Origins
On 1 April 1918, the newly created RAF adopted its officer rank titles from the British Army, with officers at what is now Air Vice-Marshal level holding the rank of Major-General. In response to the proposal that the RAF should use its own rank titles, it was suggested that the RAF might use the Royal Navy's officer ranks, with the word "Air" inserted before the naval rank title. For example, the rank that later became Air Vice-Marshal would have been Air Rear-Admiral. The Admiralty objected to any use of their rank titles, including this modified form, and so an alternative proposal was put forward: Air-officer ranks would be based on the term "Ardian", which was derived from a combination of the Gaelic words for "chief" (ard) and "bird" (eun), with the term "Third Ardian" or "Squadron Ardian" being used for the equivalent to Rear-Admiral and Major-General. However, Air Vice-Marshal was preferred and was adopted on 1 August 1919. The following officers were the first to be appointed to the rank and their former service ranks are also shown:
| Officer | Rank in RAF | Rank in Army | Rank in Navy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edward Ashmore | Major-General | Major-General | None |
| Sir Sefton Brancker | Major-General | Major-General | None |
| Edward Ellington | Major-General | Brigadier-General | None |
| John Higgins | Major-General | Brigadier-General | None |
| Sir Godfrey Paine | Major-General | None | Rear Admiral |
| Sir Geoffrey Salmond | Major-General | Major-General | None |
| Sir John Salmond | Major-General | Major-General | None |
| Sir Frederick Sykes | Major-General | Major-General | Wing Captain |
| Sir Hugh Trenchard | Major-General | Major-General | None |
In 1920, Sir Willoughby Gwatkin, the former Canadian Chief of the General Staff, was granted the rank of air vice-marshal and appointed the Inspector-General of the newly-established Canadian Air Force. The Australian Air Corps adopted the RAF rank system on 9 November 1920 and this usage was continued by its successor, the Royal Australian Air Force. However, the rank of air vice-marshal was not used by the Australian Armed Forces until 1935 when Richard Williams, the Australian Chief of the Air Staff, was promoted. In the Royal New Zealand Air Force, the rank did not come into use until 1943 when Leonard Isitt was appointed Chief of the Air Staff in succession to a British air commodore who had been on loan service.
Read more about this topic: Air Vice-marshal
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