on the 7th July 1953 Mentioned in Dispatches for his services in Korea. After the war he was awarded the Air Force Cross, on the 1st January 1954, and then the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air, in January 1957. In July 1957 he was also promoted to Squadron Leader. On the 1st January 1963 he was made a Wing Commander and as Wing Commander Officer Commanding Strike Wing Khormaksar, operating out of Aden, was the first Hunter to land successfully at Yemen’s Beihan airstrip in August 1966. The landing was in response to Egyptian fighter jets probing Yemeni airspace and attacking allied tribes, as detailed and photographed in the book, Best of Breed: The Hunter in Fighter Reconnaissance as well as being mentioned in Tales from the Frontline: The Middle East Hunter Squadrons as well as Hunters Over Arabia: Hawker Hunter Operations in the Middle East. In July 1970 he was confirmed Group Captain and in the early 1970s was the Air Attaché for Brussels and the Hague, before becoming Assistant Air Attaché in Washington DC USA. Following his promotion to Air Commodore on the 1st July 1978 he was appointed Air Attaché for Bonn, West Germany. After a colourful career of flying fast jets and administrative and diplomatic posts he retired from active service in October 1982, having clocked up over 30 years of service. In retirement, in the 1980s, he was a Technical Advisor on the British sitcom ‘Allo ‘Allo. At the age of 71, Air Commodore E. S. “Martin” Chandler passed away on the 17th of March 1999.
More about Air Commodore Ernest “Martin” Chandler AFC can be found in the London Gazette, awm.gov.au, rafmuseum.org, and rafweb.org
Maker: Bates Hatters.
Known to all as Martin, Ernest Sydney Chandler was born on the 16th of September 1927. From Godmanchester, in Cambridgeshire, he joined the Royal Air Force on the 9th December 1948 and was commissioned a Pilot Officer. In December 1949 he was promoted to Flying Officer, which was confirmed in 1950. In July 1951 he was one of 26 pilots that volunteered to served in 77 Squadron Royal Australian Air Force during the Korean War, flying Gloster Meteors. On the 9th June 1952 he was further promoted to Flight Lieutenant and on the 7th July 1953 Mentioned in Dispatches for his services in Korea. After the war he was awarded the Air Force Cross, on the 1st January 1954, and then the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air, in January 1957. In July 1957 he was also promoted to Squadron Leader. On the 1st January 1963 he was made a Wing Commander and as Wing Commander Officer Commanding Strike Wing Khormaksar, operating out of Aden, was the first Hunter to land successfully at Yemen’s Beihan airstrip in August 1966. The landing was in response to Egyptian fighter jets probing Yemeni airspace and attacking allied tribes, as detailed and photographed in the book, Best of Breed: The Hunter in Fighter Reconnaissance as well as being mentioned in Tales from the Frontline: The Middle East Hunter Squadrons as well as Hunters Over Arabia: Hawker Hunter Operations in the Middle East. In July 1970 he was confirmed Group Captain and in the early 1970s was the Air Attaché for Brussels and the Hague, before becoming Assistant Air Attaché in Washington DC USA. Following his promotion to Air Commodore on the 1st July 1978 he was appointed Air Attaché for Bonn, West Germany. After a colourful career of flying fast jets and administrative and diplomatic posts he retired from active service in October 1982, having clocked up over 30 years of service. In retirement, in the 1980s, he was a Technical Advisor on the British sitcom ‘Allo ‘Allo. At the age of 71, Air Commodore E. S. “Martin” Chandler passed away on the 17th of March 1999.
More about Air Commodore Ernest “Martin” Chandler AFC can be found in the London Gazette, awm.gov.au, rafmuseum.org, and rafweb.org
Maker: Bates Hatters.
Air Rank Officer's visor cap from Air Commodore Ernest Sydney “Martin” Chandler
Flying Officer Martin Chandler RAAF Kimpo Airfield during the Korean War (1952). Source: Australian War Memorial. P00660.020. Copyright expired - public domain
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Flying Officer Martin Chandler seated in a RAAF Meteor during the Korean War (1952). Source: Australian War Memorial. P00660.022. Copyright expired - public domain
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Air Vice Marshal Barry Hamilton Newton. CB, CVO, OBE, QCVSA, FBIM
Barry Hamilton Newton was born on the 1st April 1932. After attending the Royal Air Force training college Cranwell he was commissioned a Pilot Officer on the 28th of July 1953. A year later he was promoted to Flight Officer and then Flight Lieutenant on the 26th of May 1956. During the late 1950s he was selected to make valuable research flights during Britain’s Atomic weapons tests in Australia and Christmas Island, flying the Canberra Bomber with 76 Squadron, for which he was awarded the Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air on the 12th June 1958. In January 1962 he was made a Squadron Leader and in July 1968 became a Wing Commander. In the New Year’s Honours list of 1975, he was made an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. Following his OBE he was further promoted on the 1st of July 1976 to Group Captain and reached Air Commodore on the 1st of July 1981. In April 1983 he was appointed Aide-de-Camp to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. He served as Senior Directing Staff (Air) Royal College of Defence Studies from the 10th January 1984 until the 28th February 1986, having been promoted to Acting Air Vice Marshal upon taking up his post. he was confirmed an Air Vice Marshal on the 1st of January 1985. He was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath on the 31st of December 1987 before retiring from active service in June 1989. In retirement he was appointed a Gentleman Usher to HM the Queen from 1989 until 2011 and was the Honorary Air Commodore of the Helicopter Support Squadron Royal Auxiliary Air Force from the 4th April 1997. He was also the Honorary Air Commodore of 606 (Chiltern) Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force and the Inspector-General of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, from 2nd January 2000. Air Vice Marshal BH Newton was instrumental in the restauration, re-dedication and preservation of the 1912 Airman's Cross memorial. A stone monument commemorating the first air casualties of the Royal Flying Corps. A history of which he authored in the book, "Monument to Courage" in 2012. On the 15th of June 2002 he became a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order. After a career spanning well over 36 years Air Vice Marshal Barry Hamilton Newton passed away on the 25th of August 2020. He was 88 years old.
More about Air Vice Marshal B. H. Newton can be found at the London Gazette, thetimes.co.uk, rauxaf.org, rafweb.org, and mortimerbenefice.blogspot.com
Barry Hamilton Newton was born on the 1st April 1932. After attending the Royal Air Force training college Cranwell he was commissioned a Pilot Officer on the 28th of July 1953. A year later he was promoted to Flight Officer and then Flight Lieutenant on the 26th of May 1956. During the late 1950s he was selected to make valuable research flights during Britain’s Atomic weapons tests in Australia and Christmas Island, flying the Canberra Bomber with 76 Squadron, for which he was awarded the Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air on the 12th June 1958. In January 1962 he was made a Squadron Leader and in July 1968 became a Wing Commander. In the New Year’s Honours list of 1975, he was made an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. Following his OBE he was further promoted on the 1st of July 1976 to Group Captain and reached Air Commodore on the 1st of July 1981. In April 1983 he was appointed Aide-de-Camp to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. He served as Senior Directing Staff (Air) Royal College of Defence Studies from the 10th January 1984 until the 28th February 1986, having been promoted to Acting Air Vice Marshal upon taking up his post. he was confirmed an Air Vice Marshal on the 1st of January 1985. He was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath on the 31st of December 1987 before retiring from active service in June 1989. In retirement he was appointed a Gentleman Usher to HM the Queen from 1989 until 2011 and was the Honorary Air Commodore of the Helicopter Support Squadron Royal Auxiliary Air Force from the 4th April 1997. He was also the Honorary Air Commodore of 606 (Chiltern) Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force and the Inspector-General of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, from 2nd January 2000. Air Vice Marshal BH Newton was instrumental in the restauration, re-dedication and preservation of the 1912 Airman's Cross memorial. A stone monument commemorating the first air casualties of the Royal Flying Corps. A history of which he authored in the book, "Monument to Courage" in 2012. On the 15th of June 2002 he became a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order. After a career spanning well over 36 years Air Vice Marshal Barry Hamilton Newton passed away on the 25th of August 2020. He was 88 years old.
More about Air Vice Marshal B. H. Newton can be found at the London Gazette, thetimes.co.uk, rauxaf.org, rafweb.org, and mortimerbenefice.blogspot.com
Royal Air Force Air Vice Marshal Barry Hamilton Newton's dress uniform showing the CB and OBE decorations.
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Air Vice Marshal Barry Hamilton Newton's summer dress uniform.
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Monument to Courage. Written and published by Air Vice Marshal Barry Hamilton CB, CVO, OBE.
Air Vice Marshal Barry Hamilton Newton. CB, CVO, OBE, QCVSA, FBIME. Copyright 2024.
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Air Vice Marshal Barry Hamilton Newton. CB, CVO, OBE, QCVSA, FBIM
by Olivier Dorrell Digital Media, 2024 Unofficial contemporary portrait. 11.7 in. x 8.3 in. (297 mm x 210 mm). Copyright, the artist 2024. Contact the museum to use this image. |
Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael James Douglas Stear KCB, CBE, MA, QCVSA, DL
Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael Stear was the Deputy Commander in Chief, Allied Forces, Central Europe. Serving in the Middle East, United States, Germany, and the UK. He was a pioneer of jet age bombing techniques, flying Hunters, Phantoms, Harriers, and Nimrods over the course of his career, as well as the Puma and Wessex, and is noted as landing the RAF’s last operational Hunter on its retirement.
