Air Commodore Sir Arthur Dennis Mitchell (26 May 1918 – 25 December 2001) was a British military pilot and commander. Dennis Mitchell was educated at Bloxham School and Pangbourne College before becoming an air cadet at RAF Cranwell ad commissioning into the Royal Air Force. He flew multiple missions during the Second World War in the Far East and Europe. During the post-war 1940s Mitchell served at No 2 Group headquarters, British Air Forces of Occupation, No 84 Group and the Air Ministry, before learning to fly the Gloster Meteor, the RAF's first jet fighter. Following brief command of No. 26 Squadron RAF, a Hawker Tempest squadron in Germany, he was posted to Brussels in 1948 as a member of an RAF delegation responsible for determining the needs of the future

Belgian Air Force The Belgian Air Component ( nl, Luchtcomponent, french: Composante air) is the air arm of the Belgian Armed Forces, and until January 2002 it was officially known as the Belgian Air Force ( nl, Belgische Luchtmacht; french: Force aérienne belg ...

. In this period Mitchell met and married Comtesse Mireill Cornet de Ways Ruart. He was decorated on several occasions, most notably being awarded a DFC and Bar in 1944 for his courageous leadership of squadrons under his command in the north-west Europe Campaign. From 1956 to 1959, he was Deputy Captain of the Queen's Flight and Captain from 1962 to 1964. In 1958, Mitchell was appointed Aide-de-Camp to Elizabeth II; he had been extra equerry since 1962. Mitchell was appointed

KBE KBE may refer to: * Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, post-nominal letters * Knowledge-based engineering Knowledge-based engineering (KBE) is the application of knowledge-based systems technology to the domain o ...

in 1977 and CVO in 1961. He was awarded the AFC in 1943 and French

Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

in 1945. Mitchell died in 2001.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, (Arthur) Dennis People educated at Bloxham School 1918 births 2001 deaths Royal Air Force air commodores Royal Air Force personnel of World War II British World War II pilots English aviators Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Graduates of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)