Air Chief Marshal Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer originating from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. An air chief marshal is equivalent to an Admir ...

Sir Arthur Sheridan Barratt, (25 February 1891 – 4 November 1966) was an officer in the

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

during 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 ...

and a senior commander 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

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 acquired the nickname "Ugly".

RAF career

Barratt was commissioned into the

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of t ...

in 1910 and transferred to the

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

in 1914.Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Barratt
/ref> He served in the

, commanding No. 6 Squadron and then No. 49 Squadron before taking over 3rd (Corps) Wing. After the war he became Assistant Commandant at the

Royal Air Force College Cranwell The Royal Air Force College (RAFC) is the Royal Air Force military academy which provides initial training to all RAF personnel who are preparing to become commissioned officers. The College also provides initial training to aircrew cadets and ...

and then Staff Officer for Administration at Headquarters No. 3 Group. He was made Commandant at the School of Army Co-operation in 1926 and Air Staff Officer to the General Officer Commanding

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

in April 1927 before joining the Air Staff at Headquarters

No. 22 Group No. 22 Group is one of five groups currently active in the Royal Air Force, falling under the responsibility of Deputy Commander-in-Chief (Personnel) in Air Command. Its previous title up until 2018 was No. 22 (Training) Group. It is responsible ...

in November 1927. He went on to be Chief Instructor at the

RAF Staff College, Andover The RAF Staff College at RAF Andover was the first Royal Air Force staff college to be established. Its role was the training of officers in the administrative, staff and policy aspects of air force matters. History Foundation Following the fo ...

in 1929, Air Officer Commanding No. 1 (Indian) Group in 1931 and Senior Air Staff Officer at Headquarters

RAF India RAF India, later called Air Forces in India (1938–47) was a command of the Royal Air Force (RAF) that was active from 1918 until Indian independence and partition in 1947. It was the air force counterpart of the British Army in India. Origi ...

in 1932. After that he was Director of Staff Duties 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 ...

in 1935 and then returned to the

, as Commandant in 1936. He served in the

as Principal RAF Liaison Officer to the French Air Force and then Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief

British Air Forces in France British Air Forces in France (BAFF) was a Royal Air Force (RAF) Command set up on 15 January 1940 under the command of Air Marshal Arthur Barratt, to provide unified command of the RAF in France. The Royal Air Force Component of the British E ...

. When he heard that on 14 May 1940, forty of the seventy-one British bombers that had taken off did not return, he is said to have cried. He continued his war service as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at Army Co-operation Command in November 1940 and Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at

Technical Training Command The United States Army Air Forces during World War II had major subordinate Commands below the Air Staff level. These Commands were organized along functional missions. One such Command was the Flying Training Command (FTC). It began as Air Corp ...

in 1943. His last appointment was as

Inspector-General of the RAF The Inspector-General of the RAF was a senior appointment in the Royal Air Force, responsible for the inspection of airfields. The post existed from 1918 to 1920 and from 1935 until the late 1960s. For much of World War II, a second inspector-ge ...

in 1945, in which capacity he took part in the Victory Parade in June 1946Commanders to participate
Flight International, 23 May 1946 before retiring in 1947.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Barratt, Arthur Sheridan Royal Air Force air marshals 1891 births 1966 deaths Royal Field Artillery officers People educated at Clifton College Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Recipients of the Military Cross Officers of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium) Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur Commanders with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta Aviation pioneers Royal Flying Corps officers Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich Deputy Lieutenants of Hampshire Military personnel of British India