Air Chief Marshal Sir Roderic Maxwell Hill, (1 March 1894 – 6 October 1954) 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) an ...

commander during 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 opposi ...

. He was a former

Rector of Imperial College The President of Imperial College London is the highest academic official of Imperial College London. The President, formerly known as the Rector, is the chief executive, elected by the Council of the college and Chairman of the Senate. The posit ...

and

Vice-Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor ...

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree- ...

. The Department of Aeronautics of Imperial College was situated in a building named after him.

Early life

Roderic Maxwell Hill was born in Hampstead, London, on 1 March 1894, the eldest of the three children of Michaiah John Muller Hill, professor of mathematics at

University College In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies ...

, London, and his wife, Minnie. His brother was

Geoffrey T. R. Hill Geoffrey Terence Roland Hill, (1895 – 26 December 1955) was a British aviator and aeronautical engineer. Early life Geoffrey Terence Roland Hill was born in 1895, the son of Michael J. M. Hill, Professor of Mathematics at the University Colleg ...

and Sir George Francis Hill was their uncle. Roderic was educated at

Bradfield College Bradfield College, formally St Andrew's College, Bradfield, is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) for pupils aged 11–18, located in the small village of Bradfield in the English county of Berkshire. It is note ...

and, in 1912, went to the fine arts department of University College, London, with the ambition of becoming an architect. From 1909 onwards both he and Geoffrey became fascinated by aviation; with money earned by Roderic from drawings published in ''The Sphere'', they built, and successfully flew, a glider of their own design in 1913.

RAF career

Hill was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in the 12th Northumberland Fusiliers in December 1914, and was posted to France in the second half of 1915. Hill first saw intensive combat in the

Battle of Loos The Battle of Loos took place from 1915 in France on the Western Front, during the First World War. It was the biggest British attack of 1915, the first time that the British used poison gas and the first mass engagement of New Army units. Th ...

, where he earned a

mention in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

but suffered a wound in the side. While recovering from his wounds, Hill successfully applied to join the Royal Flying Corps and by July 1916 he had transferred and qualified as a pilot. Demonstrating above average flying ability he was posted to No. 60 Squadron, then flying the tricky

Morane-Saulnier N The Morane-Saulnier N, also known as the Morane-Saulnier Type N, was a French monoplane fighter aircraft of the First World War. Designed and manufactured by Morane-Saulnier, the Type N entered service in April 1915 with the ''Aéronautique Mili ...

.Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Chief Marshal Sir Roderic Hill
/ref> He quickly proved himself a skilled pilot, making repeated patrols and engagements over the German lines and fighting in the air battles during the Somme offensive in November 1916. Shortly after this he was again mentioned in despatches and awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

, for "conspicuous skill and gallantry. Under very heavy fire he dived at an enemy balloon, and brought it down in flames." In December 1916 Hill became flight commander of No. 60 Squadron and was promoted captain. In February 1917, Hill's reputation as an intelligent pilot with aerobatic skills led to his posting as the leader of the experimental flying department at

Royal Aircraft Factory 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 c ...

, Farnborough. There, his test flying contributed to the success of the S.E.5, the

R.E.8 The Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8 was a British two-seat biplane reconnaissance and bomber aircraft of the First World War designed and produced at the Royal Aircraft Factory. It was also built under contract by Austin Motors, Daimler, Standard ...

, and the DH.9 (with the

Napier Lion The Napier Lion is a 12-cylinder, petrol-fueled 'broad arrow' W12 configuration aircraft engine built by D. Napier & Son from 1917 until the 1930s. A number of advanced features made it the most powerful engine of its day and kept it in prod ...

engine). On the formation of the

in April 1918, Hill was promoted 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 als ...

. In August of that year he was awarded the Air Force Cross (AFC) for meritorious flying as an experimental pilot at Farnborough; he had flown into a barrage balloon cable to test a newly invented protective device. During this tour, he also carried out development work testing wireless direction finding, radio control; he experimented personally with early types of parachute. In recognition, he was awarded a

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

to his AFC in 1921. At the Hendon Pageant of 1922, he demonstrated the manoeuvrability of the Airco DH.10 Amiens twin-engined bomber in a mock dogfight with S.E 5 fighters. Also in that year, he won the R. M. Groves aeronautical research prize.The R. M. Groves aeronautical research prize was awarded annually to the officer, non-commissioned officer or airman who, in the opinion of the Air Council, had done most during the preceding year to advance aeronautical science. Hill remained at Farnborough until 1923, when he 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 The RAF Staff College, Bulstrode Park, was a satellite staff college for the Royal Air Force based at Buls ...

in Andover. After graduating in 1924, he was briefly employed on Air Staff duties at Inland and Area H.Q. then in September was posted as the commanding officer of No. 45 Squadron at Hinaidi. There he was instrumental in running the Cairo–Baghdad air route, flying

Vickers Vernon The Vickers Vernon was a British biplane troop carrier used by the Royal Air Force. It entered service in 1921, and was the first dedicated troop transport of the RAF. The Vernon was a development of the Vickers Vimy Commercial, a passenger v ...

transport aircraft, and in maintaining the security of Iraq. He wrote and illustrated a memoir of his time in Iraq and the Middle East: it gives a lively account of flying the large biplanes of the period over difficult desert terrain, and also provides a sharply focussed, and sometimes lyrical description of the landscape and people of the region.''The Baghdad Air Mail'', Edward Arnold and Co, London, 1929. Hill joined the Directing Staff at the RAF Staff College in 1927 and then went on to be the Officer Commanding the

Oxford University Air Squadron The Oxford University Air Squadron, abbreviated Oxford UAS, or OUAS, formed in 1925, is the training unit of the Royal Air Force at the University of Oxford and forms part of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. OUAS is one of fifteen Universi ...

in 1930, Deputy Director of Repair and Maintenance at the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...

in 1932 and Air Officer Commanding Palestine & Transjordan Command in 1936. During the

Hill was Director-General of Research and Development at the Air Ministry and then Commandant of the RAF Staff College from 1942. He was appointed Air Officer Commanding No. 12 Group in 1943 and then served as Commander-in-Chief 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 World War II or the Second World War, oft ...

(also briefly called the Air Defence of Great Britain during his command) from 1943 to 1945. Under his command the RAF was able to deal a blow to the German Luftwaffe's strategic bombing campaign during

Operation Steinbock Operation Steinbock (german: Unternehmen Steinbock), sometimes called the Baby Blitz, was a strategic bombing campaign by the German Air Force (the Luftwaffe) during the Second World War. It targeted southern England and lasted from January to M ...

. After the war Hill was Air Member for Training and then Air Member for Technical Services before retiring in 1948. In retirement he became

. In 1953 he was nominated Vice-Chancellor of London University, before ill-health forced him to resign in the following year before completing his term of office.Denis Richards: ''Hill, Sir Roderic Maxwell (1894–1954)'', rev. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2011, Retrieved 28 Dec 2012
/ref>

Personal life

Befitting of his original ambition to be an architect, Hill was a talented illustrator. During the First World War, and for a time afterwards, he was a frequent contributor of drawings to

Flight Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...

. Hill married Mabel Helen Catherine Morton in 1917. They had two daughters and an only son who was killed in action in 1944. He died from a

coronary thrombosis Coronary thrombosis is defined as the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel of the heart. This blood clot may then restrict blood flow within the heart, leading to heart tissue damage, or a myocardial infarction, also known as a heart at ...

near

St Bartholomew's Hospital St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by Rahere (die ...

Notes

References

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