Born on the 11th of October 1938, Michael James Douglas Stear was educated at Monkton Combe School in Bath, before doing his National Service. He then attended Cambridge University and was enrolled in the Cambridge University Air Squadron RAFVR before being commissioned on the 10th of May 1961 as an Acting Pilot Officer. He was given a permanent commission in the Royal Air Force on the 13th of November 1962 with 1 Squadron, Flying Hawker Hunters. Further promotion to Flying Officer came in April 1963 and Flight Lieutenant on the 1st of January 1964, when he joined 208 Squadron. During the late 1960s he accepted a posting to the US, training McDonnell Douglas Phantom F4 pilots for the Vietnam War and reached Squadron Leader on the 1st of January 1970. In the 1970s he commanded 17 Squadron then 56 Squadron. Following promotion to Group Captain in July 1979 he spent the early 1980s in command of RAF Gutersloh in West Germany and became the Commander of the Harrier Force Germany, before being appointed Air Commodore of Plans, Strike Command, with promotion to full Air Commodore coming on the 1st of January 1983. On December the 12th 1983 he was also made a Commander of the Military Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. In July 1985 he was made Air Vice Marshal, assuming command of 11 Fighter Group, and then Air Marshal in October 1989. Two months later he was appointed a Knight Commander of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath. Whilst in various command roles he continued flying in a non combat role, giving Blackburn Buccaneers a supporting part in the 1991 Gulf War. After the war he was promoted to Air Chief Marshal on the 27th of August 1992, become Deputy Commander-in-Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe in August 1993, retiring from the service in October 1996. In retirement Air Chief Marshal Stear continued as President of the 208 Squadron Association, serving from 1993 until 2004, and was President of the Royal Air Forces Association from 1998 until 2002. In 1997 he was made a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and served from 1998 to 2003 as the Royal Air Force Commissioner for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. On the 26th of May 2000 he was appointed the Deputy Lieutenant for Devon, representing Her Majesty the Queen. Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael James Douglas Stear KCB, CBE, MA, QCVSA, DL passed away on the 5th of January 2020.
More about Air Chief Marshal M. J. D. Stear KCB, CBE, MA DL can be found on the London Gazette, Devonlive, rafa.org.uk, www.naval8-208-association.com, telegraph.co.uk, rafweb.org, ukwhoswho.com.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael Stear was the Deputy Commander in Chief, Allied Forces, Central Europe. Serving in the Middle East, United States, Germany, and the UK. He was a pioneer of jet age bombing techniques, flying Hunters, Phantoms, Harriers, and Nimrods over the course of his career, as well as the Puma and Wessex, and is noted as landing the RAF’s last operational Hunter on its retirement.
Born on the 11th of October 1938, Michael James Douglas Stear was educated at Monkton Combe School in Bath, before doing his National Service. He then attended Cambridge University and was enrolled in the Cambridge University Air Squadron RAFVR before being commissioned on the 10th of May 1961 as an Acting Pilot Officer. He was given a permanent commission in the Royal Air Force on the 13th of November 1962 with 1 Squadron, Flying Hawker Hunters. Further promotion to Flying Officer came in April 1963 and Flight Lieutenant on the 1st of January 1964, when he joined 208 Squadron. During the late 1960s he accepted a posting to the US, training McDonnell Douglas Phantom F4 pilots for the Vietnam War and reached Squadron Leader on the 1st of January 1970. In the 1970s he commanded 17 Squadron then 56 Squadron. Following promotion to Group Captain in July 1979 he spent the early 1980s in command of RAF Gutersloh in West Germany and became the Commander of the Harrier Force Germany, before being appointed Air Commodore of Plans, Strike Command, with promotion to full Air Commodore coming on the 1st of January 1983. On December the 12th 1983 he was also made a Commander of the Military Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. In July 1985 he was made Air Vice Marshal, assuming command of 11 Fighter Group, and then Air Marshal in October 1989. Two months later he was appointed a Knight Commander of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath. Whilst in various command roles he continued flying in a non combat role, giving Blackburn Buccaneers a supporting part in the 1991 Gulf War. After the war he was promoted to Air Chief Marshal on the 27th of August 1992, become Deputy Commander-in-Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe in August 1993, retiring from the service in October 1996. In retirement Air Chief Marshal Stear continued as President of the 208 Squadron Association, serving from 1993 until 2004, and was President of the Royal Air Forces Association from 1998 until 2002. In 1997 he was made a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and served from 1998 to 2003 as the Royal Air Force Commissioner for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. On the 26th of May 2000 he was appointed the Deputy Lieutenant for Devon, representing Her Majesty the Queen. Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael James Douglas Stear KCB, CBE, MA, QCVSA, DL passed away on the 5th of January 2020.
More about Air Chief Marshal M. J. D. Stear KCB, CBE, MA DL can be found on the London Gazette, Devonlive, rafa.org.uk, www.naval8-208-association.com, telegraph.co.uk, rafweb.org, ukwhoswho.com.
Royal Air Force Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael Stear's V-Neck jersey.
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Royal Air Force Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael Stear's flying coveralls, showing squadron service history.
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Royal Air Force Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael Stear 17(F) Squadron disbandment program, 1999, and Westminster Abbey Battle of Britain thanksgiving program 2010.
Air Vice Marshal AO. MID. RAAF.
After joining the Royal Australian Air Force this officer was commissioned in 1968 and flew Huey combat mission over Vietnam, with No. 9 Squadron during the war, where he was Mentioned in Dispatches. When he returned to Australia, he changed to fast jets, flying the Sabre, Mirage and Hornet, steadily rising up the ranks to reach Air Commodore in the mid 1990s and eventually Air Vice Marshal. He was appointed the Commanding Officer of the Integrated Air Defence System, going on to command the Australian Theatre, and also held an advisory role in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. In 1988 he was made an Member of the Order of Australia and an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2000 just prior to retiring from active service in the early 2000s. He then transferred to the RAAF Reserve and held various military advisory positions during his retirement.
After joining the Royal Australian Air Force this officer was commissioned in 1968 and flew Huey combat mission over Vietnam, with No. 9 Squadron during the war, where he was Mentioned in Dispatches. When he returned to Australia, he changed to fast jets, flying the Sabre, Mirage and Hornet, steadily rising up the ranks to reach Air Commodore in the mid 1990s and eventually Air Vice Marshal. He was appointed the Commanding Officer of the Integrated Air Defence System, going on to command the Australian Theatre, and also held an advisory role in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. In 1988 he was made an Member of the Order of Australia and an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2000 just prior to retiring from active service in the early 2000s. He then transferred to the RAAF Reserve and held various military advisory positions during his retirement.
Royal Australian Air Force Air Vice Marshal's visor cap.
Air Vice Marshal CB CBE BSc ADC
This officer served in Northern Ireland and played an important role during the Falklands War, as well as during the 1st Gulf War. He was twice appointed an Aide-de Camp to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and retired an Air Vice Marshal.
The AVM joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve on the 9th of April 1967 as an Acting Pilot Officer, before receiving a permanent commission in the Royal Air Force in August 1968. Just six months later he was promoted to Flying Officer and in November of 1969 came Flight Lieutenant. In July 1976 he was promoted to Squadron Leader. He was Air Advisor to the SAS during the Falklands War, for which he was made a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, in October 1982. January 1984 saw promotion to Wing Commander. During the 1980s he was the Commanding Officer of No.18 Squadron, operating Chinook helicopters. In the New Years Honours list 1987 he became an Officer of the above said order. In 1991 he was Station Commander of RAF Aldergrove. He then participated on Operation Granby, during the 1st Gulf War, prior to becoming an Aide-de-Camp to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, from May 1991 until June 1993. In June 1991 he became a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, for his contribution to Operation Granby. Promotion to Air Commodore came at the start of 1994 with final promotion to Air Vice Marshal four years later, in July 1998. From October 1999 until September 2002 he was the Commander of Joint Helicopter Command. In the New Years Honours list of 2001, published on the 31st of December 2000 he was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath.
The Air Vice Marshal officially retired from active duty in January 2003. However, he continued to represent the service in retirement, as an Air Commodore of the RAFVR, until 2018, as well as Air Officer Northern Ireland. In September 2011 he was once again appointed an Aide-de-Camp, representing HM Queen and the RAF at official functions, including the Royal Air Force’s centenary.
More about the Air Vice Marshal can be found in the London Gazette, rafweb.org and gulabin.com
Maker: Contract made.
This officer served in Northern Ireland and played an important role during the Falklands War, as well as during the 1st Gulf War. He was twice appointed an Aide-de Camp to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and retired an Air Vice Marshal.
The AVM joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve on the 9th of April 1967 as an Acting Pilot Officer, before receiving a permanent commission in the Royal Air Force in August 1968. Just six months later he was promoted to Flying Officer and in November of 1969 came Flight Lieutenant. In July 1976 he was promoted to Squadron Leader. He was Air Advisor to the SAS during the Falklands War, for which he was made a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, in October 1982. January 1984 saw promotion to Wing Commander. During the 1980s he was the Commanding Officer of No.18 Squadron, operating Chinook helicopters. In the New Years Honours list 1987 he became an Officer of the above said order. In 1991 he was Station Commander of RAF Aldergrove. He then participated on Operation Granby, during the 1st Gulf War, prior to becoming an Aide-de-Camp to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, from May 1991 until June 1993. In June 1991 he became a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, for his contribution to Operation Granby. Promotion to Air Commodore came at the start of 1994 with final promotion to Air Vice Marshal four years later, in July 1998. From October 1999 until September 2002 he was the Commander of Joint Helicopter Command. In the New Years Honours list of 2001, published on the 31st of December 2000 he was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath.
The Air Vice Marshal officially retired from active duty in January 2003. However, he continued to represent the service in retirement, as an Air Commodore of the RAFVR, until 2018, as well as Air Officer Northern Ireland. In September 2011 he was once again appointed an Aide-de-Camp, representing HM Queen and the RAF at official functions, including the Royal Air Force’s centenary.
More about the Air Vice Marshal can be found in the London Gazette, rafweb.org and gulabin.com
Maker: Contract made.
Air Rank beret to an Air Vice Marshal who served on Operation Banner, during the Falklands War and Operation Granby.
Air Commodore Alexander Dickson OBE, QVRM, AE**, MPhil, FRSA
Air Commodore Alex Dickson was not only a highly respected journalist and Royal Air Force officer, but proved to be an inspirational, charismatic and caring leader, both in his day job and at the RAF. He built a hugely successful career in the media branch, culminating as the MD of Radio Clyde, whilst advising senior officers and politicians on press releases and at press conferences, as CO of 7644 Flight RAFVR. He was later appointed their first Honorary Air Commodore when it became a Squadron. A singular achievement, especially more so for a reservist officer. Through his dedicated service in the Royal Air Force he was posted to Europe, the US and Middle East.
Alex Dickson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on the 10th of December 1935. After studying he pursued a career in journalism, with the Daily Mail in the late 1950s, first as a journalist then as a feature writer. On the 31st of October 1958 he joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, with the rank of Pilot Officer. A step which would change his life. Learning to fly he went on to become a glider Instructor, (as reflected by the unique wings displayed on his tunic), with 661 Gliding School, Air Cadets Scotland, as well as 631 Volunteer Gliding Squadron. From around 1965 he left the newspaper for Scottish Television, reporting the news and presenting political programmes. On the 13th of July 1970 he was further promoted to Flying Officer. In 1973 he joined the new and independent Radio Clyde in Glasgow, as Head of News and Current Affairs. During this time his high standards and valuable skills in media were recognised by the air force who sent him to Cyprus in 1974, following the Turkish invasion. There he advised the command on terms of public relations and handling media statements on the ground. Following his return he was tasked with recruiting media expert volunteers into the RAFVR. On the 13th of July 1976 he was promoted to Flight Lieutenant. In Autumn 1980 he was sent to Germany for Exercise Spearpoint 80, a large US, British and German training exercise. In 1981, alongside three radio colleagues, he setup the Cash for Kids charity, generating millions for children around the Glasgow area and West. A charity close to his heart and which still provides support today. On the 13th of February 1984 he made Squadron Leader prior to taking part in Exercise Lionheart, the British army’s biggest military exercise in Germany, during September and October of that year, being based at RAF Wildenrath. He was promoted to Acting Wing Commander in November 1987 and in 1988 appointed Commanding Officer of No. 7644 Flight RAFVR. Aside from advising senior officers, he also produced instructional films and courses in media. On the 24th of May 1989 he was confirmed a Wing Commander and a month later on the 17th of June became a Member of the Order of the British Empire. In 1990 he was sent overseas again to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait during Operation Desert Storm, 1st Gulf War, awarded the Gulf Medal with Clasp. Back at Radio Clyde he became Head of programming whilst still continuing on air and offering training to less experienced colleagues. Most memorably was his thrice weekly and much loved book reviews, where he also interviewed authors and famous celebrities. He himself was a keen collector of signatures and amassed quite a collection, (including those shown in the RAFVR / RAuxAF brochures below). On the 17th of June 1995 he became an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. A year later, in 1996 he was appointed head of Radio Clyde and was responsible for kickstarting many a journalists’ career. In April 1997 the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve and Royal Auxiliary Air Force was amalgamated, marked by a luncheon which Dickson attended as commanding officer of the new No. 7644 (VR) Public Relations Squadron, RAuxAF. In radio he had also earned a small number of awards over the years, including the Lord Provost of Glasgow medal in 2000, before retiring as Clyde’s Managing Director, although his book reviews continued. On the 18th of June 2002 Group Captain Dickson was awarded The Queen’s Volunteer Reserves Medal (QVRM) for his outstanding contribution to the RAF reserves, as well as the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal 2002. He was also awarded the Air Efficiency Medal (AE) with two clasps (three times), the Volunteer Reserves Service Medal with Clasp (VRSM), and the Cadet Forces Medal, for long and dedicated service that was impressive and unique even for a regular officer, let alone a reservist. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts, a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and a Fellow of the Radio Academy. Upon retirement he was made the first Honorary Air Commodore of the 7644 (VR) Public Relations Squadron, RAuxAF, an appointment authorised by Queen Elizabeth II personally! Despite being retired he was far from bored and completed a Masters of Philosophy in Military history at Glasgow University. A well loved and respected figure in media and RAF circles, he passed away on the 10th of April 2018, at age 82.
More information about Air Commodore Alexander Dickson OBE, QVRM, AE**, MPhil, FRSA can be found on the London Gazette, www.rauxaf.org, www.heraldscotland.com, www.thetimes.co.uk, www.radiotoday.co.uk, www.raf-waddington.com, www.audioboom.com, www.glasgowlive.co.uk, and RAF Media Reserves | Facebook.
Air Commodore Alex Dickson was not only a highly respected journalist and Royal Air Force officer, but proved to be an inspirational, charismatic and caring leader, both in his day job and at the RAF. He built a hugely successful career in the media branch, culminating as the MD of Radio Clyde, whilst advising senior officers and politicians on press releases and at press conferences, as CO of 7644 Flight RAFVR. He was later appointed their first Honorary Air Commodore when it became a Squadron. A singular achievement, especially more so for a reservist officer. Through his dedicated service in the Royal Air Force he was posted to Europe, the US and Middle East.
Alex Dickson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on the 10th of December 1935. After studying he pursued a career in journalism, with the Daily Mail in the late 1950s, first as a journalist then as a feature writer. On the 31st of October 1958 he joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, with the rank of Pilot Officer. A step which would change his life. Learning to fly he went on to become a glider Instructor, (as reflected by the unique wings displayed on his tunic), with 661 Gliding School, Air Cadets Scotland, as well as 631 Volunteer Gliding Squadron. From around 1965 he left the newspaper for Scottish Television, reporting the news and presenting political programmes. On the 13th of July 1970 he was further promoted to Flying Officer. In 1973 he joined the new and independent Radio Clyde in Glasgow, as Head of News and Current Affairs. During this time his high standards and valuable skills in media were recognised by the air force who sent him to Cyprus in 1974, following the Turkish invasion. There he advised the command on terms of public relations and handling media statements on the ground. Following his return he was tasked with recruiting media expert volunteers into the RAFVR. On the 13th of July 1976 he was promoted to Flight Lieutenant. In Autumn 1980 he was sent to Germany for Exercise Spearpoint 80, a large US, British and German training exercise. In 1981, alongside three radio colleagues, he setup the Cash for Kids charity, generating millions for children around the Glasgow area and West. A charity close to his heart and which still provides support today. On the 13th of February 1984 he made Squadron Leader prior to taking part in Exercise Lionheart, the British army’s biggest military exercise in Germany, during September and October of that year, being based at RAF Wildenrath. He was promoted to Acting Wing Commander in November 1987 and in 1988 appointed Commanding Officer of No. 7644 Flight RAFVR. Aside from advising senior officers, he also produced instructional films and courses in media. On the 24th of May 1989 he was confirmed a Wing Commander and a month later on the 17th of June became a Member of the Order of the British Empire. In 1990 he was sent overseas again to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait during Operation Desert Storm, 1st Gulf War, awarded the Gulf Medal with Clasp. Back at Radio Clyde he became Head of programming whilst still continuing on air and offering training to less experienced colleagues. Most memorably was his thrice weekly and much loved book reviews, where he also interviewed authors and famous celebrities. He himself was a keen collector of signatures and amassed quite a collection, (including those shown in the RAFVR / RAuxAF brochures below). On the 17th of June 1995 he became an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. A year later, in 1996 he was appointed head of Radio Clyde and was responsible for kickstarting many a journalists’ career. In April 1997 the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve and Royal Auxiliary Air Force was amalgamated, marked by a luncheon which Dickson attended as commanding officer of the new No. 7644 (VR) Public Relations Squadron, RAuxAF. In radio he had also earned a small number of awards over the years, including the Lord Provost of Glasgow medal in 2000, before retiring as Clyde’s Managing Director, although his book reviews continued. On the 18th of June 2002 Group Captain Dickson was awarded The Queen’s Volunteer Reserves Medal (QVRM) for his outstanding contribution to the RAF reserves, as well as the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal 2002. He was also awarded the Air Efficiency Medal (AE) with two clasps (three times), the Volunteer Reserves Service Medal with Clasp (VRSM), and the Cadet Forces Medal, for long and dedicated service that was impressive and unique even for a regular officer, let alone a reservist. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts, a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and a Fellow of the Radio Academy. Upon retirement he was made the first Honorary Air Commodore of the 7644 (VR) Public Relations Squadron, RAuxAF, an appointment authorised by Queen Elizabeth II personally! Despite being retired he was far from bored and completed a Masters of Philosophy in Military history at Glasgow University. A well loved and respected figure in media and RAF circles, he passed away on the 10th of April 2018, at age 82.
More information about Air Commodore Alexander Dickson OBE, QVRM, AE**, MPhil, FRSA can be found on the London Gazette, www.rauxaf.org, www.heraldscotland.com, www.thetimes.co.uk, www.radiotoday.co.uk, www.raf-waddington.com, www.audioboom.com, www.glasgowlive.co.uk, and RAF Media Reserves | Facebook.
Side hat and leather gloves belonging to Air Commodore Dickson with his RAFVR / RAuxAF amalgamation program, signed by MRAF Sir Michael Beetham, ACM Sir Michael Graydon (Chief of Air Staff), ACM John Allison (Air Member for Logistics), A/Cdre Hector Monro (Honorary Inspector General RAuxAF), A/Cdre Chris Davison (Controller Reserve Forces RAF), Earl Howe (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State), and Mrs Cracroft-Eley (Lord Lieutenant of Lincolnshire). As well as Victoria Cross recipients, Flight Lieutenant Bill Reid VC and Flight Lieutenant John Cruickshank VC.
Wing Commander Dickson cleaning his boots at King Abdulaziz Air Base, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, during the 1st Gulf War. He was one of the media advisors to the Commander of the UK detachment. Used with kind permission. From the Militaria Photograph Archive of Air Commodore Alexander Dickson (1935-2018). For more information, [email protected].
Copyright. All rights reserved.
Service dress tunic from Air Commodore Alexander Dickson OBE, QVRM, AE**, MPhil, FRSA. Note the glider pilot wings and medal ribbons.
Service dress visor cap from Wing Commander Alexander Dickson RAuxAF. Worn in Saudi Arabia and during the Gulf Wars, before his promotion to Air Commodore.
Air Commodore, Engineer Branch
This Air Commodore came from a family of Royal Air Force veterans. Whilst studying he served in the University Air Squaqdron and joined as a direct entrant upon graduation in 1983. He reached Air Rank in 2008, promoted Air Commodore.
More information about this Air Commodore can be found on the London Gazette.
This Air Commodore came from a family of Royal Air Force veterans. Whilst studying he served in the University Air Squaqdron and joined as a direct entrant upon graduation in 1983. He reached Air Rank in 2008, promoted Air Commodore.
More information about this Air Commodore can be found on the London Gazette.
Royal Navy
Admiral Sir Robert Henry Taunton Raikes KCB, CVO, DSO*, MID
Historical Importance
Admiral Sir Robert Henry Taunton Raikes was a decorated First World War submarine officer, winning the Distinguished Service order twice. who held senior commands during the interwar period and Second World War, rising to become Commander in Chief, South Atlantic.
Biography coming soon!
More about Admiral Sir Robert Henry Taunton Raikes can be found in the London Gazette, npg.org.uk, www.unithistories.com, Royal Navy Lists, and ukwhoswho.com.
Makers: Gillott & Hasell.
Tag: Second World War Admiral's tunic. (Raikes).
Historical Importance
Admiral Sir Robert Henry Taunton Raikes was a decorated First World War submarine officer, winning the Distinguished Service order twice. who held senior commands during the interwar period and Second World War, rising to become Commander in Chief, South Atlantic.
Biography coming soon!
More about Admiral Sir Robert Henry Taunton Raikes can be found in the London Gazette, npg.org.uk, www.unithistories.com, Royal Navy Lists, and ukwhoswho.com.
Makers: Gillott & Hasell.
Tag: Second World War Admiral's tunic. (Raikes).
Admiral Sir Robert Henry Taunton Raikes KCB, CVO, DSO*, MID wartime tunic, ranked to Vice Admiral.
Medal ribbons from Admiral Sir Robert Henry Taunton Raikes KCB, CVO, DSO*, MID. L to R: KCB, CVO, DSO (and bar), 1914-15 Star, WW1 British War Medal and WW1 Victory Medal. 1911 Coronation Medal, 1937 Coronation Medal and French Legion d'Honneur (Chevalier).
Admiral Sir William Frederic Wake-Walker KCB, CBE.
Historical Importance
Admiral Sir William Frederic Wake-Walker played a key role in World War Two, through actions which arguably changed the course of the war! He was responsible for the armada of small ships that helped rescue the BEF at Dunkirk, during Operation Dynamo, then led the hunt against the German battleship Bismarck, leading to its ultimate destruction and ending its threat to merchant shipping in the Atlantic, thus saving Britain’s lifeline. A historically important Royal Navy Officer indeed.
William Frederic Wake-Walker was born on the 24th of March 1888 in Hertfordshire, to a naval background. His grandfather was Admiral Sir William Baldwin Wake-Walker KCB. After schooling he joined the Royal Navy as a Cadet at HMS Britannia, in January 1903, and over a year later was promoted to Midshipman in May 1904, aboard the cruiser HMS Good Hope. Prior to the First World War he served on various ships, including HMS Illustrious, HMS Invincible and HMS Warrior. Promotion to Sub Lieutenant was confirmed on the 9th of April 1908 and then Lieutenant three months later. He specialised as a Torpedo Officer and during the First World War was aboard the cruiser HMS Cochrane. The 15th of July 1916 saw promotion to Lieutenant Commander. He then served aboard the Revenge Class battleship HMS Ramillies where his actions as Torpedo Officer made him an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, London Gazette dated the 17th of July 1919. Promotion to Commander followed on the 1st of June 1920 and Captain on the 31st of December 1927. During the interwar years he took command of several ships, including the Light cruiser HMS Dragon on her visit to the US West Coast in July 1933, on the America West India station, as well as several staff posts. Just prior to the start of World War Two he was promoted to Flag Rank on the 11th of January 1939, with Rear Admiral, and command of the 12th Cruiser Squadron, Northern Patrol, before overseeing magnetic mine counter measures. Between May and June 1940 he became Flag Officer afloat, during Operation Dynamo, where he oversaw the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force and remnants of the French army, on the armada of a thousand small ships and craft, which would contribute to saving over 330,000 men, a vital contribution to the course of the war and an action for which he was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath, on the 7th of June 1940. Then followed a posting as Commander of the 1st Minelaying Squadron before assuming command of K Force, Malta. Over a year later he was on the hunt for the German Battleship Bismark, sighting her and pursuing her to the bitter end, whilst aboard HMS Norfolk, which saw the Bismark sunk. on the 27th of May 1941. This resulted in Wake-Walker being made an Ordinary Commander of the Military Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, on the 14th of October 1941. In April 1942 came promotion to Vice Admiral, prior to becoming a Commissioner for the Office of High Admiral of the United Kingdom, from May 1942 until August 1944, as well as Third Sea Lord Controller of the Royal Navy, responsible for developing landing craft vital to the later success of D Day, the invasion of Western Europe. On the 1st of January 1943 he was made was appointed a Knight Commander of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath. He finally reached the pinnacle of his illustrious career on the 8th of May 1945, which also happened to be VE Day (the end of the war in Europe), with promotion to full Admiral. On the 24th of September 1945 he was appointed Commander in Chief Mediterranean, but sadly passed away at his home in London that evening. Admiral Sir William Frederic Wake-Walker KCB, CBE was only 57 years old.
More about Admiral W. F. Wake-Walker can be found in the London Gazette, www.iwm.org.uk, npg.org.uk, www.unithistories.com, www.nytimes.com, www.cwgc.org, Royal Navy Lists, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, and ukwhoswho.com.
Makers: Unknown.
Tag: Second World War Admiral's caps and uniforms. (Wake-Walker).
Historical Importance
Admiral Sir William Frederic Wake-Walker played a key role in World War Two, through actions which arguably changed the course of the war! He was responsible for the armada of small ships that helped rescue the BEF at Dunkirk, during Operation Dynamo, then led the hunt against the German battleship Bismarck, leading to its ultimate destruction and ending its threat to merchant shipping in the Atlantic, thus saving Britain’s lifeline. A historically important Royal Navy Officer indeed.
William Frederic Wake-Walker was born on the 24th of March 1888 in Hertfordshire, to a naval background. His grandfather was Admiral Sir William Baldwin Wake-Walker KCB. After schooling he joined the Royal Navy as a Cadet at HMS Britannia, in January 1903, and over a year later was promoted to Midshipman in May 1904, aboard the cruiser HMS Good Hope. Prior to the First World War he served on various ships, including HMS Illustrious, HMS Invincible and HMS Warrior. Promotion to Sub Lieutenant was confirmed on the 9th of April 1908 and then Lieutenant three months later. He specialised as a Torpedo Officer and during the First World War was aboard the cruiser HMS Cochrane. The 15th of July 1916 saw promotion to Lieutenant Commander. He then served aboard the Revenge Class battleship HMS Ramillies where his actions as Torpedo Officer made him an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, London Gazette dated the 17th of July 1919. Promotion to Commander followed on the 1st of June 1920 and Captain on the 31st of December 1927. During the interwar years he took command of several ships, including the Light cruiser HMS Dragon on her visit to the US West Coast in July 1933, on the America West India station, as well as several staff posts. Just prior to the start of World War Two he was promoted to Flag Rank on the 11th of January 1939, with Rear Admiral, and command of the 12th Cruiser Squadron, Northern Patrol, before overseeing magnetic mine counter measures. Between May and June 1940 he became Flag Officer afloat, during Operation Dynamo, where he oversaw the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force and remnants of the French army, on the armada of a thousand small ships and craft, which would contribute to saving over 330,000 men, a vital contribution to the course of the war and an action for which he was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath, on the 7th of June 1940. Then followed a posting as Commander of the 1st Minelaying Squadron before assuming command of K Force, Malta. Over a year later he was on the hunt for the German Battleship Bismark, sighting her and pursuing her to the bitter end, whilst aboard HMS Norfolk, which saw the Bismark sunk. on the 27th of May 1941. This resulted in Wake-Walker being made an Ordinary Commander of the Military Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, on the 14th of October 1941. In April 1942 came promotion to Vice Admiral, prior to becoming a Commissioner for the Office of High Admiral of the United Kingdom, from May 1942 until August 1944, as well as Third Sea Lord Controller of the Royal Navy, responsible for developing landing craft vital to the later success of D Day, the invasion of Western Europe. On the 1st of January 1943 he was made was appointed a Knight Commander of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath. He finally reached the pinnacle of his illustrious career on the 8th of May 1945, which also happened to be VE Day (the end of the war in Europe), with promotion to full Admiral. On the 24th of September 1945 he was appointed Commander in Chief Mediterranean, but sadly passed away at his home in London that evening. Admiral Sir William Frederic Wake-Walker KCB, CBE was only 57 years old.
More about Admiral W. F. Wake-Walker can be found in the London Gazette, www.iwm.org.uk, npg.org.uk, www.unithistories.com, www.nytimes.com, www.cwgc.org, Royal Navy Lists, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, and ukwhoswho.com.
Makers: Unknown.
Tag: Second World War Admiral's caps and uniforms. (Wake-Walker).
Captain's cap from Frederic Wake-Walker, promoted to Rear Admiral in 1939.
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Summer tunic from Admiral Sir William Frederic Wake-Walker KCB, CBE, dating to the interwar period.
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1933 Captain W. F. Wake-Walker signature and rare 1922 Pat. Royal Navy "White cap" with horsehair top.
Second World War Royal Navy Flag Officer's visor peaked cap.
Sir William Frederic Wake-Walker. www.npg.org.uk
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Sir William Frederic Wake-Walker
by Walter Stoneman bromide print, October 1942 7 5/8 in. x 5 1/2 in. (194 mm x 141 mm) Commissioned, 1942 Photographs Collection NPG x65626 |
Admiral Sir Martin Eric Dunbar-Nasmith VC, KCB, KCMG, DL
Historical Importance
Admiral Sir Martin Eric Dunbar-Nasmith was Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom and a First World War submarine ace who was awarded the prestigious Victoria Cross for his action in the Dardanelles. In the interwar period he was an Aide-de-Camp to HM King George V and during the Second Word War was Commander in Chief Plymouth and Flag Officer for London.
Full biography coming soon. On an interesting side note, the Admiral's prewar Bicorne and Frock coat, together with this trunk (initialled M. E. D-N.) are on display at the Historic Dock Portsmouth.
More about Admiral Dubar-Nasmith VC can be found in the London Gazette, www.iwm.org.uk, npg.org.uk, victoriacrossonline.co.uk, www.vcgca.org, and ukwhoswho.com,
Maker: Gieves Ltd.
Tag: Second World War Admiral's cap. Victoria Cross Winner. (Dunbar-Nasmith).
Historical Importance
Admiral Sir Martin Eric Dunbar-Nasmith was Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom and a First World War submarine ace who was awarded the prestigious Victoria Cross for his action in the Dardanelles. In the interwar period he was an Aide-de-Camp to HM King George V and during the Second Word War was Commander in Chief Plymouth and Flag Officer for London.
