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

References

{{reflist Royal Air Force appointments

Air secretaries

See also

References