Air Commodore Sir John Adrian Chamier, (26 December 1883 – 3 May 1974) was a British officer 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) an ...

. Chamier is known as "The Founding Father of the ATC" for his role in the foundation of the

Air Training Corps The Air Training Corps (ATC) is a British volunteer-military youth organisation. They are sponsored by the Ministry of Defence and the Royal Air Force. The majority of staff are volunteers, and some are paid for full-time work – including C ...

Military career

Indian Army and Royal Air Force

Chamier was educated at the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infant ...

. After passing out on 27 August 1902, his name was added to the Unattached List of the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

, and he was in October posted to the Punjab command. He was commissioned into the Indian Army as a second lieutenant on 11 January 1904, but with seniority from 27 August 1902, and on 5 February 1904 was attached to the 33rd Punjabis, an Indian Army regiment. He was promoted captain on 27 August 1911. Chamier was commissioned as a flying officer into the Royal Flying Corps on 26 August 1915 and served as a

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

in 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 ...

. After the war, he transferred to the newly formed

, in which he served the rest of his career, eventually retiring in 1929.Air Cadet Publication 31: General Service Training, 2000. Section 1, p. 31.1.1-1 From November 1921 to February 1922, as Deputy Director, Directorate of Operations and Intelligence, Air Ministry, he was a delegate to the Washington Conference on the Limitation of Armaments.

Air Training Corps

After retirement from the RAF, Chamier became secretary of the

Air League of the British Empire The Air League is an aviation and aerospace non-profit organisation based in the United Kingdom. It is the UK's largest provider of aviation and aerospace scholarships and bursaries. The Air League aims to inspire, enable, and support the nex ...

. During his tenure as secretary Chamier became involved with the founding, in 1938 of the

Air Defence Cadet Corps The Air Defence Cadet Corps was a volunteer youth organisation in the United Kingdom, preparing young people for military aviation. Founded in 1938, it was replaced in 1941 by the Air Training Corps. Establishment In 1938, Air Commodore Chami ...

, which on 5 February 1941 evolved into the

because the ADCC was seen as too forceful and decided to change it to a more subtle name of ATC. He set up the ATC to promote recruitment in the RAF and to get young people who are interested in aviation to be able to go to their local squadron at their own free will, making it more enjoyable. After it was founded, Chamier became the Air Training Corps' first

Commandant Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...

, until his retirement in 1944. He was succeeded by Air Marshal Sir Leslie Gossage.

Civilian career

Between 1928 and 1931 Chamier was a director on the board of Vickers (Aviation) Limited. Chamier was, at one time, the aviation correspondent for the

British Broadcasting Corporation #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

(BBC).

Aircraft

Chamier had a Mignet HM.14 ''Flying Flea'' light aircraft registered ''G-ADME'' in his name between 1935 and 1938.

Decorations

Chamier received several decorations for his service to the British Empire. He was made a Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

, the Order of St. Michael and St. George and the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

, and an Officer 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 1944 he was

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

ed as a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are th ...

Politics

Chamier was a member of and speaker at meetings of the

January Club The January Club was a discussion group founded in 1934 by Oswald Mosley to attract Establishment support for the movement known as the British Union of Fascists. The Club was under the effective control of Robert Forgan, working on behalf of ...

of the British Union of Fascists.

Published works

*''The Birth of the Royal Air Force'', Pitman, London, (1943) (No ISBN),
British Library Calalogue Entry

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chamier, John Adrian 1883 births 1974 deaths Royal Air Force officers British Army personnel of World War I Royal Air Force personnel of World War I Knights Bachelor Companions of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Officers of the Order of the British Empire Royal Flying Corps officers British Indian Army officers British World War I pilots British fascists Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst