Air Marshal Sir Lawrence Darvall, (24 November 1898 – 17 November 1968) 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 ...

officer.

RAF career

After attending and later graduating from 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 infantry a ...

, Darvall was commissioned into the

Green Howards The Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regiment), frequently known as the Yorkshire Regiment until the 1920s, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, in the King's Division. Raised in 1688, it served under vario ...

on 16 August 1916 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 ...

. After transferring to the RAF as a flying officer in 1919, he became officer commanding,

RAF Hawkinge Royal Air Force Hawkinge or more simply RAF Hawkinge is a former Royal Air Force station located east of Ashford, north of Folkestone, Kent and west of Dover, Kent, England. The airfield was used by both the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal ...

in April 1939. He served in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

as officer commanding,

RAF Andover RAF Andover is a former Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force station in England, west of Andover, Hampshire. As well as RFC and RAF units, units of the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps, Royal Canadian Air Force, United States Army Air ...

from October 1939, officer commanding, No. 2 Flying Instructors School at

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 trai ...

from September 1940 and as Director of Air Transport Policy and Operations from 1943. He went on to be Air Officer Commanding, No. 46 Group in September 1944 and Air Officer Commanding, No. 216 Group in June 1945. After the war he became Air Officer Commanding, Air Headquarters Italy in June 1946, Air Officer Commanding, No. 3 Group in March 1947 and Air Officer Commanding, Headquarters,

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

in January 1949. After that he became Air Officer Commanding, No. 23 Group in February 1950, Commandant of the Joint Services Staff College in 1951 and Commandant of the

NATO Defense College NATO Defense College (NDC) is the international military college for North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries. It is located in Rome, Italy. History The idea of a NATO Defense College originated with General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the f ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in November 1953 before retiring in April 1956. He was granted the right to retain his rank of air marshal on his retirement.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Darvall, Lawrence 1898 births 1968 deaths Green Howards officers Royal Air Force air marshals Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Recipients of the Military Cross British Army personnel of World War I Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Military personnel from Middlesex Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst