Air Commodore Alfred Drummond Warrington-Morris, (18 December 1883 – 24 March 1962) was a senior officer in 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) and ...

during the first half of the 20th century. Following his regular military service he became the second Commandant of the

Observer Corps The Royal Observer Corps (ROC) was a civil defence organisation intended for the visual detection, identification, tracking and reporting of aircraft over Great Britain. It operated in the United Kingdom between 29 October 1925 and 31 December ...

and commanded the corps through its adoption by

RAF Fighter Command RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War. It earned near-immortal fame during the Battle of Britai ...

, the crucial operations during the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...

and the change to the Royal Observer Corps.

Military career

Royal Navy

Warrington-Morris joined 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 F ...

at the age of 15 in 1899 as a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

. He was promoted to

sub-lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...

on 18 December 1902 then to lieutenant in December 1904. In 1912 he was recorded as being a

lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

studying at the Royal Navy Torpedo School . Following his training, Warrington-Morris was posted as Torpedo Officer to , the RN Flagship East Indies Station with the rank of acting commander. In 1916 he transferred to the

Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...

and was promoted

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

on 30 June 1917 as a Senior Wireless Officer.

Royal Flying Corps

In 1918 Warrington-Morris was posted to the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

as Staff Officer i/c 1st Class Equipment – Wireless Telegraphy and promoted to acting

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

just before the Royal Flying Corps was amalgamated with the Royal Naval Air Service to form the new

(RAF) in April of that year. His commission as a lieutenant colonel was made permanent and gazetted on 22 August 1919 when he was appointed Deputy Director of Flying Instrumentation.

Royal Air Force

When RAF rank structure was reorganised in late 1919 Warrington-Morris became a

wing commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...

and his name was removed from the Royal Navy list. He was appointed Commandant, RAF Electrical and Wireless School on 1 August 1921 and was promoted to

group captain Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force, where it originated, as well as the air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank i ...

in January 1922. On 1 January 1925 Warrington-Morris was promoted to air commodore and appointed Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) at RAF HQ Iraq Command. In March 1927 he became the RAF's representative to the Ordnance Committee at Woolwich but, by September 1928, he was declared as a supernumerary air commodore at the RAF Central Depot. Between 1928 and 1934 he was Commandant RAF Signals Branch until retirement as a regular officer.

Royal Observer Corps

In 1934, on leaving the RAF, Warrington-Morris was employed as the Deputy Commandant of the

under Air Commodore

Edward Masterman Air Commodore Edward Alexander Dimsdale Masterman, (15 April 1880 – 26 August 1957) was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force in the first half of the 20th century. After retiring from the RAF, he served as the first ever Commandant of the ...

RAF Uxbridge RAF Uxbridge was a Royal Air Force (RAF) station in Uxbridge, within the London Borough of Hillingdon, occupying a site that originally belonged to the Hillingdon House estate. The British Government purchased the estate in 1915, three years ...

. Between 1935 and 1936 he was appointed Commandant of Southern Area of the Observer Corps during the massive and crucial expansion and development of the corps during the inter war years. When Air Commodore Masterman stood down as commandant in April 1936, Warrington-Morris replaced him and took control of the Observer Corps during the important period immediately prior to the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He oversaw the move of HQ Observer Corps to

RAF Bentley Priory RAF Bentley Priory was a non-flying Royal Air Force station near Stanmore in the London Borough of Harrow. It was the headquarters of Fighter Command in the Battle of Britain and throughout the Second World War. During the war, two enemy bomb ...

and the corps' adoption by

. He also controlled the corps during the memorable events of the

and was still at the helm when the Observer Corps was granted the title 'Royal' prefix to become the Royal Observer Corps and became a uniformed branch of the RAF. He was

Mentioned in Despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

in July 1940.

Later appointments

On leaving the Royal Observer Corps in June 1942, Warrington-Morris was recommissioned as an air commodore in Class CC and served in the Admin and Special Duties Branch of the RAF. From 26 December 1942 until 8 November 1944 he was Deputy Director of the

Air Training Corps The Air Training Corps (ATC) is a British volunteer-military youth organisation. They are sponsored by the Ministry of Defence and the Royal Air Force. The majority of staff are volunteers, and some are paid for full-time work – including C ...

by then holding a reserve nominal rank of wing commander.

Sporting achievements

Warrington-Morris played international

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

1909 Events January–February * January 4 – Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escaped death by fleeing across ice floes. * January 7 – Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama. * Januar ...

at the age of 25 and later represented the RAF playing hockey in 1919. He was still playing rugby for RAF Flowerdown, of which he was at the time Station Commander, in 1922 at the age of 39. Warrington-Morris was a founder member of the RAF Rugby Union, which was formed at a meeting on 15 January 1920. He became the sole selector and Honorary Treasurer and was to hold the financial appointment, or others on the Committee, until his death 42 years later, making him the longest-serving member of the Union. Warrington-Morris was the Treasurer from the 1919–20 year until 1924–25, then again from 1933–1934 until 1956–57, and finally from 1958–1959 until 1961–62. He was also the chairman in 1923–1924 and 1924–25, then from 1927–1928 until 1932–33. During this time he rose in rank from wing commander to air commodore; "an extremely faithful servant of the RAFRU by anyone's standards". On the day of his death, against doctors' orders, Warrington-Morris went to Twickenham and watched the RAF achieve a 19–14 victory over the army in a game of rugby. He collapsed and died on the way home from the match. To mark his service, the RAFRU Committee named a new Inter-Station Shield competition trophy in his honour (The Warrington Morris Shield), and it is still played for to this day.

References

External links

Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Commodore A D Warrington-Morris
{{DEFAULTSORT:Warrington-Morris, Alfred Drummond 1883 births 1962 deaths Officers of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George England international rugby union players Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) People of the Royal Observer Corps Royal Air Force officers Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Navy officers of World War I