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The Air League
The Air League is an aviation and aerospace non-profit organisation based in the United Kingdom. It is the UK's largest provider of aviation and aerospace scholarships and bursaries. The Air League aims to inspire, enable, and support the next generation of aviation and aerospace professionals from all backgrounds across the UK. Each year thousands of people from around the UK, including disadvantaged youngsters and wounded and injured servicemen and women benefit from Air League support. History Founded in 1909 as "The Aerial League of The British Empire", The Air League was formed to counter 'the backwardness and apathy' shown by the UK in the face of emerging aeronautical developments and to stress the 'vital importance from a commercial and national defence point of view of this new means of communication'. The founders of the Air League were concerned that Britain was falling behind other nations in the development of its aviation capability. They foresaw the threats, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Whitehall Court
Whitehall Court in the City of Westminster, England, is one contiguous building but consists of two separate constructions. The south end was designed by Thomas Archer and A. Green and constructed as a block of luxury residential apartments in 1884 while the north end, occupied by the National Liberal Club, was designed by Alfred Waterhouse and completed in 1887. The building was developed speculatively by the Liberal MP and property developer Jabez Balfour, through the Liberator Building Society which he controlled. In 1892 the Society collapsed, leaving thousands of investors penniless. Instead of advancing money to home buyers, the Society had advanced money to property companies to buy properties owned by Balfour, at a high price. Well-known residents have included William Gladstone, Lord Kitchener, Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia, George Bernard Shaw and Hall Caine. The building was used as Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) headquarters until the end of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archibald Sinclair, 1st Viscount Thurso
Archibald Henry Macdonald Sinclair, 1st Viscount Thurso, (22 October 1890 – 15 June 1970), known as Sir Archibald Sinclair between 1912 and 1952, and often as Archie Sinclair, was a British politician and leader of the Liberal Party. Background and education Sinclair was born in 1890 in Caithness, Scotland. Sinclair was the son of a Scottish father, Clarence Granville Sinclair, and his American wife Mabel Sands, daughter of Mahlon Day Sands, and half-sister of Ethel Sands. His mother died shortly after his birth, and his father in 1895. He was brought up in families including those of his paternal grandfather Sir Tollemache Sinclair, 3rd Baronet, his uncle William Macdonald Sinclair, and Owen Williams, married to his aunt Nina. Educated at Eton College and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Sinclair was commissioned into the Life Guards in 1910. In 1912, he succeeded his grandfather, as the fourth Baronet, of Ulbster. He became one of the largest landowners in the U ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brian Burridge
Air Chief Marshal Sir Brian Kevin Burridge, (born 26 September 1949) is a retired Royal Air Force officer. A former Nimrod pilot, Burridge was in overall command of British forces under Operation Telic during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. RAF career Brian Burridge joined the Royal Air Force as a university cadet (as a member of Cambridge University Air Squadron), being commissioned on 24 September 1967. He was a pilot with operational background in the maritime patrol role, serving on Nos 206 and 120 Squadrons. Burridge was promoted to the rank of pilot officer on 15 July 1970, to flying officer on 15 January 1971, flight lieutenant on 13 April 1972 to squadron leader on 1 July 1979 and to wing commander on 1 July 1985. In 1986 he attended the Royal Naval Staff College and then later that year went on to command the Nimrod Operational Conversion Unit. Promoted to group captain in 1990, he became officer commanding RAF Kinloss. From 1992 Burridge served in the Ministry of Defe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Knight (RAF Officer)
Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael William Patrick Knight, (23 November 1932 – 28 November 2022) was a British Royal Air Force commander who was well known for his various charity projects, especially for the "Vulcan to the Sky" cause. Early life Knight was born on 23 November 1932 in Leek, Staffordshire. He was educated at Leek High School, then studied English Language at the University of Liverpool, where he joined the University Air Squadron. After his graduation, he began his National Service and finished his training as a pilot. RAF career Knight joined the Royal Air Force in 1953. He was appointed Air Officer Commanding No. 1 Group in 1980, Air Member for Supply and Organisation in 1983 and UK Military Representative to NATO in 1986.Debrett's People of Today 1994 He retired in 1989. As of 2009, he was still actively involved in "Vulcan to the Sky", a project that returned a vintage Avro Vulcan XH558 to airworthiness and flight. In retirement he was Chairman of the Air ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baron Tebbit
Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knight, but lower than a viscount or count. Often, barons hold their fief – their lands and income – directly from the monarch. Barons are less often the vassals of other nobles. In many kingdoms, they were entitled to wear a smaller form of a crown called a ''coronet''. The term originates from the Latin term , via Old French. The use of the title ''baron'' came to England via the Norman Conquest of 1066, then the Normans brought the title to Scotland and Italy. It later spread to Scandinavia and Slavic lands. Etymology The word ''baron'' comes from the Old French , from a Late Latin "man; servant, soldier, mercenary" (so used in Salic law; Alemannic law has in the same sense). The scholar Isidore of Seville in the 7th century thoug ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Ness