Full biography coming soon. On an interesting side note, the Admiral's prewar Bicorne and Frock coat, together with this trunk (initialled M. E. D-N.) are on display at the Historic Dock Portsmouth.
More about Admiral Dubar-Nasmith VC can be found in the London Gazette, www.iwm.org.uk, npg.org.uk, victoriacrossonline.co.uk, www.vcgca.org, and ukwhoswho.com,
Maker: Gieves Ltd.
Tag: Second World War Admiral's cap. Victoria Cross Winner. (Dunbar-Nasmith).
Royal Navy Flag Officer's peak cap from Victoria Cross recipient Admiral Sir M. E. Dunbar-Nasmith VC, KCB, KCMG, DL
Sir Martin Eric Dunbar-Nasmith. www.npg.org.uk
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Sir Martin Eric Dunbar-Nasmith
by Walter Stoneman bromide print, October 1942 7 5/8 in. x 5 1/2 in. (194 mm x 139 mm) Commissioned, 1942 Photographs Collection NPG x164468 |
The blue ribbon Victoria Cross was worn by Royal Navy recipients until 1918, thenceforth all recipients wore the crimson ribbon. The Victoria Cross is Britain's highest award for bravery (along side the George Cross). Awarded for ultimate acts of bravery in the face of the enemy.
Engineer Rear-Admiral Hubert Beackley CBE, MVO
Hubert Bleackley was born in Shrewsbury Shropshire on the 18th of June 1886. He joined the Royal Navy from a Cadet on the 1st of July 1907 and was promoted to Engineer Lieutenant on October the 1st 1909. During the First World War he served in the North Sea and Pacific, whilst attached to H.M.A.S Australia, from July 1914 until December 1916. After returning to the Royal Navy he was promoted to Engineer Lieutenant Commander in October 1917. During the interwar years he was promoted to Engineer Commander in July 1923 and then Engineer Captain in June of 1934. During the Second World War he was promoted to Engineer Rear-Admiral in June 1940. Hubert Bleackly was made a Member of the Victorian Order 4th Class in 1922, whilst serving aboard HMS Renown, and was made an additional Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in January 1942. After reaching the second highest rank for a Royal Navy Engineer, Rear-Admiral Hubert Beackley passed away at the relatively young age of 64, on the 19th of June 1950.
More about Admiral Bleackley can be found in the London Gazette, npg.org.uk, www.sl.nsw.gov.au and www.familysearch.org.
Maker: Gieves Ltd.
Tag: Second World War Admiral's cap. (Bleackley).
Hubert Bleackley was born in Shrewsbury Shropshire on the 18th of June 1886. He joined the Royal Navy from a Cadet on the 1st of July 1907 and was promoted to Engineer Lieutenant on October the 1st 1909. During the First World War he served in the North Sea and Pacific, whilst attached to H.M.A.S Australia, from July 1914 until December 1916. After returning to the Royal Navy he was promoted to Engineer Lieutenant Commander in October 1917. During the interwar years he was promoted to Engineer Commander in July 1923 and then Engineer Captain in June of 1934. During the Second World War he was promoted to Engineer Rear-Admiral in June 1940. Hubert Bleackly was made a Member of the Victorian Order 4th Class in 1922, whilst serving aboard HMS Renown, and was made an additional Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in January 1942. After reaching the second highest rank for a Royal Navy Engineer, Rear-Admiral Hubert Beackley passed away at the relatively young age of 64, on the 19th of June 1950.
More about Admiral Bleackley can be found in the London Gazette, npg.org.uk, www.sl.nsw.gov.au and www.familysearch.org.
Maker: Gieves Ltd.
Tag: Second World War Admiral's cap. (Bleackley).
World War II British Admiral's hat. Engineer Rear-Admiral Hubert Beackley
Engineer Rear-Admiral Hubert Beackley. www.npg.org.uk
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Hubert Bleackley
by Walter Stoneman bromide print, April 1945 5 3/8 in. x 3 1/2 in. (135 mm x 90 mm) Commissioned, 1945 Photographs Collection NPG x165312 |
Surgeon Vice-Admiral Sir (Eric) Dick Caldwell KBE, CB, CStJ, QHP, MD, FRCP, FRCP
Surgeon Vice-Admiral E. D. Caldwell held the post of Director General of the Royal Navy Medical Service and was an Honorary Physician (QHP) to HM Queen Elizabeth II. Surgeon Vice-Admiral was the highest rank obtainable for the RN Medical Service.
Eric Dick Caldwell was born in South Africa on the 6th of July 1907 into a Scottish family. He studied medicine at Edinburgh University before gaining experience in his father’s practise and hospital. On the 20th of September 1934 he joined the Royal Navy, and was commissioned as a Surgeon Lieutenant. He was posted aboard the heavy cruiser HMS Norfolk before a period at the Royal Marine Infirmary. In February 1939 he was aboard the stone frigate, HMS St Angelo, in Malta before transferring again to the heavy cruiser HMS Dorsetshire around August. By October 1939 he had been posted to the battleship HMS Royal Oak when she was torpedoed at the Royal Navy anchorage at Scapa Flow, with the loss of 833 men. By December he was at the shore training establishment HMS Raleigh in Cornwall, where he remained for 1940. With promotion to Lieutenant Commander coming on the 26th of September 1940. By April 1941 had been posted to HMS Prince of Wales, and was present when His Majesty King George VI visited. Caldwell was also onboard during the hunt for the German battleship Bismarck, witnessing the tragic fate of HMS Hood in May 1941. In August Caldwell had the honour of treating the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, during his Atlantic crossing for the signing of the Atlantic Charter with the USA. He remained with Prince of Wales when she transferred to the Far East and was deep in action, witnessing HMS Repulse’s sinking from Japanese aircraft on the 10th of December 1941. Prince of Wales was to share the same fate, with Surgeon Lt. Cdr Caldwell being one of the lucky survivors rescued from shark infested waters. As a ship’s doctor on a homeward bound liner he was fortunate to be returned to the United Kingdom and escape the fall of Singapore. In February 1942 he found himself on convoy escort duty aboard the aircraft carrier HMS Furious. In August he spent a period at the Royal Naval Hospital Haslar, until around April 1943 when he was posted to the shore frigate HMS Pyramus in Kirkwall, the Orkneys, just off the north-eastern tip of Scotland. He was then posted to Liverpool and the shore establishment HMS Eaglet in around August. In October 1944 his commission in the royal Navy was made permanent. By April 1945 Caldwell was back serving in Malta at HMS Angelo, before transferring to the nearby HMS Eurochydon, in the Fort Verdala, around July time. He was now a Surgeon Commander.
In 1946 Caldwell took a course at the Royal Navy Hospital Haslar before accepting a three year posting to Hong Kong. In 1950 he returned to the UK and again the south coast, at the shore establishment HMS Ganges, when he earned his Doctor of Medicine. He remained at Ganges until 1952 when he was stationed at the Britannia Royal Naval College at Dartmouth. In July 1955 he was made a Serving Brother of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem. He once again returned to Royal Navy Hospital Haslar from 1956 until late 1958. With further promoted to Surgeon Captain in 1957. He then joined the Admiral’s Staff in Malta. In 1961 he returned to England and the Admiralty Medical Board. On the 24th of October 1963 he made Flag Rank, with promotion to Surgeon Rear Admiral, and given the command of the Royal Navy Hospital Portsmouth. From the 30th of that month until the 14th of July 1969 he also served as Honorary Physician to HM Queen. In June 1965 he was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath and in August a Commander of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem. His final posting was as Medical Director General of the Royal Navy, a post he held upon promotion to Vice Admiral, on the 24th of October 1966 until retirement. In Her Majesty’s New Year’s Honours list of 1969 Vice Admiral Caldwell was made a Knight Commander of the Military Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. After an eventful naval career, spanning thirty five years, Surgeon Vice-Admiral Sir Dick Caldwell KBE, CB, CStJ, QHP, MD, FRCP, FRCP retired from the senior service, on the 11th of August 1969. In retirement he served on the Medical Council on Alcoholism, were he wrote several papers on the subject and during his career was a member of various prestigious medical associations. At the age of 93 years old he passed away on the 11th of July 2000.
More about Admiral Caldwell can be found in the Navy lists, London Gazette, ukwhoswho.com, www.iwm.org.uk, www.history.rcplondon.ac.uk, www.academic.oup.com, and www.npg.org.uk
Maker: Gieves Ltd.
Tag: Early Post World War Two Admiral's cap. (Caldwell).
Surgeon Vice-Admiral E. D. Caldwell held the post of Director General of the Royal Navy Medical Service and was an Honorary Physician (QHP) to HM Queen Elizabeth II. Surgeon Vice-Admiral was the highest rank obtainable for the RN Medical Service.
Eric Dick Caldwell was born in South Africa on the 6th of July 1907 into a Scottish family. He studied medicine at Edinburgh University before gaining experience in his father’s practise and hospital. On the 20th of September 1934 he joined the Royal Navy, and was commissioned as a Surgeon Lieutenant. He was posted aboard the heavy cruiser HMS Norfolk before a period at the Royal Marine Infirmary. In February 1939 he was aboard the stone frigate, HMS St Angelo, in Malta before transferring again to the heavy cruiser HMS Dorsetshire around August. By October 1939 he had been posted to the battleship HMS Royal Oak when she was torpedoed at the Royal Navy anchorage at Scapa Flow, with the loss of 833 men. By December he was at the shore training establishment HMS Raleigh in Cornwall, where he remained for 1940. With promotion to Lieutenant Commander coming on the 26th of September 1940. By April 1941 had been posted to HMS Prince of Wales, and was present when His Majesty King George VI visited. Caldwell was also onboard during the hunt for the German battleship Bismarck, witnessing the tragic fate of HMS Hood in May 1941. In August Caldwell had the honour of treating the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, during his Atlantic crossing for the signing of the Atlantic Charter with the USA. He remained with Prince of Wales when she transferred to the Far East and was deep in action, witnessing HMS Repulse’s sinking from Japanese aircraft on the 10th of December 1941. Prince of Wales was to share the same fate, with Surgeon Lt. Cdr Caldwell being one of the lucky survivors rescued from shark infested waters. As a ship’s doctor on a homeward bound liner he was fortunate to be returned to the United Kingdom and escape the fall of Singapore. In February 1942 he found himself on convoy escort duty aboard the aircraft carrier HMS Furious. In August he spent a period at the Royal Naval Hospital Haslar, until around April 1943 when he was posted to the shore frigate HMS Pyramus in Kirkwall, the Orkneys, just off the north-eastern tip of Scotland. He was then posted to Liverpool and the shore establishment HMS Eaglet in around August. In October 1944 his commission in the royal Navy was made permanent. By April 1945 Caldwell was back serving in Malta at HMS Angelo, before transferring to the nearby HMS Eurochydon, in the Fort Verdala, around July time. He was now a Surgeon Commander.
In 1946 Caldwell took a course at the Royal Navy Hospital Haslar before accepting a three year posting to Hong Kong. In 1950 he returned to the UK and again the south coast, at the shore establishment HMS Ganges, when he earned his Doctor of Medicine. He remained at Ganges until 1952 when he was stationed at the Britannia Royal Naval College at Dartmouth. In July 1955 he was made a Serving Brother of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem. He once again returned to Royal Navy Hospital Haslar from 1956 until late 1958. With further promoted to Surgeon Captain in 1957. He then joined the Admiral’s Staff in Malta. In 1961 he returned to England and the Admiralty Medical Board. On the 24th of October 1963 he made Flag Rank, with promotion to Surgeon Rear Admiral, and given the command of the Royal Navy Hospital Portsmouth. From the 30th of that month until the 14th of July 1969 he also served as Honorary Physician to HM Queen. In June 1965 he was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath and in August a Commander of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem. His final posting was as Medical Director General of the Royal Navy, a post he held upon promotion to Vice Admiral, on the 24th of October 1966 until retirement. In Her Majesty’s New Year’s Honours list of 1969 Vice Admiral Caldwell was made a Knight Commander of the Military Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. After an eventful naval career, spanning thirty five years, Surgeon Vice-Admiral Sir Dick Caldwell KBE, CB, CStJ, QHP, MD, FRCP, FRCP retired from the senior service, on the 11th of August 1969. In retirement he served on the Medical Council on Alcoholism, were he wrote several papers on the subject and during his career was a member of various prestigious medical associations. At the age of 93 years old he passed away on the 11th of July 2000.
More about Admiral Caldwell can be found in the Navy lists, London Gazette, ukwhoswho.com, www.iwm.org.uk, www.history.rcplondon.ac.uk, www.academic.oup.com, and www.npg.org.uk
Maker: Gieves Ltd.
Tag: Early Post World War Two Admiral's cap. (Caldwell).
Surgeon Vice-Admiral Sir (Eric) Dick Caldwell KBE, CB, CStJ, QHP, MD, FRCP, FRCP peaked cap
Surgeon Vice-Admiral Sir (Eric) Dick Caldwell KBE, CB, CStJ, QHP, MD, FRCP, FRCP visor cap
Surgeon Vice-Admiral Sir Eric Dick Caldwell. www.npg.org.uk
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Sir Eric Dick Caldwell
by Hay Wrightson Ltd bromide print, circa 1960s Photographs Collection NPG x180713 |
Admiral Sir William Donough O'Brien, KCB, DSC, MiD.
Admiral Sir William O'Brien was a highly respected naval officer, of the old school, who became Commander in Chief of Western Fleet, in home waters, and previously C-in-C of Far East Station in Singapore. He was a close friend of HRH Prince Phillip, and served as a Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom. During WW2 he was on convoy duties and commanded a destroyer supporting the D Day Landings. A photogragh of O'Brien wearing the exhibited cap can be seen here.
Full biography coming soon.
More about Admiral O'Brien can be found in the Navy lists, London Gazette, www.fleetairarmoa.com, www.legasee.org.uk, www.independent.co.uk, www.nas.gov.sg, www.thetimes.com, www.iwm.org.uk, www.telegraph.co.uk, www.timesofmalta.com, www.naval-review.com, www.npg.org.uk, & ukwhoswho.com.
Maker: Tom Lee Tailor.
Tag: Post World War Two Admiral's cap. (O'Brien).
Admiral Sir William O'Brien was a highly respected naval officer, of the old school, who became Commander in Chief of Western Fleet, in home waters, and previously C-in-C of Far East Station in Singapore. He was a close friend of HRH Prince Phillip, and served as a Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom. During WW2 he was on convoy duties and commanded a destroyer supporting the D Day Landings. A photogragh of O'Brien wearing the exhibited cap can be seen here.
Full biography coming soon.
More about Admiral O'Brien can be found in the Navy lists, London Gazette, www.fleetairarmoa.com, www.legasee.org.uk, www.independent.co.uk, www.nas.gov.sg, www.thetimes.com, www.iwm.org.uk, www.telegraph.co.uk, www.timesofmalta.com, www.naval-review.com, www.npg.org.uk, & ukwhoswho.com.
Maker: Tom Lee Tailor.
Tag: Post World War Two Admiral's cap. (O'Brien).
Visor peaked cap belonging to Admiral Sir William O'Brien KCB, DSC.
Rear-Admiral George Hammond Evans CB.
Rear-Admiral G. H. Evans served as Deputy Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe prior to Naval Deputy of Allied Forces, Northern Europe. A sea going officer he was awarded the Royal Humane Society Bronze medal for his actions during a convoy attack and later commanded a destroyer during the Second World War. Postwar he held several sea commands and senior positions.
George Hammond Evans was born on the 15th of January 1917. Brought up in Sommerset, he was educated at Bristol Grammar School before joining the Royal Navy as a Midshipman at the age of eighteen, on the 1st of August 1935. Promotion to Sub Lieutenant came on the 28th of February 1938 and by the year’s end he was serving aboard the F - Class destroyer HMS Firedrake. On the 16th of January 1939 he was confirmed in his rank and had been transferred to HMS Isis, an I - Class destroyer. When Britain went to war he found himself on convoy and escort duties. Evans was promoted to Lieutenant on the 1st of June 1939, confirmed on the 28th of November of that year. The same month that HMS Isis captured the German merchant ship Leander. By April 1941 he was serving aboard HMS Cilicia an armed merchant cruiser. In June 1941 he had been further transferred to HMS Eridge, a Hunt Class type II destroyer, escorting convoys to Malta through the Mediterranean. It was during one such convoy, in March 1942, that Evans was awarded the Royal Humane Society Bronze medal for his actions rescuing survivors of the freighter SS Clan Campbell, following an enemy air attack twenty miles from Malta. Two other members of the crew were also awarded the bronze medal. In August of 1942 he changed to HMS Mackay, an Admiralty Class destroyer on the northern Russia convoy route. However, by November 1943 he had been transferred to HMS Copra. He was then given his first command, the Hunt class escort destroyer, HMS Eggesford in January 1944, stationed in the Mediterranean, Gibraltar, Malta, and Aden, until February 1946. Promotion to Acting Lieutenant Commander came in July 1945. In 1946 he attended and passed RN Staff College before taking up a staff position at HMS President in the heart of London. His rank was confirmed on the 1st of June 1947. In September 1948 Lt.Cdr Evans briefly took command of HMS Nepal, an ex HMAS N - Class destroyer, before her decommissioning. In June 1951 he was promoted to Commander, then followed a posting to the Far East Station on the Joint Intelligence Staff, during the Korean War. He was subsequently awarded the United Nations Service Medal Korea. In 1952 Cdr Evans returned to the UK and served at the Royal Navy Barracks Chatham, as Commander of Training. However in 1954 he took command of the beautiful lined Sloop, HMS Modeste, which participated in Operation Musketeer, during the Suez Crisis and Aden in late 1956 and for which he was most likely awarded the Naval General Service Medal (1915). In 1957 he attended the Joint Services Staff College, prior to promotion to Captain on the 30th of June 1957 and appointment as Commanding Officer of the Royal Navy training establishment for commissioned officers, HMS Temeraire in Scotland. In 1958 he was posted to Ceylon as the Senior British Naval Officer. From June 1960 Evans was Deputy Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff, Organisation & Training, (SHAPE) Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, NATO based in Paris. From October 1962 he spent the next two years as Director of Naval Recruiting, until August 1964, before assuming the post of Captain, Royal Navy Dockyard Rosyth, from October that year until May 1966. Evans was promoted to Flag Rank Rear-Admiral in 1966 upon being appointed Naval Deputy of Allied Forces Northern Europe, NATO. On the 8th of August 1968 he was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath and a year later retired on the 2nd September 1969, after 34 years service. In retirement he settled back to Somerset and worked for the Department of the Environment. Rear-Admiral C. H. Evans CB passed away on the 5th November 1980, aged 63 years old.
More about Admiral Evans can be found in the Navy lists, London Gazette, www.unithistories.com, www.npg.org.uk, www.gulabin.com, & ukwhoswho.com. Naval ships: uboat.net
Maker: Gieves Ltd.
Rear-Admiral G. H. Evans served as Deputy Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe prior to Naval Deputy of Allied Forces, Northern Europe. A sea going officer he was awarded the Royal Humane Society Bronze medal for his actions during a convoy attack and later commanded a destroyer during the Second World War. Postwar he held several sea commands and senior positions.
