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 ...

Frank Robert Miller (April 30, 1908 – October 20, 1997) was a Canadian airman, the last Chairman of the

Chiefs of Staff Committee The Chiefs of Staff Committee (CSC) is composed of the most senior military personnel in the British Armed Forces who advise on operational military matters and the preparation and conduct of military operations. The committee consists of the Ch ...

in 1964, the first chief of the Defence Staff from 1964 until 1966, and deputy minister of

National Defence National security, or national defence, is the security and Defence (military), defence of a sovereign state, including its Citizenship, citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived as p ...

. He held a range of Air Force training appointments during World War II.

Military career

Frank Robert Miller was born in

Kamloops Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the South flowing North Thompson River and the West flowing Thompson River, east of Kamloops Lake. It is located in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, w ...

, British Columbia, on April 30, 1908, to Hedley Miller and his wife Mary. After completing his education at the University of Alberta (where he gained a BSc) Miller joined the Royal Canadian Air Force at Camp Borden on September 15, 1931, with the rank of

pilot officer Pilot officer (Plt Off officially in the RAF; in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly P/O in all services, and still often used in the RAF) is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countri ...

. He received his wings on December 16 and was promoted to flying officer. Miller then underwent further training before becoming an instructor at the Camp Borden flying and navigation school in 1935. Promoted to

flight lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...

on September 1, 1937, he taught at the Air Navigation and Seaplane School, Trenton from May 1937 to September 1938. In September 1938, Miller was posted to England to attend the Specialist Air Navigation Course at the School of Air Navigation, RAF Manston, during which time he was promoted to squadron leader on April 1, 1939. At the outbreak of war in September, Miller was the Officer Commanding of the Air Navigation and Reconnaissance School, Trenton. He was promoted to acting wing commander in December 1940. From May 1942 Miller commanded the Air Navigation School at Rivers, Manitoba. Promoted to acting

group captain Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force, where it originated, as well as the air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank i ...

in July, he commanded the General Reconnaissance School on Prince Edward Island before moving to the Air Force Headquarters in January 1943 where he served as Director of Training Plans and Requirements. He was promoted to acting air commodore in January 1943. In 1944 Miller was posted to England and on September 19 he took up command of

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 ...

's No. 61 Base in North Yorkshire, with the substantive rank of air commodore from October 14. No 61 Base was headquartered at Topcliffe and commanded the RAF establishments at Dalton,

Dishforth Dishforth is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. Dishforth translates from Old English as dic-ford; a ford by a dike or ditch. The population of the parish taken at the 2001 census as 719 and had ...

, and

Wombleton Wombleton is a village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is situated just south from the main Thirsk to Scarborough road A170 road and to the west of Pickering. The village has one public house, the Plough Inn, which was renova ...

. On November 9 Millar's command was redesignated No. 76 Base and Gamston in Nottinghamshire was added as a subordinate unit. On January 13, 1945, Miller took up command of No. 63 Base which was responsible for RAF Leeming (headquarters) and

RAF Skipton-on-Swale Royal Air Force station Skipton-on-Swale or more simply RAF Skipton-on-Swale is a former Royal Air Force station operated by RAF Bomber Command during the Second World War. The station was located at Skipton-on-Swale west of Thirsk (near the ...

. After the war, Miller served in several senior positions in the Royal Canadian Air Force. In September 1951, Miller was promoted to vice-chief of the Air Staff with the rank of air vice-marshal, serving until 1954. He was then posted to Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe as General Lauris Norstad’s Vice-Deputy Air. Gaining promotion to air marshal in 1955 he then retired from the RCAF at Prime Minister

Louis St. Laurent Louis Stephen St. Laurent (''Saint-Laurent'' or ''St-Laurent'' in French, baptized Louis-Étienne St-Laurent; February 1, 1882 – July 25, 1973) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 12th prime minister of Canada from 19 ...

's request to serve in the senior civil service position of deputy minister of National Defence, remaining in post until 1957. He then became Deputy Commander-in-Chief

NORAD North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and protection ...

. In 1960, he was appointed Chairman of the

, gaining promotion to

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 ...

on September 1, 1961. Three years later he became the first chief of the Defence Staff, serving from 1964 until 1966. As chief of the Defence Staff, Miller was opposed to the plans of the Defence Minister Paul Hellyer to merge the Royal Canadian Air Force, the Royal Canadian Navy and the Canadian Army into one service, and in 1966 resigned in protest, saying he could not in good conscience co-operate with Hellyer's plans.Morton, Desmond ''A Military History of Canada'', Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1999 page 252. In 1972 Miller was made a Companion of the Order of Canada. He died on October 20, 1997.

Academic qualifications

* Bachelor of Science (BSc) * Doctor of Laws (LLD)

Notes

References

External links

Order of Canada Citation

Frank Robert Miller
at The Canadian Encyclopedia , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Frank Robert 1908 births 1997 deaths Canadian military personnel from British Columbia Chiefs of the Defence Staff (Canada) Canadian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of Canada People from Kamloops Royal Canadian Air Force air marshals Royal Canadian Air Force personnel of World War II