Air Vice Marshal Alick Foord-Kelcey, (6 April 1913 – 26 October 1973) was a

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 ...

(RAF) officer who served as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at Signals Command in 1961.

RAF career

Foord-Kelcey was born in Canada, the son of William Foord-Kelcey, a lawyer, and his wife Irene Marion Ethel Payne. His father was killed in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in 1918 and his mother, who was a sculptor, took her sons to England in 1923. He was educated at

The King's School, Canterbury The King's School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for 13 to 18 year old pupils) in Canterbury, Kent, England. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and the Eton Group. It is Britain's ...

and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, where he joined the

Cambridge University Air Squadron Cambridge University Air Squadron, abbreviated CUAS, formed in 1925, is the training unit of the Royal Air Force at the University of Cambridge and forms part of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. It is the oldest of 15 University Air Squadr ...

and was then commissioned in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in 1934 before joining the Royal Air Force as a cadet in 1935.Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Vice-Marshal A Foord-Kelcey
/ref> He served in 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 opposi ...

on the Air Staff at Headquarters British Forces in Aden and as a pilot and instructor in the Western Desert before joining the Directorate of Plans at the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...

. and later a member of the Joint Planning Staff at the Cabinet War Offices. After the war he became Station Commander at

RAF Stradishall Royal Air Force Stradishall or more simply RAF Stradishall is a former Royal Air Force station located north east of Haverhill, Suffolk and south west of Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England. Part of the site remains in use as Stradishall Traini ...

and then Senior Air Staff Officer at Headquarters No. 12 (Fighter) Group before joining the staff on the British Joint Staffs Mission to Washington D. C. He was appointed Assistant Chief of Staff (Operations) at Headquarters

Allied Air Forces Central Europe Allied Air Forces Central Europe (AAFCE) was the NATO command tasked with air and air defense operations in NATOs Allied Forces Central Europe (AFCENT) area of command. History Allied Air Forces Central Europe was activated on 2 April 1951 at Fon ...

in 1955, Air Officer Commanding No. 11 Group in 1959 and Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at Signals Command in a temporary basis for three months in 1961 before becoming Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Intelligence) in 1961 and retiring in 1964. In retirement he was Deputy Director of the Foreign Office Arms Control and Disarmament Research Unit and then Executive Director of the Federation of World Health Foundations in

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

. He was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in the New Year Honours List in 1956.Service Aviation
Flight International, 6 January 1956

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Foord-Kelcey, Alick 1913 births 1973 deaths People educated at The King's School, Canterbury Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Royal Air Force air marshals Royal Air Force pilots of World War II Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) Heads of RAF Intelligence