Air Marshal Sir Leslie Dalton Morris, (7 April 1906 – 28 October 1976) 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 ...

(RAF) commander in the middle of the twentieth century. He played a leading role in the use of

signals In signal processing, a signal is a function that conveys information about a phenomenon. Any quantity that can vary over space or time can be used as a signal to share messages between observers. The ''IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing'' ...

in the Air Force both during and after 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 ...

Early years

After joining the RAF as a trainee pilot in 1924, Dalton-Morris underwent instruction at No. 5 Flying Training School at

Sealand SeaLand, a division of the Maersk Group, is an American intra-regional container shipping company headquartered in Miramar, Florida with representation in 29 countries across the Americas. The company offers ocean and intermodal services using ...

near

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

.Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Marshal Sir Leslie Dalton-Morris
/ref> He served a period as a night flying pilot, then was posted to No. 15 Squadron, before being selected to attend the RAF Electrical and Wireless School in 1929. Graduating from his course as a

flight lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...

with a permanent commission, Dalton-Morris served as the signals officer with No. 203 Squadron in the early 1930s. After a tour of duty at the

Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment The Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment (MAEE) was a British military research and test organisation. It was originally formed as the Marine Aircraft Experimental Station in October 1918 at RAF Isle of Grain, a former Royal Naval Air Serv ...

RAF Felixstowe Royal Air Force Felixstowe, or more simply RAF Felixstowe, is a former Royal Air Force station located northeast of Harwich, Essex, England and southeast of Ipswich, Suffolk. History Felixstowe was commissioned 5 August 1913 under the comm ...

, Dalton-Morris returned to the Electrical and Wireless School as an instructor in 1935. In 1935 Dalton-Morris attended the

RAF Staff College The RAF Staff College may refer to: *RAF Staff College, Andover (active: 1922 to 1940 and 1948 to 1970) *RAF Staff College, Bulstrode Park (active: 1941 to 1948) *RAF Staff College, Bracknell The RAF Staff College at Bracknell was a Royal Air ...

Andover, Hampshire Andover ( ) is a town in the English county of Hampshire. The town is on the River Anton, a major tributary of the Test, and is situated alongside the major A303 trunk road at the eastern end of Salisbury Plain, west of the town of Basingsto ...

, received a promotion to

squadron leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also ...

and in 1938 he was sent to

No. 2 Group No. 2 Group is a Group (military aviation unit)#United Kingdom, group of the Royal Air Force which was first activated in 1918, served from 1918–20, from 1936 through the Second World War to 1947, from 1948 to 1958, from 1993 to 1996, was react ...

as a

staff officer A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...

Second World War

The same year as the

started, Dalton-Morris was appointed the Deputy Chief Signals Officer at the headquarters of

Fighter Command RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War. It earned near-immortal fame during the Battle of Britai ...

RAF Bentley Priory RAF Bentley Priory was a non-flying Royal Air Force station near Stanmore in the London Borough of Harrow. It was the headquarters of Fighter Command in the Battle of Britain and throughout the Second World War. During the war, two enemy bomb ...

. By January 1941 Dalton-Morris had been 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 ...

when he returned to No. 2 Group as a signals officer. The next year he was moved to

Bomber Command Bomber Command is an organisational military unit, generally subordinate to the air force of a country. The best known were in Britain and the United States. A Bomber Command is generally used for strategic bombing (although at times, e.g. during t ...

, which was No. 2 Group's higher formation. He served as the Deputy Chief Signals Officer at Bomber Command's headquarters at

RAF High Wycombe RAF High Wycombe is a Royal Air Force station, situated in the village of Walters Ash, near High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England. It houses Headquarters Air Command, and was originally designed to house RAF Bomber Command in the late 1930s ...

. In 1943 Dalton-Morris was promoted to acting air commodore and took up new duties as the Senior Air Staff Officer at No. 26 (Signals) Group, which controlled British

Radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

stations. In early 1944 Dalton-Morris returned to Bomber Command where he served as the Chief Signals Officer.

Post-war

After the war Dalton-Morris held a number of senior signals appointments in the RAF, serving as the Director of Radio/Signals, the Commandant of the Central Signals Establishment from 1948 and the Chief Signals Officer at the headquarters of the Middle East Air Force from 1950. In March 1952, Dalton-Morris was promoted to acting

air vice marshal Air vice-marshal (AVM) is a two-star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes u ...

and made Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Signals). He went on to higher command as Air Officer Commanding No 90 (Signals) Group in 1956 and

Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

Signals Command in 1958. In 1961 Dalton-Morris was promoted to air marshal and, having exhausted senior RAF signals appointments, he became Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Maintenance Command.Changes in Command
Flight International, 20 January 1961 He retired from that post and the RAF just over two years later in July 1963.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Dalton-Morris, Leslie 1906 births 1976 deaths Companions of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Royal Air Force air marshals Royal Air Force personnel of World War II