60-720: Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir John Grandy , GCB , GCVO , KBE , DSO (8 February 1913 – 2 January 2004) was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force . He was the only officer who fought and commanded a squadron during the Battle of Britain to reach the post of Chief of the Air Staff . In the latter role he implemented the final stages of the RAF's withdrawal from
120-738: A climate of significantly reduced military expenditure. The battle was kickstarted by the resignation in December 1918 of William Weir the President of the Air Council (the governing body of the Royal Air Force), who wished to return to his commercial activities. This led the Prime Minister, Lloyd George , to create a Secretary of State for Air , but not as a Cabinet position, and on 9 January 1919 offered Winston Churchill
180-581: A five-star rank) on an air force blue background. The rank insignia and flag exists in some other air forces for equivalent ranks. The rank title differs slightly, often being a variation on marshal of the air force , usually with the name of the relevant air force in place of the words 'Royal Air Force'. A notable example of this practice is the rank of marshal of the Royal Australian Air Force . Unlike other MRAFs who only relinquished their appointments, Sir Peter Harding resigned from
240-606: A month later to command No. 249 Squadron flying Hurricanes from RAF Church Fenton during the Battle of Britain . His squadron shot down more German aircraft than any other squadron during the Battle of Britain, one of his pilots winning the Victoria Cross . Gandy himself was shot down and hospitalised in September 1940. In December 1940 he joined the Air Staff at Headquarters RAF Fighter Command and then transferred to
300-525: A pilot officer on a probationary basis on 11 September 1931. After completing flying training, he was posted as a pilot to No. 54 Squadron flying Bulldogs from RAF Hornchurch in August 1932. He was confirmed in the rank of pilot officer on 11 September 1932 and promoted to flying officer on 11 June 1933. He became Adjutant of No. 604 (County of Middlesex) Squadron at RAF Hendon in April 1935 and attended
360-746: A result, Lloyd George , the British Prime Minister, established a committee composed of himself and General Jan Smuts , which was tasked with investigating the problems with the British air defences and organizational difficulties which had beset the Air Board. Towards the end of the First World War, on 17 August 1917, General Smuts presented a report to the War Council on the future of air power. Because of its potential for
420-646: A squadron during the Battle of Britain to reach the post of Chief of the Air Staff. As Chief of the Air Staff he implemented the final stages of the RAF's withdrawal from the Persian Gulf and the Far East , oversaw the ordering and subsequent cancellation of the F-111 strike aircraft and handed over Britain's nuclear deterrent role to the Royal Navy . He retired on 31 March 1971 and was promoted to Marshal of
480-518: Is the highest rank in the Royal Air Force (RAF). In peacetime it was granted to RAF officers in the appointment of Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), and to retired Chiefs of the Air Staff (CAS), who were promoted to it on their last day of service. While surviving Marshals of the RAF retain the rank for life, the highest rank to which officers on active service are promoted is now air chief marshal . Although general promotions to Marshal of
540-527: The Army 's Royal Flying Corps and the Navy 's Royal Naval Air Service had led to serious problems, not only in the procurement of aircraft engines, but also in the air defence of Great Britain. It was the supply problems to which an attempt at rectification was first made. The War Committee meeting on 15 February 1916 decided immediately to establish a standing joint naval and military committee to co-ordinate both
600-608: The Ministry of Aviation (1959–67) and finally the Ministry of Technology (1967–70). In the 1920s and early 1930s research and development was more than 20% of the Air Ministry’s total expenditure on aircraft and equipment, making it the largest research and development spending institution in Britain, until it was outstripped by private industry in the later 1930s. The Air Ministry was responsible for weather forecasting over
660-539: The Persian Gulf and the Far East , oversaw the ordering and subsequent cancellation of the F-111 strike aircraft and handed over Britain's nuclear deterrent role to the Royal Navy . The son of Francis Grandy and his wife, Nell Grandy (née Lines), Grandy was educated at Northwood Preparatory School and the University College School in London , and was commissioned into the Royal Air Force as
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#1732775476419720-542: The Royal Navy or a field marshal in the British Army . The rank was instituted in 1919 and the first officer to be promoted to MRAF was Sir Hugh Trenchard in 1927. Since that time, including Trenchard, there have been 27 men who have held the rank. Of those, 22 have been professional RAF officers and five have been senior members of the British Royal Family . King George V did not formally hold
780-507: The Royal Navy to losing their own air service and subsequent lobbying that personnel for naval air purposes afloat be naval officers and ratings – this would have led to a recreation of the now disbanded Royal Naval Air Service . This negotiation led to the creation of RAF Coastal Area the predecessor of RAF Coastal Command to deal with its relationship with the Navy. Throughout 1919 there were discussions between Sir Hugh Trenchard Chief of
840-645: The St Edward's Crown representing royal authority. Prior to 1953, the Tudor Crown (sometimes called the King's Crown) was used. The command flag of a marshal of the Royal Air Force has a broad red horizontal band in the centre with a thinner red band on each side of it. The vehicle star plate for a marshal of the Royal Air Force depicts five white stars (marshal of the Royal Air Force is equivalent to
900-558: The 'devastation of enemy lands and the destruction of industrial and populous centres on a vast scale', he recommended a new air service be formed that would be on a level with the Army and Royal Navy . The new air service was to receive direction from a new ministry and on 29 November 1917 the Air Force Bill received Royal Assent and the Air Ministry was formed just over a month later on 2 January 1918. Lord Rothermere
960-723: The Air Committee had to be ratified by the Admiralty Board and the Imperial General Staff and, in consequence, the Committee was not particularly effective. The increasing separation of army and naval aviation from 1912 to 1914 only exacerbated the Air Committee's ineffectiveness and the Committee did not meet after the outbreak of the First World War . By 1916 the lack of co-ordination of
1020-546: The Air Ministry. He was interested in developing air links to the Empire and Dominion countries, particularly India and South Africa. He negotiated a subsidy from the Treasury for Imperial Airways to start a service from Cairo to India. Hoare, with his wife Lady Maud, flew on the inaugural 13-day flight to Delhi, leaving Croydon on 26 December 1926 and arriving on 8 January 1927. The air route to Cape Town, after much negotiation,
1080-649: The Air Staff and Sir Rosslyn Wemyss First Sea Lord as to the nature of the relationship between the Air Force and Air Ministry and the Navy and the Admiralty. In 1919 the Air Ministry formally took control of supply, design and inspection of all aircraft (aeroplanes and airships) from the Ministry of Munitions. This helped put the existence of Air Ministry on a firmer footing. Throughout 1919 Churchill persistently supported an independent air force. He presented
1140-847: The Air Staff in the Operations Directorate at Headquarters Fighter Command in May 1952 and went on to be Commandant of the Central Fighter Establishment in December 1954. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 1956 Birthday Honours and promoted to air commodore on 1 January 1956. He attended Imperial Defence College in early 1957 and then became Commander of Operation Grapple (the Hydrogen Bomb testing programme) in September 1957. He
1200-486: The Air Staff were Lord Douglas of Kirtleside and Sir Arthur Harris . Both held high command during the Second World War . Harris was Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Bomber Command and Douglas was Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Fighter Command , Middle East Command and Coastal Command . Prior to the creation of the RAF's officer rank titles in 1919, it was proposed that by analogy with field marshal ,
1260-572: The Army authorities were ready and willing to provide information and take part in meetings, the Navy were often absent from Board meetings and frequently refused to provide information on naval aviation. In January 1917 the Prime Minister David Lloyd George replaced the chairman Lord Curzon with Lord Cowdray . Godfrey Paine , who served in the newly created post of Fifth Sea Lord and Director of Naval Aviation, sat on
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#17327754764191320-466: The Committee, stating that "It appears to me quite impossible to bring the two wings closer together ... unless and until the whole system of the Air Service is changed and they are amalgamated into one service." The Joint War Air Committee was composed as follows: Advisory Members were also appointed as required. The next attempt to establish effective co-ordination between the two air services
1380-509: The I.T.P. contract papers for a Wolseley radial aero engine, which would have required re-orientation of their offices with an army of chartered accountants, he decided to deal only with the War Office and the Admiralty, not the Air Ministry. So the aero engine project was abandoned in 1936, see Airspeed . Nevil Shute Norway wrote that the loss of such a technically advanced engine was a great loss to Britain as well as Airspeed, and blamed
1440-703: The Instructors' Course at the Central Flying School in January 1936. He was promoted to flight lieutenant on 11 June 1936 and was posted to the University of London Air Squadron as Adjutant in January 1937. Grandy served in the Second World War , initially as Squadron Commander at No. 13 Flying Training School. In April 1940 he was given command of No. 219 Squadron flying Blenheims from RAF Catterick on night patrol duties and then went on
1500-533: The Order of the British Empire in the 1961 Birthday Honours and confirmed in the rank of air marshal on 1 January 1962. On return to the United Kingdom, he was appointed Commander-in-Chief Bomber Command on 1 September 1963 and, having been advanced to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the 1964 Birthday Honours , he went on to become Commander-in-Chief, Far East Command during
1560-614: The RAF in 1994. Consequently, his name was removed from the Air Force List, but it was later reinstated. Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force , that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State for Air . On 13 April 1912, less than two weeks after
1620-546: The Royal Air Force on 1 April 1971. Grandy served as Governor of Gibraltar from 3 October 1973 to 30 May 1978 and then as Constable and Governor of Windsor Castle from 11 August 1978 to 9 February 1988. He was appointed a Knight of the Venerable Order of Saint John on 31 January 1974 and a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order in the 1988 New Year Honours . He was also Chairman of
1680-548: The Royal Air Force have been discontinued since the British defence cuts of the 1990s, further promotions to the rank may still be made in wartime, for members of the Royal Family and certain very senior RAF air officers in peacetime at the discretion of the monarch; all such promotions in peacetime are only honorary, however. In 2012, the then Prince of Wales was promoted to the rank in recognition of his support for his mother, Queen Elizabeth II , in her capacity as head of
1740-601: The Staff at No. 52 Operational Training Unit. He was promoted to wing commander on a temporary basis on 1 March 1941 and in November 1941 he was sent to RAF Duxford where he was given command of flying operations. In February 1942, he was given overall command of RAF Duxford and he oversaw the establishment there of the RAF's first Typhoon Wing . He was promoted to wing commander on a war substantive basis on 12 August 1942 and mentioned in despatches on 1 January 1943. Grandy
1800-726: The Trustees of the Imperial War Museum . He died, following a stroke , at Wexham Park Hospital in Slough on 2 January 2004. In 1937 he married Cecile Rankin (daughter of Sir Robert Rankin ); they had two sons. His interests included golf and his membership of the Royal Yacht Squadron . ^ Ben Bathurst Marshal of the Royal Air Force Marshal of the Royal Air Force ( MRAF )
1860-595: The UK, from 1919 it being the government department responsible for the Meteorological Office . As a result of the need for weather information for aviation, the Meteorological Office located many of its observation and data collection points on RAF stations . In the 1930s, the Air Ministry commissioned a scientific study of propagating electromagnetic energy which concluded that a death ray
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1920-685: The Universities. The Air Ministry was also responsible for civil aviation. Early on Hoare set up the Civil Air Transport Subsidies Committee under the Chairmanship of Sir Hubert Hambling to look at the system of subsidies to competing air lines. They reported in February 1923, favouring a single commercial company to run Britain's air routes. In March 1924 Imperial Airways was created from a merger of
1980-571: The White Paper, largely written by Sir Hugh Trenchard , on the future of the RAF on 12 December 1919. It was this White Paper that was to be the effective charter for the RAF and Air Ministry in subsequent years. In February 1921 Lloyd George appointed Churchill to the Colonial Office and appointed his Chief Whip, Frederick Guest as Secretary of State for Air on 1 April. During his eighteen months in office he played "a minor part in
2040-402: The armed forces (commander-in-chief), while in 2014 Lord Stirrup , who had served as Chief of the Air Staff and Chief of the Defence Staff for over seven years, was also promoted. Marshal of the Royal Air Force is a five-star rank and unlike the air marshal ranks, can properly be considered a marshal rank. MRAF has a NATO ranking code of OF-10, equivalent to an admiral of the fleet in
2100-520: The board and this high level representation from the Navy helped to improve matters. Additionally, as responsibility for the design of aircraft had been moved out of single service hands and given to the Ministry of Munitions , some of the problems of inter-service competition were avoided. The Air Board initially met in the Hotel Cecil on the Strand , familiarly known as the "Hotel Bolo". This
2160-605: The creation of the Royal Flying Corps (which initially consisted of both a naval and a military wing), an Air Committee was established to act as an intermediary between the Admiralty and the War Office in matters relating to aviation. The new Air Committee was composed of representatives of the two war ministries, and although it could make recommendations, it lacked executive authority. The recommendations of
