Chris Luck

Last updated

Chris Luck
Chris Luck and Peter Squires (Luck cropped).jpg
Luck in 2016
Born1965 (age 57–58)
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branch Royal Air Force
Years of service1984–2019
Rank Air Vice-Marshal
Commands held Joint Services Command and Staff College (2017–2019)
Royal Air Force College Cranwell (2013–2016)
RAF Shawbury (2011–13)
No. 33 Squadron (2007–2009)
Battles/wars Gulf War
The Troubles
Bosnian War
Iraq War
Awards Companion of the Order of the Bath
Member of the Order of the British Empire

Air Vice-Marshal Christopher James Luck CB MBE CCMI FRSA DL (born 1965) is a British charity executive and retired Royal Air Force officer. He was Commandant of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell from 2013 to 2016, [1] [2] and Commandant of the Joint Services Command and Staff College from 2017 to 2019. Since 2019, he has been CEO of the Shaw Trust.

Contents

Early life and education

Luck was born in 1965 in London, England. He graduated from the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, a graduate school of the United States Air Force, with a Master of Arts (MA) degree in 2003 and a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) degree in 2007. [3]

Military career

On 11 October 1984, Luck was commissioned into the General Duties Branch, Royal Air Force, as an acting pilot officer. [4] He then undertook flying training on the Chipmunk and Jet Provost, before training on helicopters. [1] Upon completion of training, he was posted to No. 33 Squadron RAF, a Puma squadron based at RAF Odiham in Hampshire. [5] He was promoted to flying officer on 11 October 1986. [6] During his early career, he underwent deployments to Northern Ireland and Belize. [5]

He was promoted to flight lieutenant on 11 April 1990. [7] He was posted to Iraq as part of Operation Granby, the British operation during the 1991 Gulf War. [1] In 1992, he underwent training to become a qualified helicopter instructor at RAF Shawbury. [5] He was then posted to No. 230 Squadron RAF, based at RAF Aldergrove, Northern Ireland, with whom he served from 1992 to 1996. [1] In recognition of his "gallant and distinguished services in Northern Ireland", Luck was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in November 1996. [8]

He was deployed to Bosnia during the Bosnian War as part of the United Nations' force. [5] [9]

As part of the half yearly promotions, he was promoted to squadron leader on 1 July 1996. [10] He then returned to RAF Odiham to become officer commanding of the Puma Operational Conversion Unit Flight, part of No. 27 (Reserve) Squadron. [1] In 1998, the end of this posting, saw the Pumas of No. 27 (Reserve) Squadron leave to join No. 33 Squadron RAF at RAF Benson. [5] In 1999, he was posted to RAF Strike Command as the Rotary desk officer; this post soon moved to the newly formed Joint Helicopter Command. [1] From August 2001 to 2003, he was attached to the Kuwait Air Force as an advisor and helicopter instructor, and was based at Ali Al Salem Air Base. [5]

As part of the half yearly promotions, he was promoted to wing commander on 1 January 2003. [11] He then attended the United States Air Force Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. [5] From July 2004 to June 2006, he remained at the college as a member of the directing staff as Deputy Director of Strategy and War. [12] [5] In 2006, he attended the USAF School of Advanced Air and Space Studies; he was the first non-American to attend the school. [12] He graduated with a Master of Arts in strategic air power. [1]

In 2007, he returned to the United Kingdom and was appointed officer commanding No. 33 Squadron RAF based at RAF Benson. [1] This tour included a posting to Iraq as part of Operation Telic. [5] In June 2009, he was promoted to group captain and posted to the Permanent Joint Headquarters as Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff. He had specific responsibility for the Middle East region and global counter terrorism. [1] In November 2011, he became Commanding Officer of RAF Shawbury, home to the Defence Helicopter Flying School. [5] From September to November 2013, he studied at the Royal College of Defence Studies. [1] In December 2013, he was appointed Commandant of Royal Air Force College Cranwell, [1] a post he held until August 2016 when he was succeeded by Air Commodore Peter Squires. Promoted to air vice marshal, he was Commandant of the Joint Services Command and Staff College from February 2017 to May 2019. [13] [14]

Luck has over 5000 military flying hours, of which 4300 hours have been on the Puma. [5] He was appointed Aide-de-Camp (ADC) to Queen Elizabeth II on 20 January 2010. [15] He relinquished the appointment on 9 September 2013, [16] but was appointed once more on 16 December the same year. [17] He was appointed Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts 2012. [12] He was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the 2019 Birthday Honours [18] and became a deputy lieutenant of Northamptonshire in 2023. [19]

Later life

Since May 2019, Luck has been chief executive officer of the Shaw Trust, a charity that helps people into education work and independent living. [20] [21]

Personal life

Luck is a keen horse rider; he is the President of the RAF Equitation Association, Chairman of UK Armed Forces Equestrianism and Vice Chairman of UK Armed Forces Polo. [22]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur Tedder, 1st Baron Tedder</span> Marshal of the Royal Air Force (1890-1967)

Marshal of the Royal Air Force Arthur William Tedder, 1st Baron Tedder, was a Scottish senior Royal Air Force commander. 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 during the inter-war years when he served in Turkey, Great Britain and the Far East.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Harding (RAF officer, born 1933)</span> British Royal Air Force officer (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">Dermot Boyle</span> Royal Air Force officer

Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Dermot Alexander Boyle, was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force. He served in the Second World War initially as a staff officer with the Advanced Air Striking Force in Reims in which capacity he organised the evacuation of the Force through Brest in May 1940. His war service included tours as a bomber squadron commander, as a station commander and also as an air group commander. He was Chief of the Air Staff in the late 1950s and, in that role, deployed British air power during the Suez Crisis in October 1956 and defended the RAF against the views of Duncan Sandys, the Minister for Defence, who believed that the V bomber force rendered manned fighter aircraft redundant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denis Spotswood</span>

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 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Flying School</span> British Royal Air Force pilot school

The Central Flying School (CFS) is the Royal Air Force's primary institution for the training of military flying instructors. Established in 1912 at the Upavon Aerodrome, it is the longest existing flying training school. The school was based at RAF Little Rissington from 1946 to 1976. Its motto is Imprimis Praecepta, Latin for "The Teaching is Everlasting".

