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 ...

Sir John Gingell, (3 February 1925 – 10 December 2009) was a senior

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 ...

commander and

Gentleman usher of the Black Rod Black Rod (officially known as the Lady Usher of the Black Rod or, if male, the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod) is an official in the parliaments of several Commonwealth countries. The position originates in the House of Lords of the Parliam ...

Military career

The son of Ernest (1895–1981) and Hilda (née Attwood; 1894–1957) Gingell, he was educated at St Boniface's Catholic College, Plymouth. He was commissioned into the

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF ...

in April 1945.Air Chief Marshal Sir John Gingell profile
rafweb.org; accessed 5 June 2014. A few months later he transferred into the

Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original R ...

, serving in 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 ...

. In 1951 he returned to the Royal Air Force was posted to flying duties on No. 58 Squadron. In 1963 he was appointed

Officer Commanding The officer commanding (OC), also known as the officer in command or officer in charge (OiC), is the commander of a sub-unit or minor unit (smaller than battalion size), principally used in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. In other countries, ...

No. 27 Squadron flying Vulcan B2s equipped with Blue Steel missiles and in 1966 he became Deputy Director of the Defence Operations Staff 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 ...

. He went on to be Military Assistant to Chairman of the Military Committee at

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

Headquarters in 1968, Air Officer Administration at Headquarters

RAF 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 ...

in 1970 and Air Officer Commanding No. 23 Group in 1973. After that he became

Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff The Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (ACDS) is a senior British military officer. There are a number of ACDS appointments and they are held by officers of two-star rank (rear admiral, air vice-marshal, or major general). They work in the Minis ...

(Policy) in 1975,

Air Member for Personnel The Air Member for Personnel (AMP) is the senior Royal Air Force officer who is responsible for personnel matters and is a member of the Air Force Board. The AMP is in charge of all aspects of recruiting, non-operational flying and ground tr ...

in 1978 and Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at Support Command in 1980. His last appointment was as Deputy Commander-in-Chief

Allied Forces Central Europe Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum (JFCBS) is a NATO command with its headquarters at Brunssum, the Netherlands. It was established in 2004 from previous commands as part of NATO's continuing command structure reductions in the face of a then-dim ...

in 1981 before he retired in 1984. In retirement Gingell served as

Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod Black Rod (officially known as the Lady Usher of the Black Rod or, if male, the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod) is an official in the parliaments of several Commonwealth countries. The position originates in the House of Lords of the Parliam ...

in the

Houses of Parliament The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north bank ...

until 1992.

Family

In 1949 he married Prudence Johnson; the couple had two sons and a daughter, John, Nicholas and Alexandra.Gingell family tree
gingell.com; accessed 5 June 2014.

References

, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Gingell, John 1925 births 2009 deaths Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Fleet Air Arm aviators Royal Air Force air marshals People educated at St Boniface's Catholic College Place of birth missing British Roman Catholics Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Fleet Air Arm personnel of World War II Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Ushers of the Black Rod