Air Marshal Sir Charles Edward Chilton, (1 November 1906 – 4 August 1992) was a

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 ...

officer who served as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief

Coastal Command RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was founded in 1936, when the RAF was restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands and played an important role during the Second World War. Maritime Aviation ...

from 1959 to 1962.

RAF career

Educated at

Portsmouth Grammar School The Portsmouth Grammar School is a co-educational independent day school in Portsmouth, England, located in the historic part of Portsmouth. It was founded in 1732 as a boys' school and is located on Portsmouth High Street. History In 1732, ...

,Obituary: Air Marshal Sir Edward Chilton
''The Independent'', 20 August 1992 Chilton joined the Royal Air Force in 1924.
/ref> He specialised in navigation and, having served as a Navigation Instructor at the

Central Flying School The Central Flying School (CFS) is the Royal Air Force's primary institution for the training of military flying instructors. Established in 1912 at the Upavon Aerodrome, it is the longest existing flying training school. The school was based at R ...

, was appointed Navigation Staff Officer at Headquarters

RAF Bomber Command RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the strategic bombing of Germany in World War II. From 1942 onward, the British bo ...

in 1937, a post he continued to hold during the early part of 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 moved on to be Command Navigation Officer at Headquarters RAF Flying Training Command in 1941. In 1943 he became Station Commander at

RAF Chivenor Royal Air Force Chivenor or RAF Chivenor was a Royal Air Force station located on the northern shore of the River Taw estuary, on the north coast of Devon, England. The nearest towns are Barnstaple and Braunton. Originally a civil airfield opene ...

where his role was to harry

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

s sailing in the Eastern Atlantic. After the war he was made Air Officer Commanding AHQ Ceylon before becoming Director of Personal Services in 1949 and Air Officer Commanding

RAF Gibraltar RAF Gibraltar (also formerly known as North Front) is a Royal Air Force station on Gibraltar. No military aircraft are currently stationed there, but RAF, Commonwealth and aircraft of other NATO nations will periodically arrive for transient stop ...

in 1952. He went on to be Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Policy) in 1953, Senior Air Staff Officer at Headquarters

RAF Coastal Command RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was founded in 1936, when the RAF was restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands and played an important role during the Second World War. Maritime Aviation ...

in 1955 and Air Officer Commanding

AHQ Malta Air Headquarters Malta (AHQ Malta or Air H.Q. Malta) was an overseas command of the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. It was established on 28 December 1941 by renaming RAF Mediterranean under Air Vice Marshal Hugh Pughe Lloyd, ...

in 1957. His last appointment was as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief RAF Coastal Command in 1959 before retiring in 1962. In retirement he was a Director at IBM (Rentals).

Family

In 1929 he married Betty Wrinch; they had one son. Following the death of his first wife he married Joyce Cornforth (née Fenwick) in 1964.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chilton, Edward 1906 births 1992 deaths Companions of the Order of the Bath Grand Crosses of the Order of Prince Henry Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire People educated at The Portsmouth Grammar School Royal Air Force air marshals Recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta Royal Air Force personnel of World War II