Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

Harold Douglas Briggs, (29 September 1877 – 13 September 1944) was a senior

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

and

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 played a leading role in British naval aviation during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Background

Briggs was born 29 September 1877. After joining the Royal Navy as a young man, Briggs showed steady career progression and by 1908 was on the staff of the Admiral Commanding Coast Guards and Reserves. Towards the end of 1911 he was promoted to

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

and at the end of 1912 he became the executive officer on . In 1915 Briggs was appointed Officer-in-Command of Air Stations under the Admiral Commanding the East Coast of England. Later that year he joined the staff of the Inspecting Captain of Air Training. In November Briggs was promoted to acting wing captain and the following January he became the Inspecting Captain of Air Training himself. After only three months in post Briggs was reassigned again, this time as the Officer Commanding RNAS Vendome, a Royal Naval Air Service flight training school in France. In September 1917 he was recalled to his former post and again served as Inspecting Captain of Air Training.

Royal Air Force

By the start of 1918 the preparations to create the Royal Air Force were well underway and Briggs was given the RAF rank of temporary brigadier-general in mid-February when he joined 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 ...

. On 1 April the RAF came into being and Briggs was appointed the General Officer Commanding both

RAF Cranwell Royal Air Force Cranwell or more simply RAF Cranwell is a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire, England, close to the village of Cranwell, near Sleaford. Among other functions, it is home to the Royal Air Force College (RAFC), which tra ...

and No. 12 Group. In 1919 Briggs returned to the Navy and was given command of the dreadnought . Briggs retired from the Navy in 1922, and the RAF granted him the honorary rank of brigadier general. Briggs died at a nursing home in London on 13 September 1944.

Notes

External links

Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Brigadier General H D BriggsThe Dreadnought Project – Harold Douglas Briggs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Briggs, Harold Douglas 1877 births 1944 deaths Royal Navy officers Military personnel from County Durham Royal Air Force generals of World War I Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George People from the City of Sunderland