Air Commodore Helen Ferguson Renton, (13 March 1931 – 2 June 2016) was a Scottish

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. From 1980 to 1986, she served as Director of the

Women's Royal Air Force The Women's Royal Air Force (WRAF) was the women's branch of the Royal Air Force. It existed in two separate incarnations: the Women's Royal Air Force from 1918 to 1920 and the Women's Royal Air Force from 1949 to 1994. On 1 February 1949, the ...

Early life and education

Renton was born on 13 March 1931Though ''The Independent'' for many year
gave 31 March
as her birthday. in Denny, Falkirk, Scotland, to John Paul Renton and Sarah Graham Renton (''née'' Cook). She was educated at

Stirling High School Stirling High School is a state high school for 11- to 18-year-olds run by Stirling Council in Stirling, Scotland. It is one of seven high schools in the Stirling district, and has approximately 972 pupils. It is located on Torbrex Farm Road, ...

, a

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

. She studied at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

, graduating with an

undergraduate Master of Arts The degree of Master of Arts (MA; , ) in Scotland is an Undergraduate education, undergraduate degree. The degree can be either a three-year general or four-year ''Honours degree'' in humanities or social sciences, awarded by one of several ins ...

degree (MA Hons). She remained at Glasgow to undertake one year of postgraduate

business studies Business studies, often simply called business, is a field of study that deals with the principles of business, management, and economics. It combines elements of accountancy, finance, marketing, organizational studies, human resource management, a ...

Military career

Renton joined the

(WRAF) in 1954, and then underwent two months of

officer training A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned. ...

. On 9 June 1955, she was commissioned into the Secretarial Branch as a

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 ...

. Having completed an accounting course, she was posted as a junior accounts officer to

RAF Spitalgate Royal Air Force Spitalgate or more simply RAF Spitalgate formerly known as RFC Grantham and RAF Grantham was a Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force station, located south east of the centre of Grantham, Lincolnshire, England fronting onto th ...

Grantham Grantham () is a market and industrial town in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road. It lies some 23 miles (37 km) south of the Lincoln and ...

, Lincolnshire, England. She was promoted to flying officer on 9 June 1957. She served in the United Kingdom between 1955 and 1960. On 1 April 1960, she was promoted to

flight officer The title flight officer was a military rank used by the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, and also an air force rank in several Commonwealth countries, where it was used for female officers and was equivalent to the rank of flig ...

with seniority in that rank from 9 March 1960. From 1960 to 1962, she served in Cyprus. Renton returned to the United Kingdom in 1963. She spent 1967 as a member of the HQ staff of

Royal Air Force Germany The former Royal Air Force Germany (RAFG) was a command of the Royal Air Force and part of British Forces Germany. It consisted of units located in Germany, initially as part of the occupation following the Second World War, and later as part ...

. On 1 January 1968, she was promoted to squadron officer as part of the half-yearly promotions. From 1968 to 1971, she worked at the Directorate of the WRAF in London. On 1 July 1971, she 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 ...

as part of the half-yearly promotions. She then moved to Cyprus where she served as the most senior WRAF officer at the headquarters of the

Near East Air Force The former Royal Air Force Near East Air Force, more simply known as RAF Near East Air Force, was the Command organisation that controlled all Royal Air Force assets in the Eastern Mediterranean (the Near East). History The Command was originally ...

. From 1973 to 1976, having returned to the United Kingdom, she was based as

RAF Training Command Training Command was the Royal Air Force's command responsible for flying and ground training from 1936 to 1940 and again from 1968 to 1977. Training Command was formed from RAF Inland Area on 1 May 1936 and absorbed into RAF Support Command on 13 ...

. From 1976 to 1978, she was a staff officer at the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

. On 1 January 1977, she was promoted to

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 ...

as part of the half-yearly promotions. On 16 February 1980, Renton was appointed Director of the Women's Royal Air Force in succession to

Joy Tamblin Air Commodore Pamela Joy Tamblin (11 January 1926 – 8 March 2015) was a senior officer of the Royal Air Force. She served as Director of the Women's Royal Air Force from 1976 to 1980. Military career During World War II, Tamblin served i ...

, and made an

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad r ...

air commodore. On 1 July 1980, she was promoted to air commodore as part of the half-yearly promotions. She was head of the WRAF during the

Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...

, and although no WRAF personnel were directly involved in the conflict, they played a supporting role from bases in the United Kingdom. She retired on 13 March 1986.

Personal life

Renton never married, nor did she have any children. She believed "children and military life are incompatible". Renton died on 2 June 2016, she was aged 85.

Honours

On 16 February 1980, Renton was made an Honorary Aide-de-Camp (ADC) to Queen Elizabeth II; she relinquished this appointment on 31 January 1986. In 1981, she was awarded an honorary

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor (LL. ...

(LLD) degree by the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

, her ''alma mater''. In the

1982 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1982 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countries ...

, she was appointed 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 ...

(CB).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Renton, Helen 1931 births 2016 deaths Women's Royal Air Force officers People from Denny, Falkirk Alumni of the University of Glasgow People educated at Stirling High School Companions of the Order of the Bath