Air Marshal Sir Charles Ernest Ness, (4 April 1924 – 13 September 1994) was a senior Royal Air Force commander. RAF career Ness joined the Royal Air Force in 1943 and served as an observer during the Second World War. In 1965 he became Officer Commanding the RAF Steamer Point in Aden where he had to cope with the growing terrorist threat. He became deputy director of Manning at the Ministry of Defence in 1967, Air Commander in Gibraltar in 1971 and Director of Organisation and Administration Plans in 1974. He went on to be Commander at Headquarters Southern Maritime Air Region in 1975, Director-General of Personnel Management in 1976 and Air Member for Personnel in 1980 before retiring in 1983. In retirement he became Chairman of the Air League The Air League is an aviation and aerospace non-profit organisation based in the United Kingdom. It is the UK's largest provider of aviation and aerospace scholarships and bursaries. The Air League aims to inspire, enable, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Grandy
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir John Grandy, (8 February 1913 – 2 January 2004) was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force. He was the only officer who fought and commanded a squadron during the Battle of Britain to reach the post of Chief of the Air Staff. In the latter role he implemented the final stages of the RAF's withdrawal from the Persian Gulf and the Far East, oversaw the ordering and subsequent cancellation of the F-111 strike aircraft and handed over Britain's nuclear deterrent role to the Royal Navy. RAF career The son of Francis Grandy and his wife, Nell Grandy (née Lines), Grandy was educated at Northwood Preparatory School and the University College School in London, and was commissioned into the Royal Air Force as a pilot officer on a probationary basis on 11 September 1931. After completing flying training, he was posted as a pilot to No. 54 Squadron flying Bulldogs from RAF Hornchurch in August 1932. He was confirmed in the rank of pilot officer on 11 S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Denis Smallwood
Air Chief Marshal Sir Denis Graham Smallwood, (13 August 1918 – 26 July 1997) was a senior Royal Air Force commander. RAF career Educated at King Edward VI School in Birmingham, Smallwood joined the Royal Air Force in 1938. Smallwood took part in the Second World War and in November 1941 he was appointed Officer Commanding of No. 87 Squadron flying Hurricanes. In 1948 he became Officer Commanding No. 33 Squadron and in 1959 he joined the Directing Staff at the Joint Staff Services College before becoming Station Commander at RAF Biggin Hill in 1953. He became Group Captain, Plans for the Air Task Force in 1956 and then Officer Commanding RAF North Coates in 1959 before becoming Commandant of the College of Air Warfare in 1961. In 1963 he was made Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Operations) and in 1965 he was appointed Air Officer Commanding No. 3 Group. He went on to be Senior Air Staff Officer at Headquarters, Bomber Command in 1967, Senior Air Staff Officer at Headquar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sir Francis Fogarty
Air Chief Marshal Sir Francis Joseph Fogarty, (16 January 1899 – 12 January 1973) was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War and also in the post-war years. During the First World War he served as a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps. He was transferred to the RAF on its creation in 1918 and remained in the service during the inter-war years. Early life and career Francis Fogarty was born in Cork, Ireland, on 16 January 1899 and educated at Farranferris College. In 1917 he joined the Royal Flying Corps as an air mechanic. However, he was soon selected for training as a pilot and was commissioned as a second lieutenant. In 1918, Fogarty served as a pilot on No. 98 Squadron, participating in the Battle of Amiens but having to land with engine trouble before he could bomb German airfields or rail lines. Remaining in the RAF after the war, Fogarty was soon to see active service again, this time in Iraq. He was posted to No. 84 Squadron, whe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke Of Hamilton
Air Commodore Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton and 11th Duke of Brandon, (3 February 1903 – 30 March 1973) was a Scottish nobleman and aviator who was the first man to fly over Mount Everest. When German Deputy Führer Rudolf Hess made his surprise landing in Scotland in May 1941, he claimed to know Hamilton, who denied that although both were believed to have met at the Berlin Olympics and had possibly remained in contact. Hamilton was, however, declared in Parliament to be innocent of any breach of security. Early life Hamilton was born in Pimlico, London. He was the son of Alfred Douglas-Hamilton, 13th Duke of Hamilton and his wife Nina (née Poore). He was educated at Eton College and Balliol College, Oxford, where he gained a Blue in boxing, this in turn, led to his winning of the Scottish Amateur Middleweight title. He also represented the university in rowing. Styled Marquess of Douglas and Clydesdale before he succeeded his father as the Duke of Ham ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samuel Hoare, 1st Viscount Templewood
Samuel John Gurney Hoare, 1st Viscount Templewood, (24 February 1880 – 7 May 1959), more commonly known as Sir Samuel Hoare, was a senior British Conservative politician who served in various Cabinet posts in the Conservative and National governments of the 1920s and 1930s. Hoare was Secretary of State for Air during most of the 1920s. As Secretary of State for India in the early 1930s, he authored the Government of India Act 1935, which granted self-government at a provincial level to India. He was most famous for serving as Foreign Secretary in 1935, when he authored the Hoare–Laval Pact with French Prime Minister Pierre Laval. This partially recognised the Italian conquest of Abyssinia (modern Ethiopia) and Hoare was forced to resign by the ensuing public outcry. In 1936 he returned to the Cabinet as First Lord of the Admiralty, then served as Home Secretary from 1937 to 1939 and was again briefly Secretary of State for Air in 1940. He was seen as a leading " appea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prince Philip, Duke Of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from Elizabeth's accession as queen on 6 February 1952 until his death in 2021, making him the longest-serving royal consort in history. Philip was born in Greece, into the Greek and Danish royal families; his family was exiled from the country when he was eighteen months old. After being educated in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, he joined the Royal Navy in 1939, when he was 18 years old. In July 1939, he began corresponding with the 13-year-old Princess Elizabeth, the elder daughter and heir presumptive of King George VI. Philip had first met her in 1934. During the Second World War, he served with distinction in the British Mediterranean and Pacific fleets. In the summer of 1946, the King granted Philip permission to marry El ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