Air Marshal David Walker, is a retired 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lewis Hodges</span>

Air Chief Marshal Sir Lewis Macdonald Hodges, was a pilot for Special Operations Executive (SOE) in the Second World War, and later achieved high command in the Royal Air Force and NATO.

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

Air Marshal Sir Richard Llewellyn Roger Atcherley, was a senior Royal Air Force officer. He served as Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Pakistan Air Force from 1949 to 1951.

Flight Lieutenant Michelle Jayne Goodman DFC is a retired Royal Air Force officer. She was the first woman to be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC), for her actions while serving in Iraq, and the first female officer to be awarded any British combat gallantry medal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian Stewart (RAF officer)</span> British Royal Air Force officer

Air Commodore Ian Richard William Stewart is a retired British Royal Air Force officer. His last posting was as the United Kingdom National Military Representative at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe. He was Commandant Air Cadets between 2008 and 2010, and Air Commodore, Royal Air Force Reserve from 2014.

Air Vice Marshal John Frederick George Howe, was a senior Royal Air Force officer in the 1970s and 1980s. He flew combat missions in the Korean War and North Sea interceptor air patrols during the Cold War, finishing his career as the Commandant General RAF Regiment and RAF Provost Marshal and Director General Security. Howe also served as the sixteenth Commandant of the Royal Observer Corps between 1977 and 1980.

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

Air Chief Marshal Sir Douglas Claude Strathern Evill, was an Australian-born British Royal Naval Air Service pilot and squadron commander during the First World War. Serving in the Royal Air Force between the wars, he was a senior air commander during the Second World War.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashley Stevenson</span>

Air Commodore Ashley David Stevenson, is a retired senior Royal Air Force (RAF) officer and a former Commandant of Royal Air Force College Cranwell.

Air Vice-Marshal Hugh Granville White, was a Royal Air Force air officer. He was a First World War flying ace credited with seven aerial victories, and later went on to serve throughout the Second World War, finally retiring in 1955.

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

Squadron Leader Nicola Elizabeth Smith is a retired British Royal Air Force officer. She was the first female military helicopter pilot in the United Kingdom and in 2002 she became the first female to command a flying squadron.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter J. M. Squires</span> Royal Air Force officer

Air Vice-Marshal Peter James Murray Squires, is a senior Royal Air Force officer, who currently serves as the Commander of British Forces Cyprus. From August 2016 to October 2019 he served as Commandant of RAF College Cranwell. He was formerly a Harrier pilot and served as commander of No. 100 Squadron RAF, flying BAE Systems Hawks.

Air Vice-Marshal John Finbar Monahan, known as Fin Monahan, is a senior Royal Air Force officer. After training as a pilot, serving in active squadrons and exchange postings, Monahan was the commandant of the Central Flying School at RAF Cranwell, with the Red Arrows coming under his command. Monahan has trained with several non-UK militaries, and currently serves as the Director of the Air Command Operating Model Programme.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "New man in command". Sleaford Target. 25 December 2013. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  2. ↑ "Welcome to RAF College Cranwell". RAF College Cranwell. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  3. ↑ "Luck, Air Vice-Marshal Christopher James". Who's Who 2020 . Oxford University Press. 1 December 2019. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U289865. ISBN   978-0-19-954088-4 . Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  4. ↑ "No. 49960". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 December 1984. p. 17109.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "New station commander joins RAF Shawbury". News. ShropshireLive.com. 2 November 2011. Archived from the original on 13 March 2014. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  6. ↑ "No. 50709". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 November 1986. p. 14513.
  7. ↑ "No. 52138". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 May 1990. p. 9162.
  8. ↑ "No. 54574". The London Gazette . 7 November 1996. p. 14849.
  9. ↑ "Chief is ready for take off". Shropshire Magazine. March 2012. Archived from the original on 13 April 2012. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  10. ↑ "No. 54453". The London Gazette . 1 July 1996. p. 8919.
  11. ↑ "No. 56811". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 January 2003. pp. 129–130.
  12. 1 2 3 "Chris Luck MBE ADC FRSA FCMI MCGI MA RAF". LinkedIn. Archived from the original on 28 June 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  13. ↑ "Air Rank and Command Appointments List 17.16". Senior Appointments. Royal Air Force. 5 October 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  14. ↑ "Senior tri-service and Ministry of Defence posts" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  15. ↑ "No. 60091". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 March 2012. p. 5510.
  16. ↑ "No. 60622". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 September 2013. p. 17863.
  17. ↑ "No. 60759". The London Gazette (Supplement). 21 January 2014. p. 1162.
  18. ↑ "No. 62666". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 June 2019. p. B2.
  19. ↑ "No. 64080". The London Gazette . 15 June 2023. p. 11786.
  20. ↑ Ricketts, Andy (8 February 2019). "Shaw Trust appoints Chris Luck as next chief executive". Third Sector. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  21. ↑ "New high-flying Chief Executive for Shaw Trust". Shaw Trust. 8 February 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  22. ↑ "RAFEA Committee". Royal Air Force. Archived from the original on 14 March 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
Military offices
Preceded by Commandant of Royal Air Force College Cranwell
2013–2016		Succeeded by
Preceded by Commandant of the Joint Services Command and Staff College
2017–2019		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.