George Hammond Evans was born on the 15th of January 1917. Brought up in Sommerset, he was educated at Bristol Grammar School before joining the Royal Navy as a Midshipman at the age of eighteen, on the 1st of August 1935. Promotion to Sub Lieutenant came on the 28th of February 1938 and by the year’s end he was serving aboard the F - Class destroyer HMS Firedrake. On the 16th of January 1939 he was confirmed in his rank and had been transferred to HMS Isis, an I - Class destroyer. When Britain went to war he found himself on convoy and escort duties. Evans was promoted to Lieutenant on the 1st of June 1939, confirmed on the 28th of November of that year. The same month that HMS Isis captured the German merchant ship Leander. By April 1941 he was serving aboard HMS Cilicia an armed merchant cruiser. In June 1941 he had been further transferred to HMS Eridge, a Hunt Class type II destroyer, escorting convoys to Malta through the Mediterranean. It was during one such convoy, in March 1942, that Evans was awarded the Royal Humane Society Bronze medal for his actions rescuing survivors of the freighter SS Clan Campbell, following an enemy air attack twenty miles from Malta. Two other members of the crew were also awarded the bronze medal. In August of 1942 he changed to HMS Mackay, an Admiralty Class destroyer on the northern Russia convoy route. However, by November 1943 he had been transferred to HMS Copra. He was then given his first command, the Hunt class escort destroyer, HMS Eggesford in January 1944, stationed in the Mediterranean, Gibraltar, Malta, and Aden, until February 1946. Promotion to Acting Lieutenant Commander came in July 1945. In 1946 he attended and passed RN Staff College before taking up a staff position at HMS President in the heart of London. His rank was confirmed on the 1st of June 1947. In September 1948 Lt.Cdr Evans briefly took command of HMS Nepal, an ex HMAS N - Class destroyer, before her decommissioning. In June 1951 he was promoted to Commander, then followed a posting to the Far East Station on the Joint Intelligence Staff, during the Korean War. He was subsequently awarded the United Nations Service Medal Korea. In 1952 Cdr Evans returned to the UK and served at the Royal Navy Barracks Chatham, as Commander of Training. However in 1954 he took command of the beautiful lined Sloop, HMS Modeste, which participated in Operation Musketeer, during the Suez Crisis and Aden in late 1956 and for which he was most likely awarded the Naval General Service Medal (1915). In 1957 he attended the Joint Services Staff College, prior to promotion to Captain on the 30th of June 1957 and appointment as Commanding Officer of the Royal Navy training establishment for commissioned officers, HMS Temeraire in Scotland. In 1958 he was posted to Ceylon as the Senior British Naval Officer. From June 1960 Evans was Deputy Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff, Organisation & Training, (SHAPE) Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, NATO based in Paris. From October 1962 he spent the next two years as Director of Naval Recruiting, until August 1964, before assuming the post of Captain, Royal Navy Dockyard Rosyth, from October that year until May 1966. Evans was promoted to Flag Rank Rear-Admiral in 1966 upon being appointed Naval Deputy of Allied Forces Northern Europe, NATO. On the 8th of August 1968 he was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath and a year later retired on the 2nd September 1969, after 34 years service. In retirement he settled back to Somerset and worked for the Department of the Environment. Rear-Admiral C. H. Evans CB passed away on the 5th November 1980, aged 63 years old.
More about Admiral Evans can be found in the Navy lists, London Gazette, www.unithistories.com, www.npg.org.uk, www.gulabin.com, & ukwhoswho.com. Naval ships: uboat.net
Maker: Gieves Ltd.
Rear-Admiral George Hammond Evans CB visor cap
Rear-Admiral George Evans. www.npg.org.uk
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George Hammond Evans
by Walter Bird bromide print, 6 October 1966 8 in. x 6 1/8 in. (203 mm x 154 mm) image size Commissioned, 1966 Photographs Collection NPG x167441 |
Vice Admiral Sir Iwan Geoffrey Raikes KCB, CBE, DSC, DL
Vice Admiral Sir Iwan Geoffrey Raikes was a decorated submarine commander during the Second World War, with clandestine operations and earning the Distinguished Service Cross and held senior command postwar as Commander in Chief Far East, Naval Secretary and Flag Officer Submarines.
Biography coming soon!
This tunic belonged to the son of Admiral R. H. Raikes KCB, CVO, DSO and bar.
Makers: Unknown.
Tag: Coldwar Vice Admiral's tunic. (Iwan Raikes).
Vice Admiral Sir Iwan Geoffrey Raikes was a decorated submarine commander during the Second World War, with clandestine operations and earning the Distinguished Service Cross and held senior command postwar as Commander in Chief Far East, Naval Secretary and Flag Officer Submarines.
Biography coming soon!
This tunic belonged to the son of Admiral R. H. Raikes KCB, CVO, DSO and bar.
Makers: Unknown.
Tag: Coldwar Vice Admiral's tunic. (Iwan Raikes).
Vice Admiral Sir Iwan Geoffrey Raikes KCB, CBE, DSC, DL tunic, ranked to Vice Admiral.
Vice Admiral Sir Iwan Geoffrey Raikes press photo (pictured middle) and signature, commemorating the submarine service in 2001, along with the signatures of 5 other important Royal Navy admirals.
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Vice Admiral Sir Iwan Geoffrey Raikes KCB, CBE, DSC, DL medal ribbons, showing L to R: Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Distinguished Service Cross, 1939-1945 Star, Atlantic, Africa Star (with North Africa 1942–43 Clasp), 1939-1945 War Medal, and General Service Medal 1962.
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Rear-Admiral Frank Wright Hearn CB ADC.
Rear Admiral F. W. Hearn CB served during the Second World War and became an Aide de Camp to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. He specialised in supply and administration, rising up to the branch’s most senior rank and position, that of Chief Naval Supply & Secretariat Officer, during the second half of the 1970s. Starting his naval career at sea he then progressed to more senior shore bases posts. Without the skills and dedication of such officers the Senior Service would not function.
Frank Wright Hearn was born on the 1st of October 1919 and educated at Abbotsholme
school. He joined the Royal Navy at the age of eighteen in 1937, serving aboard the Admiral Class Battlecruiser HMS Hood. No doubt a daunting first posting. On the 1st of January 1938 he was promoted to Paymaster Midshipman and by August 1939 had been transferred to HMS Caledon, a C- Class Light Cruiser. Promotion to Paymaster Sub Lieutenant came on the 1st of September 1939 and subsequent promotion to Paymaster Lieutenant on the 1st of May 1941. By December 1941 he found himself aboard HMS Buccaneer a Fleet Tug before being posted to the far east and HMS Lanka, a shore establishment in Ceylon, through April 1942. By August 1943 he had returned to the UK and was at HMS Victory, a shore base in Portsmouth. In December 1943 was posted to Aden in the middle east at the shore establishment HMS Sheba, where he served as Secretary to the Naval Officer in Charge, until July 1945. From 1951 until 1953 he was attached to the Staff of the Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet. Then from February 1954 was posted to HMS Dolphin in Gosport, where he served a term as Secretary to the Flag Officer Submarines, until December 1955. On the 31st of December 1954 he was also promoted to Commander (S). He was then posted to the United States until 1958 when he joined HMS Tiger, a Tiger Class Cruiser and Flagship of the Mediterranean Fleet, as Secretary to the Directory of Naval Intelligence, until 1960. In 1962 he was on the Western Fleet as the senior Supply Officer. In 1964 he became the Chief Staff Officer (Administration) to the Flag Officer Submarines until 1969 when he attended the Imperial Defence College. Then followed promotion to Flag rank with Captain (Commodore), upon taking command of HMS Centurion, a drafting depot shore establishment. In January 1973 he became an Aide de Camp to HM Queen until July 1973, and a position at the Ministry of Defence in London, as Assistant Chief of Personnel and Logistics. 1st of January 1974 saw Hearn promoted to Rear Admiral and appointed Chief Naval Supply and Secretariat Officer (CNSSO) in February of that year, serving until January 1977. In the New Years Honours list of 1977, published on the 31st of December 1976 he was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath. He retired from active service three months later, on the 30th of March 1977, after forty years of service. Settling in Hampshire, he passed away on the 13th of February 1993, aged 73 years old.
More about Admiral Hearn can be found in the Navy lists, London Gazette, www.unithistories.com, and & ukwhoswho.co
Maker: Gieves Ltd.
Rear Admiral F. W. Hearn CB served during the Second World War and became an Aide de Camp to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. He specialised in supply and administration, rising up to the branch’s most senior rank and position, that of Chief Naval Supply & Secretariat Officer, during the second half of the 1970s. Starting his naval career at sea he then progressed to more senior shore bases posts. Without the skills and dedication of such officers the Senior Service would not function.
Frank Wright Hearn was born on the 1st of October 1919 and educated at Abbotsholme
school. He joined the Royal Navy at the age of eighteen in 1937, serving aboard the Admiral Class Battlecruiser HMS Hood. No doubt a daunting first posting. On the 1st of January 1938 he was promoted to Paymaster Midshipman and by August 1939 had been transferred to HMS Caledon, a C- Class Light Cruiser. Promotion to Paymaster Sub Lieutenant came on the 1st of September 1939 and subsequent promotion to Paymaster Lieutenant on the 1st of May 1941. By December 1941 he found himself aboard HMS Buccaneer a Fleet Tug before being posted to the far east and HMS Lanka, a shore establishment in Ceylon, through April 1942. By August 1943 he had returned to the UK and was at HMS Victory, a shore base in Portsmouth. In December 1943 was posted to Aden in the middle east at the shore establishment HMS Sheba, where he served as Secretary to the Naval Officer in Charge, until July 1945. From 1951 until 1953 he was attached to the Staff of the Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet. Then from February 1954 was posted to HMS Dolphin in Gosport, where he served a term as Secretary to the Flag Officer Submarines, until December 1955. On the 31st of December 1954 he was also promoted to Commander (S). He was then posted to the United States until 1958 when he joined HMS Tiger, a Tiger Class Cruiser and Flagship of the Mediterranean Fleet, as Secretary to the Directory of Naval Intelligence, until 1960. In 1962 he was on the Western Fleet as the senior Supply Officer. In 1964 he became the Chief Staff Officer (Administration) to the Flag Officer Submarines until 1969 when he attended the Imperial Defence College. Then followed promotion to Flag rank with Captain (Commodore), upon taking command of HMS Centurion, a drafting depot shore establishment. In January 1973 he became an Aide de Camp to HM Queen until July 1973, and a position at the Ministry of Defence in London, as Assistant Chief of Personnel and Logistics. 1st of January 1974 saw Hearn promoted to Rear Admiral and appointed Chief Naval Supply and Secretariat Officer (CNSSO) in February of that year, serving until January 1977. In the New Years Honours list of 1977, published on the 31st of December 1976 he was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath. He retired from active service three months later, on the 30th of March 1977, after forty years of service. Settling in Hampshire, he passed away on the 13th of February 1993, aged 73 years old.
More about Admiral Hearn can be found in the Navy lists, London Gazette, www.unithistories.com, and & ukwhoswho.co
Maker: Gieves Ltd.
Rear-Admiral Frank Wright Hearn CB ADC visor cap
Rear Admiral Philip Reginald Marrack CB, CEng, FIMechE, FIMarEST
Engineer Rear-Admiral P. R. Marrack was Chief Staff Officer to Flag Officer Submarines before serving as Director of Naval Ship Production during the 1970s. He served at sea during the Second World War and continued postwar aboard various ships, with a connection to the submarine service.
