Marshals of The Royal Air Force
Year of promotion | Image | Officer | Year of birth | Year of death | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1927 | Hugh Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard | 1873 | 1956 | Promoted 1 January 1927. | |
1933 | Sir John Salmond | 1881 | 1968 | Promoted 1 January 1933. | |
1936 | HM King Edward VIII | 1894 | 1972 | Promoted 21 January 1936. | |
1936 | HM King George VI | 1895 | 1952 | Honorary rank. Promoted 11 December 1936. |
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1937 | Sir Edward Ellington | 1877 | 1967 | Promoted 1 January 1937. | |
1940 | Cyril Newall, 1st Baron Newall | 1886 | 1963 | Promoted 4 October 1940. Retired only 20 days later. | |
1944 | Charles Portal, 1st Viscount Portal of Hungerford | 1893 | 1971 | Promoted 1 June 1944. | |
1945 | Arthur Tedder, 1st Baron Tedder | 1890 | 1967 | Promoted 12 September 1945. | |
1946 | Sholto Douglas, 1st Baron Douglas of Kirtleside | 1893 | 1969 | Promoted 1 January 1946. | |
1946 | Sir Arthur "Bomber" Harris | 1892 | 1984 | Promoted 1 January 1946, several months after retirement. | |
1950 | Sir John Slessor | 1897 | 1979 | Promoted 8 June 1950. | |
1953 | HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh | 1921 | - | Honorary rank. Promoted 15 January 1953. |
|
1954 | Sir William Dickson | 1898 | 1987 | Promoted 1 June 1954. | |
1958 | Sir Dermot Boyle | 1904 | 1993 | Promoted 1 January 1958. | |
1958 | HRH Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester | 1900 | 1974 | Honorary rank. Promoted 12 June 1958. |
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1962 | Sir Thomas Pike | 1906 | 1983 | Promoted 6 April 1962. | |
1967 | Charles Elworthy, Baron Elworthy | 1911 | 1993 | Promoted 1 April 1967. | |
1971 | Sir John Grandy | 1913 | 2004 | Promoted and retired on the same day (1 April 1971). | |
1974 | Sir Denis Spotswood | 1916 | 2001 | Promoted and retired on the same day (31 March 1974). | |
1976 | Sir Andrew Humphrey | 1921 | 1977 | Promoted 6 August 1976. | |
1977 | Neil Cameron, Baron Cameron of Balhousie | 1920 | 1985 | Promoted 31 July 1977. | |
1982 | Sir Michael Beetham | 1923 | - | Promoted and retired on the same day (14 October 1982). | |
1985 | Sir Keith Williamson | 1928 | - | Promoted and retired on the same day (15 October 1985). | |
1988 | David Craig, Baron Craig of Radley | 1929 | - | Promoted 14 November 1988. | |
1992 | Sir Peter Harding | 1933 | - | Promoted 6 November 1992. Resigned commission 14 June 1994. | |
2012 | HRH Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales | 1948 | - | Honorary rank. Promoted 16 June 2012. |
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 the Air Staff were Lord Douglas of Kirtleside and Sir Arthur Harris. Both held high command during World War II. 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.
King George V did not formally hold 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.
Unlike other MRAFs who only relinquished their appointments, Sir Peter Harding resigned from the RAF in 1994. Consequently, his name is no longer to be found in the Air Force List.
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“An Englishman, methinks,not to speak of other European nations,habitually regards himself merely as a constituent part of the English nation; he is a member of the royal regiment of Englishmen, and is proud of his company, as he has reason to be proud of it. But an Americanone who has made tolerable use of his opportunitiescares, comparatively, little about such things, and is advantageously nearer to the primitive and the ultimate condition of man in these respects.”
—Henry David Thoreau (18171862)
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