Air Commodore Graham Clarke Bladon (13 September 1899 – 11 October 1967) was a British

air officer An air officer is an air force officer of the rank of air commodore or higher. Such officers may be termed "officers of air rank". While the term originated in the Royal Air Force, air officers are also to be found in many Commonwealth nations ...

of 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 ...

, who initially joined the

Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...

during the First World War, becoming an RAF officer in 1918. He went on to hold various commands up to and throughout the Second World War, and served as the first Commander of the Royal Ceylon Air Force from 1951 until 1958.

Early life and WWI flying career

Bladon was born in

Burton upon Trent Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. In United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011, it had a ...

, Staffordshire, the son of John James Clarke Bladon (1876–1942) and his wife Annie Elizabeth (née Daniels) (1880–1921). Bladon joined the

in late 1917, soon after his 18th birthday, as a temporary probationary flight officer, and began his training at RNAS Cranwell. He was appointed a temporary flight sub-lieutenant on 29 January 1918, and was awarded

Royal Aero Club The Royal Aero Club (RAeC) is the national co-ordinating body for air sport in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1901 as the Aero Club of Great Britain, being granted the title of the "Royal Aero Club" in 1910. History The Aero Club was foun ...

Aviator's Certificate No. 6700 on 3 March 1918. On 1 April 1918, the Royal Naval Air Service and the Army's Royal Flying Corps (RFC) merged to form the Royal Air Force, and Bladon joined the new service with the rank of lieutenant.

Inter-war career

Bladon stayed with the RAF after the end of the war. He was transferred to the RAF's unemployed list on 22 November 1919, but on 12 December was awarded a short service commission with the rank of flying officer. In early 1920 Bladon was sent to

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...

to serve in No. 30 Squadron, subsequently receiving mentions in despatches from Lieutenant-General Sir

Aylmer Haldane General Sir James Aylmer Lowthorpe Haldane, (17 November 1862 – 19 April 1950) was a Scottish soldier who rose to high rank in the British Army. Early life Born to physician Daniel Rutherford Haldane and his wife Charlotte Elizabeth née Lo ...

, the commander the Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force, in September 1920 and October 1921. On 24 March 1922 he was transferred to No. 47 Squadron based in Egypt, and on 26 September was transferred again to No. 208 Squadron when it was sent to Turkey during the

Chanak Crisis The Chanak Crisis ( tr, Çanakkale Krizi), also called the Chanak Affair and the Chanak Incident, was a war scare in September 1922 between the United Kingdom and the Government of the Grand National Assembly in Turkey. ''Chanak'' refers to Ça ...

. On 10 July 1923 Bladon was seriously injured when his

Bristol F.2b The Bristol F.2 Fighter is a British First World War two-seat biplane Fighter aircraft, fighter and reconnaissance aircraft developed by Frank Barnwell at the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It is often simply called the Bristol Fighter, ''"Brisfit ...

, ''H1678'', overturned on landing. On 1 November 1923 Bladon returned to England, and on 1 April 1924 was posted to No. 420 (Fleet Spotter) Flight of the

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...

. On 1 July 1925 he was 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 ...

, and on 1 January 1926 was granted a permanent commission. On 31 May 1926 he was transferred to No. 443 Flight, based at

RAF Leuchars Royal Air Force Leuchars or RAF Leuchars was a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located in Leuchars, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. Throughout the Cold War and beyond, the station was home to fighter aircraft which policed northern UK airspac ...

. On 26 January 1927 Bladon was appointed Officer-in-Charge of No. 421 (Fleet Spotter) Flight, serving in the Mediterranean. Later his previous unit No. 443 Flight was temporarily split into two, with No. 443A Flight remaining at Leuchars while No. 443B Flight was attached to the

China Station The Commander-in-Chief, China was the admiral in command of what was usually known as the China Station, at once both a British Royal Navy naval formation and its admiral in command. It was created in 1865 and deactivated in 1941. From 1831 to 18 ...

. Bladon commanded No. 443B Flight, until the Flight was reunited, then returned to No. 421 Flight. From 31 August 1928 he served of the Staff at

RAF Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan borough on the south coast of Hampshire, South East England. At the 2011 Census, its population was 82,662. Gosport is situated on a peninsula on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour, opposite th ...

. Bladon was posted to RAF Base at

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

on 22 September 1933. On 1 October 1935 he was promoted to

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 also ...

. On 9 April 1937 Bladon was appointed Officer Commanding of No. 42 Squadron, flying

Vickers Vildebeest The Vickers Vildebeest and the similar Vickers Vincent were two very large two- to three-seat single-engined British biplanes designed and built by Vickers and used as light bombers, torpedo bombers and in army cooperation roles. First flown i ...

Mk.IV torpedo bombers from

RAF Donibristle RNAS Donibristle is a former Fleet Air Arm base located east of Rosyth, Fife, and northwest of Edinburgh. From 1918 to 1939 the station was called RAF Donibristle. History The following units were posted here at some point: ;Royal Air Force ...

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

, Scotland. He was promoted 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 ...

on 1 November 1938, and on 29 December was posted to the Air Staff at the Deputy Directorate of Operations (Naval Co-operation).

World War II

Bladon served as a staff officer during the Second World War, being posted to the Directorate of War Training and Tactics on 3 January 1940, then to the Directorate of Operational Training in July. He was promoted to the

temporary rank Military ranks are a system of hierarchical relationships, within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies or other institutions organized along military lines. The military rank system defines dominance, authority, and responsibility in a m ...

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 ...

on 1 March 1941, and was posted to the headquarters of

Flying Training Command Flying Training Command was an Command (military formation), organization of the Royal Air Force; it controlled flight training units. The command's headquarters were at Shinfield Park, Reading, Berkshire, Reading in Berkshire. History Flying ...

on 15 April 1942. His rank of group captain was made substantive on 1 December 1944.

Post-war and Ceylon

In 1946 Bladon was appointed Commander of the RAF Base at Singapore, and later served as Staff Officer (Administration) at the Air Headquarters Malaya. On 1 September 1948 Bladon was appointed Senior Air Staff Officer of No. 62 (Southern Reserve) Group in Reserve Command. The

Royal Ceylon Air Force The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) ( si, ශ්‍රි ලංකා ගුවන් හමුදාව, Śrī Laṃkā guwan hamudāva; ta, இலங்கை விமானப்படை, Ilaṅkai vimāṉappaṭai) is the air arm and the yo ...

was officially founded in 1949, but work on its creation did not begin until Bladon was appointed Air Adviser to the Government of Ceylon on 16 May 1950. He was made a

Commander 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

1951 New Year Honours The 1951 New Years Honours were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1951 for the Brit ...

. Bladon became the first Commander of the Royal Ceylon Air Force on 2 March 1951, setting up his headquarters initially at the

Galle Face Hotel The Galle Face Hotel, founded in 1864, is one of the oldest hotels east of Suez. It is located on Galle Road, Colombo. The Ceylon Hotels Corporation is now part of the Galle Face Hotel Group. The hotel is a member of Select Hotels and Resorts Int ...

. In creating a military organisation from scratch, he relied on a core of seconded RAF officers and NCOs, and Ceylonese personnel who had served with the RAF during the war. In 1952 the RCyAF consisted of eight officers and 100 airmen, but by 1955 had its Headquarters and Maintenance Unit at

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

, and flying units based at

Katunayake Katunayake ( si, කටුනායක, ta, கட்டுநாயகம்), is a suburb of Negombo city in Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is the site of Bandaranaike International Airport or Colombo Airport, the primary international air g ...

and

Diyatalawa Diyatalawa (දියතලාව, meaning “the watered plain”) is a former garrison town in the central highlands of Sri Lanka, in the Badulla District of Uva Province. It is situated at an altitude of and has become a popular destination ...

operating

Chipmunk Chipmunks are small, striped rodents of the family Sciuridae. Chipmunks are found in North America, with the exception of the Siberian chipmunk which is found primarily in Asia. Taxonomy and systematics Chipmunks may be classified either as ...

, Balliol and

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

aircraft, used both for training and also army co-operation operations and illicit immigration patrols. Later, it formed a composite squadron of

Auster Auster Aircraft Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer from 1938 to 1961.Willis, issue 122, p.55 History The company began in 1938 at the Britannia Works, Thurmaston near Leicester, England, as Taylorcraft Aeroplanes (England) Limited, ma ...

s and helicopters for army co-operation and air/sea rescue, a transport squadron of

Doves Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

and

Herons The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychus ...

, and two fighter squadrons with jet aircraft. Bladon was promoted to the acting rank of air commodore on 1 October 1956. He relinquished command of the RCyAF on 8 October 1958. Bladon retired from the RAF, retaining the rank of air commodore, on 22 February 1959. On 13 June he was made a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

in the

1959 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1959 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. The appointments were made to celebrate ...

. Bladon died in the Forbes Fraser Hospital, Bath, Somerset, on 11 October 1967.

Personal life

Bladon married Muriel Clibbens (1908–1977) in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

in 1937, and they had one son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bladon, Graham 1899 births 1967 deaths People from Burton upon Trent Royal Navy officers Royal Naval Air Service aviators Royal Naval Air Service personnel of World War I Royal Air Force personnel of World War I Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Air Force air commodores Sri Lanka Air Force air commodores Commanders of the Sri Lanka Air Force Companions of the Order of the Bath Military personnel from Staffordshire Commanders of the Order of the British Empire