Philip Reginald Marrack was born on the 16th of November 1922 into a naval family. His father was Paymaster Captain Philip Marrack, a World War I veteran. Marrack was educated at Eltham College, Mottingham, east London, before following in his father’s footsteps. He was commissioned Midshipman (E) on the first of September 1940 three months shy of his 18th birthday, serving in HMS Cochraine II, a shore based supply establishment at Rosyth in Scotland, past June 1941. On the 1st of August that year he was confirmed a Sub-Lieutenant (E) and then Lieutenant (E) on the 16th of January 1943. By August he found himself serving aboard the destroyer HMS Vigilant, based at Scapa Flow, on anti-submarine exercises and convoy escort duty. In 1944 he was transferred to the prewar period aircraft carrier HMS Argus, used for training and accommodation. By April 1946 he had been transferred again to HMS Orion, a Light Cruiser, that was involved in the initial Corfu Channel incident. For his service in the war he was awarded the Atlantic Star and Italy Star. He then attended the Royal Naval College, Greenwich before serving as engineering officer on HMS Token as well as HMS Templar, T-Class submarines, during the late 1940s. The 16th of January 1951 saw promotion to Lieutenant Commander (E) and then Commander by the end of June 1956. During that time Marrack served aboard carriers HMS Hermes and HMS Glory. For his postwar service he was awarded the Naval General Service Medal (1915). On the 13th of July 1965 he was made Captain (E) and was posted to the Ministry of Defence, before assuming command of the Admiralty Reactor Test Establishment in Scotland in 1967. The ARTE was a nuclear propulsion testing site for submarines. In 1970 he became Chief Staff Officer to the Flag Officer Submarines at HMS Dolphin, as well as Assistant Director (Nuclear) of the Dockyard Department. Marrack reached flag rank on the 7th of July 1974 with promotion to Rear-Admiral and appointment as Director of Naval Ship Production. In 1977 he became the Director of Dockyard Production and Supply. Prior to retirement Marrack became a Companion of the Order of the Bath on the 16th of June 1979. Retirement came on the 4th of April 1981. At the ripe old age of 92 Engineer, Rear-Admiral Philip Marrack passed away, on the 29th of May 2014.
More about Admiral Marrack can be found in the London Gazette, Royal Naval List, ukwhoswho.com, and The Navy News. Naval ships: uboat.net
Maker: Unknown.
Engineer Rear-Admiral P. R. Marrack was Chief Staff Officer to Flag Officer Submarines before serving as Director of Naval Ship Production during the 1970s. He served at sea during the Second World War and continued postwar aboard various ships, with a connection to the submarine service.
Philip Reginald Marrack was born on the 16th of November 1922 into a naval family. His father was Paymaster Captain Philip Marrack, a World War I veteran. Marrack was educated at Eltham College, Mottingham, east London, before following in his father’s footsteps. He was commissioned Midshipman (E) on the first of September 1940 three months shy of his 18th birthday, serving in HMS Cochraine II, a shore based supply establishment at Rosyth in Scotland, past June 1941. On the 1st of August that year he was confirmed a Sub-Lieutenant (E) and then Lieutenant (E) on the 16th of January 1943. By August he found himself serving aboard the destroyer HMS Vigilant, based at Scapa Flow, on anti-submarine exercises and convoy escort duty. In 1944 he was transferred to the prewar period aircraft carrier HMS Argus, used for training and accommodation. By April 1946 he had been transferred again to HMS Orion, a Light Cruiser, that was involved in the initial Corfu Channel incident. For his service in the war he was awarded the Atlantic Star and Italy Star. He then attended the Royal Naval College, Greenwich before serving as engineering officer on HMS Token as well as HMS Templar, T-Class submarines, during the late 1940s. The 16th of January 1951 saw promotion to Lieutenant Commander (E) and then Commander by the end of June 1956. During that time Marrack served aboard carriers HMS Hermes and HMS Glory. For his postwar service he was awarded the Naval General Service Medal (1915). On the 13th of July 1965 he was made Captain (E) and was posted to the Ministry of Defence, before assuming command of the Admiralty Reactor Test Establishment in Scotland in 1967. The ARTE was a nuclear propulsion testing site for submarines. In 1970 he became Chief Staff Officer to the Flag Officer Submarines at HMS Dolphin, as well as Assistant Director (Nuclear) of the Dockyard Department. Marrack reached flag rank on the 7th of July 1974 with promotion to Rear-Admiral and appointment as Director of Naval Ship Production. In 1977 he became the Director of Dockyard Production and Supply. Prior to retirement Marrack became a Companion of the Order of the Bath on the 16th of June 1979. Retirement came on the 4th of April 1981. At the ripe old age of 92 Engineer, Rear-Admiral Philip Marrack passed away, on the 29th of May 2014.
More about Admiral Marrack can be found in the London Gazette, Royal Naval List, ukwhoswho.com, and The Navy News. Naval ships: uboat.net
Maker: Unknown.
Rear Admiral Philip Reginald Marrack CB, CEng, FIMechE, FIMarEST visor cap
Rear-Admiral Derek James Anthony MBE.
Rear Admiral D. J. Anthony held the senior position of Flag Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland, as well as the posts of Deputy Flag Officer Submarines, Naval Attaché to Washington D.C. and Great Britain’s senior representative to NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic. Spending a large chunk of his career at sea.
Derek James Anthony was born on the 2nd of November 1947. He was educated at Eastbourne College before attending the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, in 1966. On the 1st of July 1970 he was confirmed a Sub Lieutenant, in the silent service, going on to serve aboard a variety of submarines with promotion to Lieutenant coming in the mid 1970s. He was promoted to Lieutenant Commander on the 1st of August 1979, before assuming command of the Oberon class submarine, HMS Onslaught in 1981. He then served a tour with the US Navy before promotion to Commander on the 31st of December 1984. Then followed a period of staff training at the Joint Service Defence College. In 1986 he was given command of the Valiant class nuclear submarine HMS Warspite. From 1988 until 1990 he served as Commanding Officer of the “Persisher”, or officially the Submarine Command Course, in charge of preparing new submarine commanders. Then in 1991 he took command of the type 22 frigate HMS Cumberland, with promotion to Captain coming on the 30th of June 1991. He was then appointed Director of Naval Service Conditions, a post he held from 1993 to 1996. He then spent the next year at Staff College, in Camberley, on the Higher Command and Staff Course. Resulting in promotion to Flag Rank with Commodore, and appointment as Chief of Staff, Flag Officer Submarines, until May 1997. Commodore Anthony was then offered a three year posting to the US and Washington DC,as Naval Attaché, at the British Embassy, and Britain’s senior officer to NATO’s supreme commander. When in July 2000 he formally accepted Britain’s purchase of the US Navy's Tactical Control System, used for unmanned vehicles and missiles. In August 2000 Anthony returned to the UK to accept the senior position of Flag Officer, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and was promoted to Rear Admiral. Incidentally, it was during this period that the nuclear submarine HMS Trafalgar, ran aground during a training exercise, in November 2002, due to instructor and trainee error, no doubt causing Admiral Anthony a few unnecessary headaches. After over thirty-five years he retired from the service, on the 12th of August 2003. In retirement he was active with various Royal Navy and maritime associations and charities. At the age of 71 Rear Admiral Derek James Anthony MBE passed away, on the 19th of March 2019.
More about Admiral Anthony can be found in the Navy lists, London Gazette, ukwhoswho.com, www.gulabin.com, www.navair.navy.mil, www.bbc.com, and www.theintelligencer.com
Maker: Gieves & Hawkes Ltd.
Rear Admiral D. J. Anthony held the senior position of Flag Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland, as well as the posts of Deputy Flag Officer Submarines, Naval Attaché to Washington D.C. and Great Britain’s senior representative to NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic. Spending a large chunk of his career at sea.
Derek James Anthony was born on the 2nd of November 1947. He was educated at Eastbourne College before attending the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, in 1966. On the 1st of July 1970 he was confirmed a Sub Lieutenant, in the silent service, going on to serve aboard a variety of submarines with promotion to Lieutenant coming in the mid 1970s. He was promoted to Lieutenant Commander on the 1st of August 1979, before assuming command of the Oberon class submarine, HMS Onslaught in 1981. He then served a tour with the US Navy before promotion to Commander on the 31st of December 1984. Then followed a period of staff training at the Joint Service Defence College. In 1986 he was given command of the Valiant class nuclear submarine HMS Warspite. From 1988 until 1990 he served as Commanding Officer of the “Persisher”, or officially the Submarine Command Course, in charge of preparing new submarine commanders. Then in 1991 he took command of the type 22 frigate HMS Cumberland, with promotion to Captain coming on the 30th of June 1991. He was then appointed Director of Naval Service Conditions, a post he held from 1993 to 1996. He then spent the next year at Staff College, in Camberley, on the Higher Command and Staff Course. Resulting in promotion to Flag Rank with Commodore, and appointment as Chief of Staff, Flag Officer Submarines, until May 1997. Commodore Anthony was then offered a three year posting to the US and Washington DC,as Naval Attaché, at the British Embassy, and Britain’s senior officer to NATO’s supreme commander. When in July 2000 he formally accepted Britain’s purchase of the US Navy's Tactical Control System, used for unmanned vehicles and missiles. In August 2000 Anthony returned to the UK to accept the senior position of Flag Officer, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and was promoted to Rear Admiral. Incidentally, it was during this period that the nuclear submarine HMS Trafalgar, ran aground during a training exercise, in November 2002, due to instructor and trainee error, no doubt causing Admiral Anthony a few unnecessary headaches. After over thirty-five years he retired from the service, on the 12th of August 2003. In retirement he was active with various Royal Navy and maritime associations and charities. At the age of 71 Rear Admiral Derek James Anthony MBE passed away, on the 19th of March 2019.
More about Admiral Anthony can be found in the Navy lists, London Gazette, ukwhoswho.com, www.gulabin.com, www.navair.navy.mil, www.bbc.com, and www.theintelligencer.com
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Rear-Admiral Derek James Anthony MBE visor cap
Rear-Admiral Derek James Anthony MBE. Copyright 2024.
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Rear-Admiral Derek James Anthony MBE.
by Olivier Dorrell Digital Media, 2024 Unofficial contemporary portrait. 11.7 in. x 8.3 in. (297 mm x 210 mm). Copyright, the artist 2024. Contact the museum to use this image. |
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