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 Michael James Graydon, (born 24 October 1938) is a retired Royal Air Force (RAF) officer. He was a fast jet pilot in the 1960s, a squadron commander in the 1970s and a station commander in the 1980s before serving as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief RAF Strike Command during the Gulf War. He was Chief of the Air Staff from 1992 to 1997 in which role he advised the British Government on the implementation of No Fly Zones in Iraq and

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...

and implemented the

Front Line First Front Line First: The Defence Cost Study was a UK programme of defence cuts announced on 14 July 1994 by then Defence Secretary Malcolm Rifkind. Front Line First was announced four years after Options for Change, which was a military draw-down a ...

initiative.

RAF career

The son of James Julian Graydon and Rita Mary Graydon (née Alkan), Graydon was educated at Wycliffe College, in the town of Stonehouse in Gloucestershire, and became a flight cadet at the Royal Air Force College Cranwell in January 1957 before being commissioned into the Royal Air Force on 15 December 1959. His potential as a flying instructor was noticed early in his career and, after completing his Qualified Flying Instructor course at the Central Flying School, he was posted to No. 1 Flying Training School at RAF Linton-on-Ouse in Yorkshire in 1960.''

Who's Who ''Who's Who'' (or ''Who is Who'') is the title of a number of reference publications, generally containing concise biography, biographical information on the prominent people of a country. The title has been adopted as an expression meaning a gr ...

2010'',

A & C Black A & C Black is a British book publishing company, owned since 2002 by Bloomsbury Publishing. The company is noted for publishing '' Who's Who'' since 1849. It also published popular travel guides and novels. History The firm was founded in 18 ...

, 2010, Promoted to flying officer on 15 December 1960, he attended No. 229 Operational conversion unit where he gained experience on the Hunters before being sent to No. 56 Squadron at RAF Wattisham, from where he flew Lightnings, in 1962.

Graydon was promoted to

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 ...

on 15 June 1962. He became a qualified flying instructor at No. 226 Operational conversion unit in November 1964. He became a flight commander at No. 56 Squadron in April 1967, based at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus. Having been awarded the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air in the 1967 Birthday Honours, he was promoted to squadron leader on 1 January 1968. Graydon attended RAF Staff College in 1970 and became Personal Staff Officer to the Deputy Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces Central Europe in 1971 before joining the Air Staff in the Directorate of Operations 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 ...

in 1973. Promoted to wing commander on 1 July 1975, he attended the National Defence College at

Latimer Latimer may refer to: Places England * Latimer, Buckinghamshire, a village ** Latimer and Ley Hill, a civil parish that until 2013 was just called "Latimer" * Latimer, Leicester, an electoral ward and administrative division of the city of Leicest ...

in 1976. Graydon became Officer Commanding No. 11 Squadron at RAF Binbrook in July 1977 and military advisor to the Chief of the Defence Staff in 1979. 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 ...

on 1 July 1980, he became Station Commander at

RAF Leuchars Royal Air Force Leuchars or RAF Leuchars was a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located in Leuchars, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. Throughout the Cold War and beyond, the station was home to fighter aircraft which policed northern UK airspac ...

in 1981 and at RAF Stanley in the Falkland Islands in 1983. He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1984 New Year Honours and attended the Royal College of Defence Studies later that year. Promoted to air commodore on 1 July 1984, Graydon became Senior Air Staff Officer at Headquarters No. 11 Group at RAF Bentley Priory in January 1985. He went on to be Assistant Chief of Staff at the Policy Division at Headquarters SHAPE in June 1986 and was promoted to

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 ...

on 1 July 1986. Promoted to air marshal on 5 April 1989, he was appointed Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at

RAF Support Command Support Command was a command of the Royal Air Force between 1973 and 1994. The headquarters was located at RAF Brampton in Cambridgeshire. History It was formed on 31 August 1973 by the renaming of RAF Maintenance Command,

that month and appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the 1989 Birthday Honours. Promoted to

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 ...

on 31 May 1990, he became Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at RAF Strike Command serving in that role during the Gulf War in 1991. Graydon became Chief of the Air Staff in November 1992, was appointed Air Aide-de-Camp on 15 December 1992 and advanced to

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one ...

in the 1993 New Year Honours. As Chief of the Air Staff he advised the British Government on the implementation of No Fly Zones in Iraq and

. He was also implemented the

initiative launched in July 1994 which contributed to reducing the RAF manpower from around 75,000 to around 53,000. He retired from the Royal Air Force in April 1997.

Later life

In retirement, Graydon has been a non-executive director of Thales plc and Symbiotics. He has also been member of the council of the Air League since 2007, Vice-Patron of the Air Cadet Council since 1999, President of the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust since 1999, Chairman of the

Air Squadron The Royal Air Squadron (RAS) is a flying club in the United Kingdom founded in 1966 by Peter Vanneck, the Hon. Hugh Astor and Anthony Cayzer - friends who shared a passionate interest in flying light aircraft. Prince Philip was the Squadron's A ...

since 2005 and Deputy Chairman of the Church Schools Company since 2003. Additionally he has been Vice-Chairman of the Governors of Wycliffe College since 1992. In 2006, Graydon expressed his belief that action was required to end the isolation of

Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus ( tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs), officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC; tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti, ''KKTC''), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the Geography of Cyprus, isl ...

. As a trustee of the British Cyprus Memorial Trust, he provided support for the campaign for a memorial, erected on 8 November 2009, to all British servicemen who died in service in Cyprus during the conflict in between 1956 and 1960. Then in 2010/11, Graydon won approval from the North Cyprus government and the Royal British Legion to establish a branch of the Royal British Legion in North Cyprus: on 1 October 2011 the branch was officially formed with Graydon as president. He is currently the chairman of the board of trustees for the

International Bomber Command Centre The International Bomber Command Centre (IBCC) is a memorial and interpretation centre telling the story of Bomber Command overlooking the city of Lincoln, in England, the centre opened to the public at the end of January 2018. The official ope ...

Personal life

In 1963 he married Margaret Elizabeth Clark; they have no children. His interests include golf, flying and reading.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Graydon, Michael 1938 births Living people Royal Air Force air marshals Chiefs of the Air Staff (United Kingdom) Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air People educated at Wycliffe College, Gloucestershire Graduates of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell Royal Air Force air marshals of the Gulf War Alumni of the Royal College of Defence Studies People from Kew, London Military personnel from Surrey