Anthony Noble Frankland CB,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, DFC (4 July 1922 – 31 October 2019) was a British historian who served as Director General of the

Imperial War Museum Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...

Education

Frankland attended

Trinity College, Oxford (That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody) , named_for = The Holy Trinity , established = , sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge , president = Dame Hilary Boulding , location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH , coordinates ...

from March 1941 to May 1942, and then from October 1945 to November 1947.

World War II service

He served in the

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) a ...

(RAF) from 1941 to 1945, as a navigator in

RAF Bomber Command RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the strategic bombing of Germany in World War II. From 1942 onward, the British bo ...

and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in 1944. He left the RAF in 1945 with the rank of

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 ...

. Subsequently, awarded Chevalier of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

for his involvement in the liberation of France in 1944.

Post-war career

From 1948 until 1951 he worked at the Air Historical Branch of the Air Ministry, and received his DPhil from Oxford in April 1951. He was an Official Military Historian to the

Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for supporting the prime minister and Cabinet. It is composed of various units that support Cabinet committees and which co-ordinate the delivery of government objecti ...

between 1951 and 1958. During this time he and his co-author Sir Charles Webster wrote a four volume official history of the RAF's strategic air offensive against Germany. This was part of the official ''

History of the Second World War The ''History of the Second World War'' is the official history of the British contribution to the Second World War and was published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO). The immense project was sub-divided into areas to ease publication, ...

'' series. In 1963, he was invited to give the Lees Knowles Lecture and lectured on ''The Strategic Air Offensive''. From 1958 to 1960, he was deputy director of studies at the

Royal Institute of International Affairs Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ...

, leaving to become Director of the

(IWM), a post he held from 1960 to 1982. As Director of the IWM, he transformed it from a failing institution into one of the world's leading historical centres for the study of the conflicts of the 20th century. During 1971–74, he was historical advisor to the

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...

series ''

The World at War ''The World at War'' is a 26-episode British documentary television series that chronicles the events of the Second World War. It was produced in 1973, at a cost of £900,000 (), the most expensive factual series ever produced. It was produ ...

'' (as well as being interviewed for the series) and completed several books on historical subjects.Home > About Trinity > Public Lectures > Lees Knowles Lectures > Past Lees Knowles Lecturers

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

. Accessed 13 July 2008

Bibliography

*''Documents on International Affairs'', 1956. (assisted by Vera King 1960?) *''The Strategic Air Offensive Against Germany''. 4 volumes. London:

Her Majesty's Stationery Office The Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) is the body responsible for the operation of His Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) and of other public information services of the United Kingdom. The OPSI is part of the National Archives of the Un ...

, 1961. official British history and co-authored with Sir Charles Webster. *''The Bombing Offensive Against Germany: Outlines and Perspectives'' (1965) *''Aspects of War'' (Imperial War Museum. (1969) ASIN B001BMRATA *''Bomber Offensive: the Devastation of Europe'' (1970) *''The Politics and Strategy of the Second World War'' (joint editor, 8 vols. 1974–78) *''Encyclopedia of 20th Century Warfare'' (general editor, 1989) *''Nicholas II: Crown of Tragedy'' (1960) *''Bomber Offensive: The Devastation of Europe'' (Ballantine's Illustrated History of World War II. Campaign Book no. 7, 1970) *''Decisive Battles of the Twentieth Century'' (editor with Christopher Dowling 1976) *''Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester'' (1980) *''Witness of a Century: the Life and Times of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught (18501942)'' (1993). *''History at War: The Campaigns of a Historian'' (pbk 1998) *''The Unseen War'' (novel) Book Guild Ltd (2007) *''Fighting Naked on the Beaches'' (novel) Book Guild (2007)

Other works

* Noble Frankland (1981). Preface to ''The Imperial War Museum Duxford Handbook'' * Noble Frankland (1981). Introduction to '' A Concise Catalogue of Paintings drawings and Sculpture of the first World War 1914–1918, Second Edition''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frankland, Noble 1922 births 2019 deaths Frankland, Noble Companions of the Order of the Bath Directors of the Imperial War Museum

Noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

List_of_foreign_recipients_of_the_Légion_d'Honneur#United_Kingdom Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Frankland, Noble The World at War Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford