Peter Mills (RAF officer)

Last updated

Peter Watson Mills, CB (born 1955) is a British minister of the Church of Scotland and a retired senior Royal Air Force officer. He served as Chaplain-in-Chief of the RAF and head of its Chaplains Branch from 2006 [1] to 2009.

Contents

Early life

Mills was born in 1955. [2] He was educated at Arbroath High School, a grammar school in Arbroath, Scotland. [2]

Career

In 1974, Mills joined Aberdeen City Police, which became Grampian Police a year later, as a police constable. He served for 4 years. [2]

In 1978, he began the steps to become a religious minister by starting a Bachelor of Divinity (BD) degree at the University of Aberdeen. [2] He graduated in 1982. [3] In 1983, he studied for a Certificate in Pastoral Studies (CPS). [3] He then served for a year as an assistant minister in Montrose, Angus. [2]

Military career

Mills was commissioned into the Chaplains Branch, Royal Air Force, on 13 May 1984. He was granted the relative rank of flight lieutenant; RAF chaplains hold only relative ranks as they do not hold executive authority. [4] On 13 May 1985, he was promoted to the relative rank of squadron leader. [5] [6] On 2 September 1987, he transferred from a short service commission to a regular commission. [7] In 1989, he undertook a four-month posting to the Falkland Islands as Force Chaplain. [2] He was promoted to the relative rank of wing commander on 13 May 1998. [8] In 2001, he was appointed Principal Chaplain (Church of Scotland and Free Churches), [2] and promoted to the relative rank of group captain on 31 May of that year. [9] On 27 March 2006, he was promoted to the relative rank of air vice-marshal, [10] and became the 20th Chaplain-in-Chief of the RAF. [2]

Honours and decorations

On 31 May 2001, Mills was appointed Honorary Chaplain to the Queen (QHC). [9] In July 2009, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity (DD) degree by the University of Aberdeen. [2] In the 2010 New Year Honours, he was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB). [11] [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iain Torrance</span> Scottish theologian and academic (born 1949)

Sir Iain Richard Torrance, is a retired Church of Scotland minister, theologian and academic. He is Pro-Chancellor of the University of Aberdeen, Honorary Professor of Early Christian Doctrine and Ethics at the University of Edinburgh, President and Professor of Patristics Emeritus at Princeton Theological Seminary, and an Extra Chaplain to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in Scotland. He was formerly Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, Dean of the Chapel Royal in Scotland, and Dean of the Order of the Thistle. He is married to Morag Ann, whom he met while they were students at the University of St Andrews, and they have two children.

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.

Leonard James Ashton, was an English Anglican bishop and military chaplain. He was the inaugural Bishop in Cyprus and the Gulf, serving from 1976 to 1983. He had previously spent most of his ordained ministry serving in the Chaplains Branch of the Royal Air Force, and rose to become its Chaplain-in-Chief.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stuart Atha</span> Royal Air Force Air Marshal (born 1962)

Air Marshal Sir Stuart David Atha,, is a former senior officer of the Royal Air Force. He led No. 3 (Fighter) Squadron from 2000 to 2004, which included deployment to Iraq on Operation Telic, commanded RAF Coningsby (2006–08), No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group (2009–10) and No. 1 Group (2011–14), and served as the Air Component Commander for security during the 2012 London Olympics. Atha was RAF Deputy Commander Operations from 2016 to 2019.

John Arthur Jagoe CBE was an Irish Anglican bishop who served as Chaplain-in-Chief of the (British) Royal Air Force and the second Bishop of Bermuda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Air Force Chaplains Branch</span> Military unit

The Royal Air Force Chaplains Branch provides military chaplains for the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom.

