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 Christopher Neil Foxley-Norris, (16 March 1917 – 28 September 2003) was 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 ...

(RAF). A squadron commander 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 later served as Commander-in-Chief

RAF Germany The former Royal Air Force Germany (RAFG) was a command of the Royal Air Force and part of British Forces Germany. It consisted of units located in Germany, initially as part of the occupation following the Second World War, and later as part ...

in the late 1960s.

Early life

Christopher Neil Foxley-Norris was born on 16 March 1917, a younger son of Major John Percivall Foxley-Norris (1886–1924) and his wife, Dorothy Brabant Smith. His paternal grandfather was the clergyman

William Foxley Norris William Foxley Norris (4 February 1859 – 28 September 1937) was Dean of York between 1917 and 1925 and of Westminster from then until his death in 1937. Born into a clerical family, he was educated at Charterhouse and Trinity College, ...

, who served as

Dean of Westminster The Dean of Westminster is the head of the chapter at Westminster Abbey. Due to the Abbey's status as a Royal Peculiar, the dean answers directly to the British monarch (not to the Bishop of London as ordinary, nor to the Archbishop of Canterbur ...

. He was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...

and then

Trinity College, Oxford (That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody) , named_for = The Holy Trinity , established = , sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge , president = Dame Hilary Boulding , location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH , coordinates ...

, where he read law. He joined the Oxford

University Air Squadron University Air Squadrons are training units under the command of No. 6 Flying Training School RAF of the Royal Air Force and their main role is to attract students into careers as RAF officers. Primarily its goal is achieved through offering b ...

in 1936. Foxley-Norris was awarded a Harmsworth scholarship (worth £200) to read for the Bar. The outbreak of war prevented him from taking his final exams. The

Bar Council {{see also, Bar association A bar council ( ga, Comhairle an Bharra) or bar association, in a common law jurisdiction with a legal profession split between solicitors and barristers or advocates, is a professional body that regulates the profess ...

requested the money back, but Foxley-Norris made an arrangement with them that he would leave it to them in his will.

Second World War

Foxley-Norris was commissioned in the

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF ...

after graduating and was called up for active service in 1939. He undertook initial flying training at No. 9 Flying Training School at

RAF Hullavington RAF Hullavington was a Royal Air Force station located at Hullavington, near Chippenham, Wiltshire, England. The station opened in June 1937 and was predominantly used for various training purposes. It closed on 31 March 1992 when it was transfe ...

and completed the training at No 1 School of Army Co-operation. His first posting on completion of training was to

No. 13 Squadron RAF Number 13 Squadron, also written as XIII Squadron, is a squadron of the Royal Air Force which operate the General Atomics MQ-9A Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle from RAF Waddington since reforming on 26 October 2012. The unit first formed as par ...

flying Lysanders in the

Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...

. Following the fall of France and the start of the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...

, the need for Army Co-operation pilots was greatly reduced while that for fighter pilots was increased. As such, Foxley-Norris was posted to No. 3 Squadron flying

Hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

from

RAF Turnhouse Royal Air Force Turnhouse or more simply RAF Turnhouse is a former Royal Air Force Sector Station located in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is now Edinburgh Airport. History The following units were here at some point: ;First World War * No. 26 Reserve ...

. He 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 ...

for his actions, published in the ''

London Gazette London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

'' on 29 May 1945:

Post-war RAF career

After the war, Foxley-Norris became station commander at

RAF Stradishall Royal Air Force Stradishall or more simply RAF Stradishall is a former Royal Air Force Royal Air Force station, station located north east of Haverhill, Suffolk, Haverhill, Suffolk and south west of Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England. Part of th ...

and then at

RAF West Malling Royal Air Force West Malling or RAF West Malling is a former Royal Air Force station located south of West Malling, Kent and west of Maidstone, Kent, England. Originally used as a landing area during the First World War,Royal Naval College, Greenwich The Royal Naval College, Greenwich, was a Royal Navy training establishment between 1873 and 1998, providing courses for naval officers. It was the home of the Royal Navy's staff college, which provided advanced training for officers. The equiv ...

, and a course at the Imperial Defence College (now the

Royal College of Defence Studies The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest level ...

) in Belgrave Square in 1961. He went on to be Director of Organisation 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 1962,

Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff The Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (ACDS) is a senior British military officer. There are a number of ACDS appointments and they are held by officers of two-star rank (rear admiral, air vice-marshal, or major general). They work in the Minis ...

in 1963 and Air Officer Commanding No. 224 Group in 1964. In 1967, Foxley-Norris was appointed Director-General of RAF Organisation at the newly unified

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

. He was promoted to air marshal and took command of

and of the

2nd Tactical Air Force The RAF Second Tactical Air Force (2TAF) was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force (RAF) during and after the Second World War. It was made up of squadrons and personnel from the RAF, other British Commonwealth air forces, ...

in 1968. Foxley-Norris was knighted in the

1969 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1969 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced in supplements to the ''Lond ...

. His final post, with the rank of

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 ...

, was Chief of Personnel and Logistics in 1971. He retired from active service in 1974. Foxley-Norris was one of the umpires for the 1974 Sandhurst wargame on

Operation Sea Lion Operation Sea Lion, also written as Operation Sealion (german: Unternehmen Seelöwe), was Nazi Germany's code name for the plan for an invasion of the United Kingdom during the Battle of Britain in the Second World War. Following the Battle o ...

. UK pro-smoking lobby organisation

FOREST A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

was launched on 19 June 1979, with Foxley-Norris as its chairman. Foxley-Norris retired as the organisation's public figurehead in 1989, and was replaced by

Lord Harris of High Cross Ralph Harris, Baron Harris of High Cross (10 December 1924 – 19 October 2006) was a British economist. He was head of the Institute of Economic Affairs from 1957 to 1988. Background Harris, the son of a tramways inspector, was "one of four ...

Family

Foxley-Norris married Joan (née Lovell Hughes, now Lady Foxley-Norris) in 1948. They had no children. Joan served as a nurse during the war, and worked with injured pilots. Following his death, she took his place at many Battle of Britain events which were held and was also a regular visitor to

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, use ...

. His funeral took place at St Mary Devoted at

Turville Turville is a village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. It is in the Chiltern Hills, west of High Wycombe, east-southeast of Watlington, north of Henley-on-Thames and 2 miles (3 km) from the Oxfordshire border. The name is Anglo-S ...

, near Stokenchurch, on 7 October 2003. Memorial services were held at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

on 29 January 2004 and at St. Clement Danes, the Central Church of the Royal Air Force, London in April 2004.

References

Bibliography

External links

* * * , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Foxley-Norris, Christopher Royal Air Force air marshals 1917 births 2003 deaths British World War II fighter pilots Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford People educated at Winchester College Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Officers of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Royal Air Force pilots of World War II People from Birkenhead Military personnel from Cheshire The Few Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II