Air Commodore Andrew James Wray Geddes, (31 July 1906 – 15 December 1988) was the senior

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 ...

officer during 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 ...

who led the planning for

Operation Manna Operation Manna was the codeword for a World War II, Second World War operation by the British and Greek forces in Greece in mid-October 1944, following the gradual withdrawal of the Axis Occupation of Greece, German occupying forces from the c ...

, the air drop of food supplies to the starving population of the Netherlands.

Early life

Geddes was born in

Belgaum Belgaum (ISO 15919, ISO: ''Bēḷagāma''; also Belgaon and officially known as Belagavi) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka located in its northern part along the Western Ghats. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous ...

, India, the son of Major Malcolm Henry Burdett Geddes, an

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

officer. He soon returned to England with his mother and much later graduated from the Royal Military Academy in

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throu ...

and joined the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

in 1926.

Military career

Geddes began his military career 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 ...

before being seconded to the

(RAF) in 1928. He trained at

RAF Sealand MoD Sealand (formerly RAF Sealand), is a Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), Ministry of Defence installation in Flintshire, in the northeast corner of Wales, close to the border with England. It is a former Royal Air Force station, active be ...

before joining

No. 4 Squadron RAF No. 4 Squadron, normally written as IV Squadron, of the Royal Air Force operates the BAE Hawk T2 in the training role from RAF Valley. History Formation and First World War IV Squadron formed at Farnborough in 1912 as part of the Royal Fl ...

RAF Farnborough Farnborough Airport (previously called: TAG Farnborough Airport, RAE Farnborough, ICAO Code EGLF) is an operational business/executive general aviation airport in Farnborough, Hampshire, Farnborough, Rushmoor, Hampshire, England. The airport ...

flying the

Bristol F.2 Fighter The Bristol F.2 Fighter is a British First World War two-seat biplane fighter and reconnaissance aircraft developed by Frank Barnwell at the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It is often simply called the Bristol Fighter, ''"Brisfit"'' or ''"Bif ...

and later the

Armstrong Whitworth Atlas The Armstrong Whitworth Atlas was a British single-engine biplane designed and built by Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft. It served as an army co-operation aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the 1920s and 1930s. It was the first purpose-desi ...

. In 1932, Geddes rejoined the Royal Artillery but was again seconded to the RAF in 1935, this time as a Flight Commander with

No. 2 Squadron RAF Number 2 Squadron, also known as No. II (Army Co-operation) Squadron, is the most senior Squadron (aviation), squadron of the Royal Air Force. It is currently equipped with the Eurofighter Typhoon, Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 at RAF Lossiemouth, C ...

RAF Manston Royal Air Force Manston or more simply RAF Manston is a former Royal Air Force station located in the north-east of Kent, at on the Isle of Thanet from 1916 until 1996. The site was split between a commercial airport Kent International Airpor ...

. By 1938, Geddes was the squadron commander. Geddes had an active role in the planning of

Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The operat ...

, the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944. Shortly after the landing on 6 June 1944, Geddes flew a Mustang over the invasion beaches taking some of the first pictures of the invasion. Although Geddes retained his army commission (reaching the rank of major in 1943), he spent all of the Second World War in the RAF. He finally fully transferred to the RAF in 1945. Geddes was appointed an

Officer 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 o ...

in the

1941 New Year Honours The 1941 New Year Honours were appointments by King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the United Kingdom and British Empire. They were announced on 31 December 1940.United Kingdom and Britis ...

, was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

in June 1943,

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 ...

on 1 January and 14 June 1945, granted a Commander of the United States

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

in October 1945, and advanced to

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 o ...

in the 1946 New Year Honours.

Operation Manna

From 1 April 1943 until

VE-Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the official end of World War II in Europe in the Easter ...

Air Commodore Geddes was responsible for the Operations and Plans of the Second Tactical Air Force RAF. In the spring of 1945 he was responsible for the organising of

; the dropping of food and other essentials to the starving Dutch population still in the occupied areas of the Netherlands. The first food drops began on 29 April 1945, even though no formal treaty had been signed between the Allies and Germans. That day over 240 Lancaster's flew at low level to drop 535 tons of food at six designated places in the west of the Netherlands agreed with Germans. In case the Allies were trying to use the drop for military purposes (for example dropping paratroopers or arms for partisans), the Germans sent anti-aircraft guns to four of the locations. Local Dutch organising committees then set up a plan to collect the air drops and distribute the food.

Post military career

Geddes retired from the RAF on 29 September 1954 with the rank of air commodore and worked in local government. The road "Air Commodore Geddespad" in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

was named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geddes, Andrew James Wray 1906 births 1988 deaths Commanders of the Legion of Merit Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Royal Air Force air commodores Royal Field Artillery officers 20th-century British Army personnel Royal Air Force pilots of World War II British people in colonial India