The Air Secretary and Chief of Staff, Personnel is the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
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
Air vice-marshal (AVM) is a two-star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes ...
and appointed by the sovereign. The Air Secretary's counterpart in the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
is the
Military Secretary and the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
equivalent is the
Naval Secretary
The Naval Secretary is the Royal Navy officer who advises the First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff on naval officer appointing (and General Officers).
Their counterpart in the British Army is the Military Secretary. The Royal Air Force equi ...
.
Air secretaries
The following officers have held the post:
*4 February 1957 Air Marshal Sir
Denis Barnett
Air Chief Marshal Sir Denis Hensley Fulton Barnett, (11 February 1906 – 31 December 1992) was a squadron commander and senior officer in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. In the post war years he held high command, serving as t ...
*1 May 1959 Air Chief Marshal Sir
Theodore McEvoy
Air Chief Marshal Sir Theodore Neuman McEvoy, (21 November 1904 – 19 September 1991) was a senior Royal Air Force officer who held high command in the 1950s and early 1960s. His last appointment was as Air Secretary.
RAF career
McEvoy joined ...
*22 October 1962 Air Chief Marshal
Sir William MacDonald
*14 July 1966 Air Marshal
Sir Donald Evans
*7 December 1967 Air Chief Marshal
Sir Brian Burnett
*27 March 1970 Air Marshal Sir
Gareth Clayton
*31 March 1972 Air Marshal
Sir John Barraclough
*15 October 1973 Air Chief Marshal
Sir Derek Hodgkinson
*28 February 1976 Air Marshal
Sir Neville Stack
*1978 – 1983, post vacant
*1983 Air Vice-Marshal
J B Duxbury
*December 1985 Air Vice-Marshal
Tony Mason
*10 February 1989 Air Vice-Marshal
Robert Honey
*March 1994 Air Vice Marshal
Robert O'Brien
*August 1998 Air Vice Marshal
Ian Michael Stewart
Air Vice Marshal Ian Michael Stewart, is a former senior commander in the Royal Air Force who served as Air Secretary from 1998 until his retirement in 2003.
RAF career
Stewart joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a pilot in 1969. He flew Harr ...
*2003 Air Vice-Marshal
Graham Miller
*July 2004 Air Vice-Marshal
Peter Ruddock
Air Marshal Peter William David Ruddock, (born 5 February 1954) is a former senior commander in the Royal Air Force who served as Air Secretary from 2004 to 2006.
RAF career
Ruddock joined the Royal Air Force in 1974. He was appointed Officer ...
*22 May 2006 Air Vice-Marshal
S Bryant
*27 March 2009 Air Vice-Marshal
Michael Lloyd
*September 2011 Air Vice-Marshal
Matthew Wiles
Air Vice-Marshal Matthew John Gethin Wiles, (born 1961) is a retired senior commander in the Royal Air Force who previously served as the Air Secretary.
Wiles was commissioned into the Royal Air Force as a flying officer in 1979. He served as ...
*2013–2016 Air Vice-Marshal
David Stubbs
David Stubbs (born 13 September 1962 in London) is a British music journalist. He grew up in Leeds and in the early Eighties was a student at the University of Oxford where he was a close friend of Simon Reynolds. The two were part of the Oxford ...
*July 2016 – February 2020: Air Vice-Marshal
Chris Elliot
Air Vice Marshal Christina Reid Elliot, is a retired senior Royal Air Force officer.
Military career
Educated at the University of Glasgow, Elliot joined the Royal Air Force in 1985. She became a member of the Directing Staff at the Joint Serv ...
*February 2020 – Present: Air Vice-Marshal
Maria Byford
See also
*
Air Council
Air Council (or Air Force Council) was the governing body of the Royal Air Force until the merger of the Air Ministry with the other armed forces ministries to form the Ministry of Defence in 1964. It was succeeded by the Air Force Board.
Me ...
*
Air Force Board
The Air Force Board of the Defence Council is responsible for the management of the Royal Air Force.
Prior to the creation of the current UK Ministry of Defence in 1964, the administration of the RAF and its personnel was undertaken by the A ...
References
{{reflist
Royal Air Force appointments