2220-509: The design and the supply of materiel for the two air services. This committee was titled the Joint War Air Committee, and its chairman was Lord Derby . It was also at the meeting on 15 February that Lord Curzon proposed the creation of an Air Ministry. As with the pre-war Air Committee, the Joint War Air Committee lacked any executive powers and therefore was not effective. After only eight sittings, Lord Derby resigned from
2280-579: The desperate struggle to maintain the air force's institutional independence in the face of hostile attacks from the War Office and the Admiralty". More importantly in the long term he was also responsible for the appointment of Sir Sefton Brancker to develop civil aviation. With the fall of Lloyd George Sir Samuel Hoare became the Secretary of State for Air in October 1922 under Bonar Law . On Law's death Stanley Baldwin became Prime Minister and gave
2340-400: The fleet and is worn on both the lower sleeves of the tunic or on the shoulders of the flying suit or the service working dress uniform. Marshals of the Royal Air Force wear shoulder boards with their service dress at ceremonial events. These shoulder boards show the air officer 's eagle surrounded by a wreath, two crossed marshal 's batons and, since the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II ,
2400-522: The four largest airlines. The third aspect of Hoare's time at the Air Ministry (after the R.A.F. and civil airlines) was to make public opinion sympathetic to air power and air travel. His much publicised flight to India in 1926-7 was part of this. He also realised the importance of the Schneider Trophy and was instrumental in making sure that the R.A.F was involved. Britain's winning entries in 1927, 1929 and 1931 were flown by R.A.F. pilots and
2460-422: The highest rank title should be air marshal . It was later decided to use the rank of air marshal as an equivalent rank to lieutenant general and "marshal of the air" was put forward as the highest RAF rank. This new rank title was opposed by the then Chief of the Imperial General Staff , Sir Henry Wilson , who considered that the title was "ridiculous". However, the Chief of the Air Staff , Sir Hugh Trenchard
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2520-439: The idea of a university air officer training corps, a sort of Territorial Army for the R.A.F. Hoare and particularly his well connected Parliamentary Private Secretary the academic Sir Geoffrey Butler, then created University Air Squadrons , at Cambridge University then at Oxford University in October 1925, without, however the militarism of the Officer Training Corps and in close collaboration with scientific and engineering work of
2580-423: The latter stages of the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation on 28 May 1965. He was promoted to air chief marshal on 1 April 1965. Advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in the 1967 New Year Honours and appointed an honorary Commander of the Malaysian Order of the Defender of the Realm , Grandy became Chief of the Air Staff on 1 April that year. He was the only officer who fought and commanded
2640-429: The new title was deemed more appropriate. It has also been reported that King George V was not happy with the title of marshal of the air, feeling it might imply attributes which should properly be reserved for God . The rank insignia consists of four narrow light blue bands (each on a slightly wider black band) above a light blue band on a broad black band. This insignia is derived from the sleeve lace of an admiral of
2700-419: The over-cautious high civil servants of the Air Ministry. When he had asked Lord Nuffield to retain the engine, Nuffield said: I tell you, Norway ... I sent that I.T.P. thing back to them, and I told them they could put it where the monkey put the nuts! In later years the actual production of aircraft was the responsibility of the Ministry of Aircraft Production (1940–46), the Ministry of Supply (1946–59),
2760-428: The position Cabinet status in May 1923, and Hoare remained in the post until January 1924, when a Labour government took power. Lord Thomson was made Secretary of State for Air. A supporter of airships, Thomson was responsible for the Imperial Airship Scheme , which involved the construction of R101 at the Royal Airship Works at Cardington. After the fall of the MacDonald government in November 1924 Hoare returned to
2820-412: The rank of marshal of the RAF; rather he assumed the title of Chief of the Royal Air Force. In this capacity from time to time he wore RAF uniform with the rank insignia of a marshal of the RAF. He first publicly wore such uniform in 1935, the year before his death. Excluding monarchs and other members of the Royal Family, the only two RAF officers ever to have held the rank without serving as Chief of
2880-477: The teams partially subsidised by the Air Ministry. The Air Ministry issued specifications for aircraft that British aircraft companies would supply prototypes to. These were then assessed, if ordered the Ministry assigned the aircraft name. (see List of Air Ministry specifications ). The ordering procedure used I.T.P. (Intention to Proceed) contract papers; these specified a maximum fixed price, which could (after investigation) be less. But when Lord Nuffield got