Raymond Harcourt Roberts was a Welsh Anglican priest and Royal Navy chaplain. He served as Chaplain of the Fleet and Archdeacon of the Royal Navy from 1980 to 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Brown (Royal Navy chaplain)</span>

Scott James Brown,, is a Church of Scotland minister and former Royal Navy chaplain. From 2010 to 2014, he served as Chaplain of the Fleet and was therefore the senior military chaplain in the Royal Navy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ray Pentland</span> British Church of England priest

Raymond Jackson Pentland, is a British Church of England priest. He is a retired military chaplain, having served as Chaplain-in-Chief of the Royal Air Force and head of its Chaplains Branch from 2009 to 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Woodhouse (minister)</span> British minister (born 1955)

Jonathan Woodhouse, is a British Baptist minister and retired senior British Army officer. He was Chaplain General and head of the Royal Army Chaplains' Department from 2011 to 2014. He is the first Baptist and the second member of the Free Churches to become Chaplain General.

Air Vice-Marshal Lindsay John Irvine, is a British barrister and former senior Royal Air Force officer. He was Director of Legal Services (RAF) and the head of the RAF Legal Branch from April 2009 to April 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Chaffey</span> British Church of England priest

Jonathan Paul Michael Chaffey is a British Church of England priest and former military chaplain, who served with the Royal Air Force. He serves as Archdeacon of Oxford in the same diocese; from 2014 to 2018 he served as the Chaplain-in-Chief and head of the Royal Air Force Chaplains Branch. He previously served as Deputy Chaplain-in-Chief.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Coulter (minister)</span>

David George Coulter, is a Church of Scotland minister and former military chaplain. From 2014 to 2018, he served as Chaplain General and head of the Royal Army Chaplains' Department, British Army. He was previously Principal of the Armed Forces Chaplaincy Centre and Deputy Chaplain General.

John Ross Youens, was a Church of England priest and senior British Army officer. He served as Chaplain-General to the Forces from 1966 to 1974.

Archibald Main, was a Scottish ecclesiastical historian, Church of Scotland minister, military chaplain, and academic. From 1915 to 1922, he was Professor of Ecclesiastical History at the University of St Andrews. From 1922 to 1942, he was Regius Professor of Ecclesiastical History at the University of Glasgow. He served as Chaplain to the King from 1925 and as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland from 1939 to 1940.

Andrew Nevile Davidson, was a senior Church of Scotland minister. He served as Moderator of the General Assembly between May 1962 and May 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Turner (RAF officer)</span> Senior Royal Air Force officer

Air Marshal Andrew Mark Turner, is a former senior Royal Air Force officer and helicopter pilot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Ellis (chaplain)</span> British Anglican priest and former police officer

Air Vice-Marshal John Raymond Ellis, is a British Anglican priest and former police officer. Between July 2018 and July 2022 he served as Chaplain-in-Chief of the Royal Air Force Chaplains Branch and Archdeacon for the Royal Air Force. He had worked as a police officer and then in parish ministry in the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich from 1997, before joining the Royal Air Force Chaplains Branch in 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ross Paterson (RAF officer)</span>

Air Vice Marshal Ross Paterson, is a Royal Air Force reservist who served as Air Officer Scotland from 2014 to 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giles Legood</span>

Air Vice-Marshal Giles Leslie Legood, is a British Anglican priest. Since July 2022 he has served as Chaplain-in-Chief of the Royal Air Force Chaplains Branch and Archdeacon for the Royal Air Force. He previously served as Deputy Chaplain-in-Chief.

References

  1. ↑ Thanks giving service. The Times (London, England), Monday, September 17, 2007; pg. 60; Issue 69119
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Leaders in business, arts and music among those being honoured by University". University of Aberdeen. 2 July 2009. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  3. 1 2 "Peter Mills". LinkedIn. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  4. ↑ "No. 49820". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 July 1984. p. 10431.
  5. ↑ "No. 50165". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 June 1985. p. 8348.
  6. ↑ "No. 50212". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 July 1985. p. 10468.
  7. ↑ "No. 51115". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 November 1987. p. 13843.
  8. ↑ "No. 55168". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 June 1998. p. 6570.
  9. 1 2 "No. 56249". The London Gazette (Supplement). 19 June 2001. pp. 7225–7226.
  10. ↑ "No. 57939". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 March 2006. p. 4356.
  11. ↑ "No. 59282". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2009. p. 2.
  12. ↑ "Scant crop of gongs for top brass Jan 2010". Defence Viewpoints. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
Military offices
Preceded by Chaplain-in-Chief of the Royal Air Force
2006 – 2009		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.