Joseph Gilbert (RAF officer)

Last updated

Sir Joseph Gilbert
Born (1931-06-15) 15 June 1931 (age 92)
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branch Royal Air Force
Years of service1952–89
Rank Air Chief Marshal
Commands held No. 38 Group
RAF Coltishall
No. 92 Squadron
Awards Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Commander of the Order of the British Empire

Air Chief Marshal Sir Joseph Alfred Gilbert, KCB , CBE (born 15 June 1931) is a former Royal Air Force officer who served as Deputy Commander of Strike Command from 1984 to 1986.

RAF career

Educated at William Hulme's Grammar School [1] and the University of Leeds, [2] Gilbert joined the Royal Air Force under a National Service Commission in 1952. [3] Gilbert served in fighter squadrons until 1961 when he joined the Air Secretary's Department. [2] He attended RAF Staff College in 1964 and became Commanding Officer of No. 92 Squadron flying Lightnings from RAF Geilenkirchen in 1965. [2] He attended Joint Services Staff College in 1968. [2] He then joined the Defence Policy Staff, becoming Assistant Director of Defence Policy before he left. [2] In 1971 he became Station Commander at RAF Coltishall before attending the Royal College of Defence Studies in 1974. [2]

He was appointed Director of Forward Policy in January 1975, [4] Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Policy) in November 1975, [4] Air Officer Commanding No. 38 Group in 1977 [5] and Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Policy) in 1980. [6] He then became Deputy Air Officer Commanding of Strike Command in 1984 [7] and, having been promoted to air chief marshal, [8] he went on to be Deputy Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces Northern Europe in 1986 [9] before retiring in 1989. [10]

He was made an honorary graduate (LLD) of the University of Leeds in 1989. [11] He is also a life Vice-President of the Royal Air Forces Association and was Vice-Chairman of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission from 1993 to 1998 and the Prime Minister's trustee of the Imperial War Museum from 1997 to 2002. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Ellington</span> British Army general and Marshal of the Royal Air Force (1877-1967)

Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Edward Leonard Ellington, was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force. He served in the First World War as a staff officer and then as director-general of military aeronautics and subsequently as controller-general of equipment. In the inter-war years he held command positions in the Middle East, in India and then in Iraq. He served as Chief of the Air Staff in the mid-1930s and in that role he implemented a plan, known as 'Scheme F'. This scheme implemented an increase in the size of the Royal Air Force to 187 squadrons within three years to counter the threat from Hitler's Germany. He also broke up the command known as "Air Defence of Great Britain" to create RAF Fighter Command, RAF Bomber Command, RAF Coastal Command and RAF Training Command. He then served as Inspector-General of the RAF until his retirement in 1940.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Harding (RAF officer, born 1933)</span> Marshal of the Royal Air Force (1933–2021)

Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Peter Robin Harding, was a Royal Air Force officer who served as a bomber pilot in the 1950s, a helicopter squadron commander in the 1960s and a station commander in the 1970s. He became Chief of the Air Staff in 1988 and served in that role during the Gulf War in 1991. He became Chief of the Defence Staff in December 1992 but resigned after his affair with Lady (Bienvenida) Buck, the wife of Conservative MP Antony Buck, became public.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Johns</span> Royal Air Force air marshal

Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Edward Johns, is a retired senior Royal Air Force commander. He was a fighter pilot in the 1960s, commanding officer of a squadron during the 1970s and a station commander in the 1980s. Johns served as one of three British directors of operations on the senior planning staff for Operation Granby in 1991 and then acted as a supporting commander for joint operations in the Balkans in 1994. As Chief of the Air Staff he advised the British Government on the air force aspects of the Strategic Defence Review and on NATO's air campaign in Kosovo.

Air Marshal David John Pocock, is a former senior Royal Air Force officer who served as Defence Services Secretary from 2004 to 2005.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael James Graydon, is a retired Royal Air Force (RAF) officer. He was a fast jet pilot in the 1960s, a squadron commander in the 1970s and a station commander in the 1980s before serving as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief RAF Strike Command during the Gulf War. He was Chief of the Air Staff from 1992 to 1997 in which role he advised the British Government on the implementation of No Fly Zones in Iraq and Bosnia and implemented the Front Line First initiative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenn Torpy</span>

Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Lester Torpy, is a retired senior Royal Air Force (RAF) commander. He was a fast jet pilot in the late 1970s and 1980s, saw active service during the Gulf War and then went on to higher command. He was the air component commander on Operation Telic and served as Chief of the Air Staff, the professional head of the RAF, from 2006 to 2009. In that role Torpy hosted the RAF's biggest air display in two decades, and argued for consolidation of all British air power in the hands of the RAF.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denis Spotswood</span> Marshal of the Royal Air Force (1916-2001)

Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Denis Frank Spotswood, was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force. He fought in the Second World War as a flying boat pilot and then as a coastal reconnaissance squadron commander during Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa. He served as a station commander in the late 1940s and early 1950s before becoming a senior air commander in the late 1950s. As the Chief of the Air Staff in the early 1970s he had a major role in implementing the defence savings demanded by the Heath Government in the face of economic difficulties at the time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keith Williamson</span> Marshal of the Royal Air Force (1928-2018)

Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Keith Alec Williamson, was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force. He served with the Royal Australian Air Force flying Meteors in a ground attack role during the Korean War. He was a squadron commander and then a station commander during the 1960s and a senior air commander in the 1980s. He was Chief of the Air Staff during the early 1980s at the time of the emergency airlift of food and supplies to Ethiopia.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Joseph Charles French,, often known as Sir Joe French, is a retired senior Royal Air Force officer who was the last Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief RAF Strike Command (2006–07).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Moran</span> Royal Air Force Air Chief Marshal (1956-2010)

Air Chief Marshal Sir Christopher Hugh Moran, was a fast jet pilot and later a senior commander in the Royal Air Force. He was Commander-in-Chief of Air Command at the time of his unexpected death.

Air Marshal David Walker, was a senior Royal Air Force officer. He was the Deputy Commander, Allied Joint Force Command at Brunssum in the Netherlands from 2011 to 2013, having previously served for over three years as Deputy Commander, Allied Air Component Command at Ramstein in Germany. Prior to that appointment he was Air Officer Commanding No. 1 Group in the United Kingdom.

Air Marshal Sir Timothy Ivo Jenner, is a retired senior Royal Air Force commander who since retirement has worked for Serco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barry North</span>

Air Marshal Sir Barry Mark North, is a retired senior Royal Air Force officer, who served as Deputy Commander (Personnel) at RAF Air Command. A helicopter pilot, North has held command appointments at all levels, notably No. 78 Squadron in the Falkland Islands, the Special Forces Flight as a squadron leader and the newly established No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group in the Middle East as an air commodore.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael James Douglas Stear, was a senior commander of the Royal Air Force (RAF). He served as Deputy Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe from 1992 to 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Pulford</span>

Air Chief Marshal Sir Andrew Douglas Pulford, is a retired senior Royal Air Force (RAF) commander. A helicopter pilot with operational service in Northern Ireland, the Falklands War and Iraq War, Pulford commanded RAF Odiham and No. 2 Group, and served as Assistant Chief of Defence Staff Operations, before taking up the post of Deputy Commander-in-Chief Personnel at Air Command and Air Member for Personnel in 2010. He became Chief of the Air Staff on 31 July 2013, retiring from the Royal Air Force on 12 July 2016.

Air Chief Marshal Sir John Robson Rogers, was a senior Royal Air Force commander.

Air Marshal Sir John Robert Walker, is a former Royal Air Force officer who served as Chief of Defence Intelligence from 1991 to 1994.

Air Vice Marshal Peter John Harding, was a senior Royal Air Force officer who served as Defence Services Secretary from 1994 to 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerry Mayhew</span>

Air Marshal Sir Gerard Michael David Mayhew, is a senior Royal Air Force officer, who served as Deputy Commander Operations, Headquarters Air Command between May 2019 and August 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian Duguid</span> Royal Air Force Air Vice-Marshal

Air Vice-Marshal Ian W. Duguid, is a retired senior Royal Air Force officer, whose final post was as Air Officer Commanding No. 1 Group RAF, headquartered at RAF High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire. Duguid was a Harrier pilot and Typhoon Force Commander before assuming the role of the Air Officer Commanding of No. 11 Group, which he served as from 2018 to November 2021.

References

  1. William Hulme's Grammar School Anglo-Chinese Education Consultancy
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Who's Who 2010, A & C Black, 2010, ISBN   978-1-408-11414-8
  3. "No. 39674". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 October 1952. p. 5522.
  4. 1 2 Senior Royal Air Force Appointments
  5. Whitaker's Almanack 1979
  6. Senior Ministry of Defence Posts Archived 2015-11-17 at the Wayback Machine
  7. Whitaker's Almanack 1985
  8. "No. 50793". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 January 1987. p. 71.
  9. Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Multinational Commands held by RAF Air Officers Archived 2012-02-18 at the Wayback Machine
  10. "No. 51896". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 October 1989. p. 11593.
  11. Honorary graduates 1904 – 2009 Archived 2011-06-08 at the Wayback Machine
Military offices
Preceded by Deputy Commander-in-Chief Strike Command
1984–1986
Succeeded by
Preceded by Deputy Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces Central Europe
1986–1989
Succeeded by