2940-433: The two posts of Secretary of State for War , which was a Cabinet position, and Secretary of State for Air both of which he accepted. This combination under one person by was criticised in both the press and Parliament. However, Churchill re-iterated that the continued "integrity, the unity, the independence of the Royal Air Force will be sedulously and carefully maintained". During 1919 it was also decided that civil aviation
3000-512: Was a humorous reference to Bolo Pasha (shot for treason in 1918 by the French government) whose attempts to undermine the French war effort with German-funded newspaper propaganda were likened to the unhelpful rivalry between the RFC and the RNAS. Despite attempts at reorganization of the Air Board, the earlier problems failed to be completely resolved. In addition, the growing number of German air raids against Great Britain led to public disquiet and increasing demands for something to be done. As
3060-511: Was appointed the first Air Minister . On 3 January, the Air Council was constituted as follows: The Air Ministry continued to meet in the Hotel Cecil on the Strand. Later, in 1919, it moved to Adastral House on Kingsway . The creation of the Air Ministry resulted in the disestablishment of the Army Council 's post of Director-General of Military Aeronautics. In 1919 the RAF and the Air Ministry came under immense political and inter service pressure for their very existence, particularly in
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#17327754764193120-404: Was awarded the Distinguished Service Order on 19 October 1945. After the war Grandy became Deputy Director of Operational Training at the Air Ministry from 1946 and became Air Attaché in Brussels in January 1949. He was promoted to group captain on a substantive basis on 1 January 1950, before becoming Officer Commanding the Northern Sector of Fighter Command in November 1950. He joined
3180-412: Was finalised in 1929, before he left office, but only commenced in 1932. His time at the Air Ministry was marked by several important developments that were to confirm the status of the Royal Air Force as a separate entity, play a part in the growth of civil aviation and to develop the awareness of the public about aviation. An early priority for Sir Hugh Trenchard , Chief of the Air Staff 1919–1930,
3240-456: Was given command of No. 210 Group RAF defending the Port of Tripoli in February 1943 and then went to Egypt to command No. 73 Operational Training Unit at RAF Abu Suwayr in September 1943. Having been promoted to the temporary rank of group captain on 1 July 1944, he became Officer Commanding No. 341 Wing fighting the Japanese in the Far East in February 1945. He became Senior Air Staff Officer at Headquarters No. 232 Group in September 1945 and
3300-416: Was impractical but detection of aircraft appeared feasible. Robert Watson-Watt demonstrated a working prototype and patented the device in 1935 (British Patent GB593017). The device served as the base for the Chain Home network of radars to defend Great Britain. By April 1944, the ministry's air Intelligence branch had succeeded in its intelligence efforts regarding " the beams , the Bruneval Raid ,
3360-416: Was promoted to acting air vice marshal on 6 December 1957 and became Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Operations) in October 1958. He was confirmed in the rank of air vice marshal on 1 July 1958. Promoted to acting air marshal on 7 January 1961, Grandy became Commander-in-Chief of RAF Germany as well as Commander of the Second Tactical Air Force in January 1961. He was appointed a Knight Commander of
3420-445: Was the creation of an Air Board. The first Air Board came into being on 15 May 1916 with Lord Curzon as its chairman. The inclusion of Curzon, a Cabinet Minister, and other political figures was intended to give the Air Board greater status than the Joint War Air Committee. In October 1916 the Air Board published its first report which was highly critical of the arrangements within the British air services. The report noted that although
3480-411: Was to be brought into the Air Ministry rather than being dealt with by either the Board of Trade or the Foreign Office. The Army and the War Office had largely agreed to the continued existence of the RAF due, in part, to the enthusiasm for the air service by the Army's political leader Winston Churchill. However, one of the main difficulties for the RAF and Air Ministry in 1919 was the opposition by
3540-414: Was to establish the officer cadet training college at Cranwell as a permanent establishment. It was Hoare's job to negotiate with the Treasury for the necessary funds. After much resistance Hoare managed to include a provision for permanent buildings in his estimates for 1929. The foundation stone of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell was laid in 1929 and formally opened in 1934. Trenchard had conceived
3600-408: Was unmoved and the title was adopted. Though never held by a Royal Air Force officer, the rank title of marshal of the air lasted until April 1925, when it was changed to marshal of the Royal Air Force. Questioned in the House of Commons , Secretary of State for Air Sir Samuel Hoare stated that the reason for the change in title was that marshal of the air was "somewhat indefinite in character" and
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