Air Marshal Sir Barry Mark North, (born 13 September 1959) is a retired 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) an ...

officer, who served as Deputy Commander (Personnel) at

RAF Air Command Air Command is the only Command currently active in the Royal Air Force. It was formed by the merger of Royal Air Force Strike and Personnel and Training commands on 1 April 2007, and has its headquarters at RAF High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. ...

. A helicopter pilot, North has held command appointments at all levels, notably No. 78 Squadron in the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouze ...

, the Special Forces Flight as a

squadron leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is als ...

and the newly established No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group in the Middle East as an air commodore.

Early life and education

North was born in September 1959. He was educated at

Carre's Grammar School Carre's Grammar School is a selective secondary school for boys in Sleaford, a market town in Lincolnshire, England. Founded on 1 September 1604 by an indenture of Robert Carre, the school was funded by rents from farmland and run by a group ...

in Sleaford. He completed a

Higher National Diploma Higher National Diploma (HND), part of the Higher Nationals suite of qualifications, is an academic higher education qualification in the United Kingdom and various other countries. They were first introduced in England and Wales in 1920 alongsi ...

in Business Studies at Trent Polytechnic (a predecessor of Nottingham Trent University). He was awarded 'Alumnus of the Year' by Nottingham Trent University in 2011. He also holds a Master of Arts in Defence Studies from King's College London.

Military career

North was commissioned as an acting pilot officer in July 1982 – initially on a Short Service Commission – having won two trophies during Initial Officer Training. He was regraded to pilot officer in July 1983 during his flying training, and promoted to flying officer in July 1984 prior to being posted to No. 72 Squadron in Northern Ireland in August of that year to fly the

Westland Wessex The Westland Wessex is a British-built turbine-powered development of the Sikorsky H-34 (in US service known as Choctaw). It was developed and produced under licence by Westland Aircraft (later Westland Helicopters). One of the main chang ...

. North transferred to a Permanent Commission in September 1986, and was promoted to flight lieutenant in January 1987, converting to the Chinook before beginning his first tour with the Special Forces Flight of No. 7 Squadron at

RAF Odiham RAF Odiham is a Royal Air Force station situated a little to the south of the village of Odiham in Hampshire, England. It is the home of the Royal Air Force's heavy lift helicopter, the Chinook, and of the King’s Helicopter Flight (TKHF) . ...

in March. He then served as Aide-de-Camp to the Chief of the Defence Staff, Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir David Craig from December 1988 until March 1991, being promoted to

in January 1991, before taking command of No. 78 Squadron in the

, flying both the Chinook and Sea King aircraft, in July. North returned to the Special Forces Flight in September 1992 as its commander, and was appointed a

Member 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 1996

Birthday Honours List The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are presen ...

, having relinquished that command and joined the Army Command and Staff Course in March. He was awarded a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

in Defence Studies in 1997, having taken up the post of Personal Staff Officer to the Air Officer Commanding No. 1 Group in December 1996, serving Air Vice Marshals John Day and

Jock Stirrup Marshal of the Royal Air Force Graham Eric Stirrup, Baron Stirrup, (born 4 December 1949), informally known as Jock Stirrup, is a former senior Royal Air Force commander who was the Chief of the Defence Staff from 2006 until his retirement in ...

in that role, until his promotion to

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 ...

in July 1998, and a transfer to Headquarters Strike Command as Wing Commander Operations. In October 1999 North took command of No. 33 Squadron, flying the Puma aircraft from

RAF Benson Royal Air Force Benson or RAF Benson is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located at Benson, near Wallingford, in South Oxfordshire, England. It is a front-line station and home to the RAF's fleet of Westland Puma HC2 support helicopters, us ...

, leading the squadron on the first operation of the newly formed

Joint Helicopter Command Joint Helicopter Command (JHC) is a tri-service organisation uniting battlefield military helicopters of the British Armed Forces for command and coordination purposes. History Background Over the years, the grouping of all battlefield suppo ...

(JHC) providing humanitarian aid to the people of Mozambique following catastrophic flooding in early 2000. In May 2002 North moved to Headquarters JHC as Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff – Personnel, Policy & Plans and Communications, his promotion to group captain following in January 2003. Having led the planning for JHC's role in the

invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

, he was upgraded to Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2003 New Year Honours List. In April 2004 he was appointed the Station Commander of

RAF Aldergrove Joint Helicopter Command Flying Station Aldergrove or more simply JHC FS Aldergrove is located south of Antrim, Northern Ireland and northwest of Belfast and adjoins Belfast International Airport. It is sometimes referred to simply as Alde ...

, also concurrently holding the positions of Senior RAF Officer Northern Ireland and Commander Joint Helicopter Force Northern Ireland. In 2006, as an acting air commodore, North became the first commander of the newly established No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group, formed to control all RAF air assets within the Middle East theatre of operations, including the commitments to Iraq and Afghanistan; he received a

Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service The King's Commendation for Valuable Service is a British military award for meritorious service in an operational theatre. It was established in 1994, when the award of the Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct and the Queen's Commendation for ...

in December of that year. In January 2007 North received his substantive promotion to air commodore, and was appointed Head of Air Resources and Plans at the Ministry of Defence. North was promoted to air vice marshal and appointed Air Officer Commanding No. 22 (Training) Group in July 2009, becoming Assistant Chief of the Air Staff in March 2010. He was promoted to air marshal and appointed Deputy Commander (Personnel) at

on 3 May 2013. He was appointed

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as o ...

(KCB) in the 2015 New Year Honours. North retired from the RAF in May 2016. He has been President of the

Royal Air Forces Association The Royal Air Forces Association (also called the RAF Association or RAFA) is the largest single service membership organization and the longest standing registered service charity that provides welfare support to the family of RAF members. Th ...

(RAFA) since July 2017.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:North, Barry 1959 births Living people Alumni of King's College London Alumni of Nottingham Trent University Royal Air Force air marshals Officers of the Order of the British Empire Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Recipients of the Commendation for Valuable Service Helicopter pilots People educated at Carre's Grammar School