Marshal of the Royal Air Force William Sholto Douglas, 1st Baron Douglas of Kirtleside, was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force. After serving as a pilot, then a flight commander and finally as a squadron commander during the First World War, he served as a flying instructor during the inter-war years before becoming Director of Staff Duties and then Assistant Chief of the Air Staff at the Air Ministry.
The Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) is the professional head of the British Armed Forces and the most senior uniformed military adviser to the Secretary of State for Defence and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The chief of the defence staff is based at the Ministry of Defence and works alongside the Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Defence, the ministry's senior civil servant. The Chief of Defence is the highest ranking officer to currently serve in the armed forces.
Baron Broadbridge, of Brighton in the County of Sussex, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1945 for the Conservative politician Sir George Broadbridge, 1st Baronet. He had already been created a Baronet, of Wargrave Place in the County of Berkshire, on 22 November 1937. The title descended from father to son until the death of his grandson, the third Baron, in 2000. The late Baron was succeeded by his first cousin, who became the fourth holder of the titles. He was the son of Hugh Trevor Broadbridge, third son of the first Baron. He was in turn succeeded by his only son, Richard, a retired air vice-marshal who was honorary surgeon to the Queen, in 2020.
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Arthur William Tedder, 1st Baron Tedder, was a British Royal Air Force officer and peer. He was a pilot and squadron commander in the Royal Flying Corps in the First World War and he went on to serve as a senior officer in the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the inter-war years when he served in Turkey, Great Britain and the Far East.
The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) is the professional head of the Royal Air Force and a member of both the Chiefs of Staff Committee and the Air Force Board. The post was created in 1918 with Major General Sir Hugh Trenchard as the first incumbent. The current and 30th Chief of the Air Staff is Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, who succeeded Sir Michael Wigston on 2 June 2023.
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.
Marshal of the Royal Air Force David Brownrigg Craig, Baron Craig of Radley, is a retired Royal Air Force officer and member of the House of Lords. He was a fast jet pilot in the 1950s, a squadron commander in the 1960s and a station commander in the 1970s. He served as Chief of the Air Staff during the late 1980s, when the Boeing Airborne early warning and control system was ordered and the European Fighter programme was being developed. He then served as Chief of the Defence Staff during the Gulf War. He was granted a life peerage as Baron Craig of Radley after his retirement from active service in 1991, sitting as a crossbencher. As of 2024, he is the last living officer in the British Armed Forces to have held a five-star rank whilst on active service.
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Samuel Charles Elworthy, Baron Elworthy, was a New Zealand-born senior officer in the Royal Air Force. He served as commander of a squadron of Blenheim bombers and then as a station commander during the Second World War. He became Chief of the Air Staff in the mid-1960s and implemented the cancellation of the TSR-2 strike aircraft and the HS681 military transport aircraft programmes. He also became Chief of the Defence Staff in which role he oversaw the evacuation from Aden in November 1967 and had to respond to the growing crisis in Northern Ireland in the late 1960s.
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Neil Cameron, Baron Cameron of Balhousie, was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force. He fought in the Second World War as a fighter pilot taking part in the Battle of Britain, the Battle of Alam el Halfa, the First Battle of El Alamein and the Second Battle of El Alamein and then in operations in Burma. He served as Chief of the Air Staff in the late 1970s advising the British Government on the reinforcement of the British garrison in Belize which was under threat from Guatemala at the time. He also served as the Chief of the Defence Staff at the end of the 1970s in which role he secured pay comparability for services personnel involved in civil support during the firemen's strike, visited the People's Republic of China and lectured extensively on the Soviet air threat.
The Royal Air Force Legal Branch (RAFLB) or Directorate Legal Services (DLS) – as it is better known – is the uniformed legal service provider for the Royal Air Force. It consists of solicitors and barristers qualified in a Commonwealth jurisdiction. DLS is headquartered at Air Command RAF High Wycombe. The Directorate is currently staffed by a mixture of members of:
Stuart William Peach, Baron Peach is a British retired senior Royal Air Force officer. After training as a navigator, Peach commanded IX (Bomber) Squadron and then became Deputy Station Commander RAF Bruggen. He was deployed as NATO Air Commander (Forward) in Kosovo in 2000. He went on to be Chief of Defence Intelligence in 2006, Chief of Joint Operations in 2009 and the first Commander of Joint Forces Command in December 2011 before being appointed Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff in May 2013. Peach succeeded General Sir Nick Houghton as Chief of the Defence Staff on 14 July 2016. He succeeded General Petr Pavel as Chairman of the NATO Military Committee on 29 June 2018, serving as such until his retirement from NATO in June 2021.
The title Surgeon-General has been used for different purposes at different times in the United Kingdom. Initially it was the designation of a director of the Army's medical services. Subsequently it was a senior rank in the Army Medical Department. Having lapsed after the First World War, the title was again revived in the late 20th century for the most senior uniformed medical officer in the British Armed Forces. Currently, it pertains to a senior uniformed medical officer, working under the Director General Defence Medical Services.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Douglas Charles Lowe, was a Second World War pilot and a senior commander in the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the 1970s and early 1980s.
The Air Secretary and Chief of Staff, Personnel is the Royal Air Force officer with responsibility for appointments, promotions, postings, and discipline of high ranking members of the British air force. From 1978 to 1983 the Air Secretary was more often referred to as "Air Officer Commanding Royal Air Force Personnel Management Centre". It is a senior RAF appointment, held by an officer holding the rank of air vice-marshal and appointed by the sovereign. The Air Secretary's counterpart in the British Army is the Military Secretary and the Royal Navy equivalent is the Naval Secretary.
Air Vice-Marshal Richard Anthony Mason, was a Royal Air Force officer who served as Air Secretary.
The Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (ACDS) is a senior British military officer. There are a number of ACDS appointments and they are held by officers of two-star rank. They work in the Ministry of Defence.
Air Vice-Marshal Philip Jeremy Robinson, is a decorated British pilot and senior Royal Air Force officer.
Air Marshal Harvey Smyth, is a senior Northern Irish Royal Air Force officer, who has been the Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff since March 2024. Previously, he served as Air Officer Commanding No. 1 Group (2018–2020) and Air and Space Commander (2022–2024). Between February 2020 and August 2022, he took up the new post of Director Space, in the Ministry of Defence.
Air Vice-Marshal Tamara Nancy Jennings, is a British solicitor and senior Royal Air Force officer. Since November 2024, she has been deputy commandant of the Royal College of Defence Studies. She served as director of Legal Services and head of the RAF Legal Branch from 2018 to 2024.
Martin Hugh Broadbridge, 4th Baron Broadbridge, was a British hereditary peer.
