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 Thomas Neville Stack (19 October 1919 – 26 January 1994) 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.

Early life

Stack was born on 19 October 1919, the son of aviation pioneer T. Neville Stack. He joined the Royal Air Force in 1935 as a flight cadet at

RAF College Cranwell The Royal Air Force College (RAFC) is the Royal Air Force military academy which provides initial training to all RAF personnel who are preparing to become commissioned officers. The College also provides initial training to aircrew cadets and ...

.Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Chief Marshal Sir Neville Stack
/ref> He gained a permanent commission on 29 July 1939 and passed out of the college with the Sword of Honour. He spent his war service with

Coastal Command RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was founded in 1936, when the RAF was restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands and played an important role during the Second World War. Maritime Aviation ...

serving on flying boats until transferring to

Transport Command RAF Transport Command was a Royal Air Force command that controlled all transport aircraft of the RAF. It was established on 25 March 1943 by the renaming of the RAF Ferry Command, and was subsequently renamed RAF Air Support Command in 1967. ...

in the late 1950s including a tour as Deputy Captain of the

Queen's Flight Air transport of the British royal family and government is provided, depending on the circumstances and availability, by a variety of military and civilian operators. This includes an Airbus Voyager of the Royal Air Force, No. 10 Squadron an ...

Air Staff officer

In 1967 Stack became commandant of the RAF College Cranwell before moving on in 1970 as a representative with

CENTO The Middle East Treaty Organization (METO), also known as the Baghdad Pact and subsequently known as the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO), was a military alliance of the Cold War. It was formed in 24 February 1955 by Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Turk ...

. In December 1972 he was appointed as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Training Command then moved in the same role at

RAF Strike Command The Royal Air Force's Strike Command was the military formation which controlled the majority of the United Kingdom's bomber and fighter aircraft from 1968 until 2007 when it merged with Personnel and Training Command to form the single Air C ...

. Between 1976 and 1978 he was Air ADC to the Queen. From February 1976 he was

Air Secretary The Air Secretary and Chief of Staff, Personnel is the Royal Air Force officer with responsibility for appointments, promotions, postings, and discipline of high ranking members of the British air force. From 1978 to 1983 the Air Secretary was ...

before he retired at his own request in 1978.

Civil life

On retirement from the air force, Stack became a

Gentleman Usher Gentleman Usher is a title for some officers of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. See List of Gentlemen Ushers for a list of office-holders. Gentlemen Ushers as servants Historical Gentlemen Ushers were originally a class of servants fou ...

to the Queen and from 1989 Extra Gentleman Usher. He also became a

Freeman of the City of London The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom or ...

. Stack died in London on 26 January 1994, aged 74.

Notes

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Stack, Neville 1919 births 1994 deaths Royal Air Force air marshals Graduates of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium) Gentlemen Ushers Commandants of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell