Support Command was a

command Command may refer to: Computing * Command (computing), a statement in a computer language * COMMAND.COM, the default operating system shell and command-line interpreter for DOS * Command key, a modifier key on Apple Macintosh computer keyboards * ...

of 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) an ...

between 1973 and 1994. The headquarters was located at

RAF Brampton RAF Brampton was a non-flying Royal Air Force installation near Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire, England. Formerly the home of RAF Support Command, it also became the home of several elements of Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S), which itself was ...

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the ...

History

It was formed on 31 August 1973 by the renaming of

RAF Maintenance Command RAF Maintenance Command was the Royal Air Force command which was responsible for controlling maintenance for all the United Kingdom-based units from formation on 1 April 1938 until being renamed RAF Support Command on 31 August 1973. History ...

,Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation - RAF Home Commands formed between 1958 - 2002
with No. 90 (Signals) Group being added to it. Its responsibilities included all logistical and maintenance support requirements of the RAF. Among its first stations assigned may have been

RAF Gan Royal Air Force Station Gan, commonly known as RAF Gan, is a former Royal Air Force station on Gan island, the southern-most island of Addu Atoll, which is part of the larger groups of islands which form the Maldives, in the middle of the Ind ...

, transferred from Far East Air Force. It was renamed as RAF Support Command, and its role further increased, on 13 June 1977 when it absorbed Training Command, making it additionally responsible for all RAF ground and aircrew training. In 1982, Support Command had an inventory of 500 aircraft and 49,000 personnel, which included 14,000 civilians and 8,000 trainees. Support Command undertook training for all officers and other ranks, which was delivered at Biggin Hill, Cosford,

Cranwell Cranwell is a village in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is part of the civil parish of Cranwell and Byard's Leap and is situated approximately north-west from Sleaford and south-east from the city and county town o ...

, Digby,

Finningley Finningley is a village and civil parish in the City of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. Historically in Nottinghamshire, it lies on the A614 road between Bawtry and Thorne, about 6 miles south-east of Doncaster, at , and around 23 feet ab ...

, Halton,

Henlow Henlow is a village and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of the county of Bedfordshire, England, about south-east of the county town of Bedford. The name Henlow is believed to derive from the old English ''henna hlaw'', meaning ...

, Hereford, Leeming,

Linton-on-Ouse Linton-on-Ouse is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England, about eight miles north-west of York. It lies on the north bank of the River Ouse. History The village is mentioned in the ''Domesday Book'' ...

, Locking, Newton,

North Luffenham North Luffenham is a village in Rutland, in the East Midlands of England. The population of the civil parish at the 2001 census was 704, decreasing to 679 at the 2011 census. It lies to the north of the River Chater, east of Uppingham and wes ...

St Athan St Athan ( cy, Sain Tathan) is a village and community (Wales), community in the Vale of Glamorgan in South Wales. The village and its parish church are dedicated to Saint Tathan. The church dates to the 13th–14th century, though an earlier ch ...

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 ...

Shawbury Shawbury is a village and civil parish in the English county of Shropshire. The village is northeast of the town of Shrewsbury, northwest of Telford and northwest of London. The village straddles the A53 between Shrewsbury and Market Dray ...

, Swinderby, and

Valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...

. One major function of Support Command was facilitating medical training and delivery of medical services. This involved the control of the RAF Hospitals at Ely, Halton,

Nocton Hall Nocton Hall is a historic Grade II listed building in the village of Nocton, in Lincolnshire, England. The plaque on the north face of the Hall (see below) indicates that the original building dates back to about 1530 but since then there have bee ...

and

Wroughton Wroughton is a large village and civil parish in northeast Wiltshire, England. It is part of the Borough of Swindon and lies along the A4361 between Swindon and Avebury; the road into Swindon crosses the M4 motorway between junctions 15 ...

. Support Command was also responsible for the rehabilitation centres at Chessington and

Headley Court Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre Headley Court (abbreviated to DMRC Headley Court, and more commonly known as Headley Court), formerly RAF Headley Court, was an United Kingdom Ministry of Defence facility in Headley, near Epsom, Surrey, Engl ...

. In the 1980s the bunker at

RAF Holmpton Royal Air Force Holmpton or more simply RAF Holmpton is a former Royal Air Force Cold War era nuclear bunker that was built in the 1950s as an early warning radar station as part of the ROTOR Radar Defence Programme. Located just south of the ...

was converted to form a new Emergency War Headquarters for RAF Support Command. In the year before it was disbanded (1993), Support Command had 18,144 uniformed personnel under its structure, spread across 40 locations. In October 1985, the HQ building of Support Command at RAF Brampton was destroyed by fire. Staff had to move into temporary accommodation until a new HQ building was built, with the final cost coming in at around £44 million. In 1994 the Command was split up, with many of its functions merging with those of the RAF Personnel Management Centre to form

RAF Personnel and Training Command Personnel and Training Command (PTC) was one of two commands of the Royal Air Force (the other being Strike Command) that were merged to form Air Command on 1 April 2007. History Formation PTC was formed in 1994 bringing together the r ...

, and others being hived off into

RAF Logistics Command The Royal Air Force's Logistics Command was a command formed to provide logistics support for the RAF. History The Command was formed on 1 April 1994

Air Officers Commanding-in-Chief

The following officers have held the appointment of Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief RAF Support Command: *31 Aug 1973 - Air Marshal Sir

Reginald Harland Air Marshal Sir Reginald Edward Wynyard Harland, (30 May 1920 – 30 July 2013) was a senior Royal Air Force commander. Military career Educated at Summerfields (Summer Fields School), Oxford, Stowe School and Trinity College, Cambridge, Har ...

*13 Jun 1977 - Air Marshal Sir

Rex Roe Air Chief Marshal Sir Rex David Roe, (4 May 1925 – 3 November 2002) was a senior Royal Air Force commander. RAF career Educated at the City of London School and the University of London, Roe joined the Royal Air Force in 1943 during the Secon ...

*30 Aug 1978 - Air Marshal Sir

Keith Williamson Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Keith Alec Williamson, (25 February 1928 – 2 May 2018) was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force. He served with the Royal Australian Air Force flying Meteors in a ground attack role during the Korean W ...

*3 May 1980 - Air Marshal Sir

John Gingell Air Chief Marshal Sir John Gingell, (3 February 1925 – 10 December 2009) was a senior Royal Air Force commander and Gentleman usher of the Black Rod. Military career The son of Ernest (1895–1981) and Hilda (née Attwood; 1894–1957) Ging ...

*27 Apr 1981 - Air Marshal Sir

Michael Beavis Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael Gordon Beavis, (13 August 1929 – 7 June 2020) was a Royal Air Force officer who served as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Support Command from 1981 to 1984. RAF career Educated at Kilburn Grammar School, Beavis ...

*15 Feb 1984 - Air Marshal Sir David Harcourt-Smith *2 Jan 1986 - Air Marshal Sir John Sutton *5 Apr 1989 - Air Chief Marshal Sir

Michael Graydon Air Chief Marshal 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 Of ...

*8 May 1990 - Air Chief Marshal Sir John Thomson *5 Oct 1992 - Air Chief Marshal Sir John Willis

History

Air Officers Commanding-in-Chief

See also

References

Sources

Further reading