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 Lawrie "Jock" Kennedy, (19 May 1928 – 18 November 2013) was a senior Royal Air Force officer. He served as Deputy Commander of RAF Strike Command from 1979 to 1981, and Air Member for Personnel from 1983 to 1986. Following his retirement from the military, he served as Lord Lieutenant of Rutland.

Early life

Kennedy was born on 19 May 1928 in Hawick,

Roxburghshire Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh ( gd, Siorrachd Rosbroig) is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the north-west, and Berw ...

, Scotland. He was educated at

Hawick High School Hawick High School is a non-denominational secondary school in Hawick, in the Scottish Borders. As well as serving the town, it also takes in pupils from as far away as Newcastleton. History The first mention of educational provision in the a ...

. He was a member of the

Boy Scouts Boy Scouts may refer to: * Boy Scout, a participant in the Boy Scout Movement. * Scouting, also known as the Boy Scout Movement. * An organisation in the Scouting Movement, although many of these organizations also have female members. There are t ...

Military career

In April 1946, Kennedy joined the Royal Air Force as an airman as part of his National Service. He served for six months before being selected for officer training. Having attended Royal Air Force College Cranwell, he was commissioned on 8 April 1949 as a

pilot officer Pilot officer (Plt Off officially in the RAF; in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly P/O in all services, and still often used in the RAF) is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countri ...

. He was awarded the Philip Sassoon Memorial Trophy for best all-round cadet at Cranwell. He was promoted to flying officer on 9 April 1950 with seniority from 8 April 1949, and 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 8 October 1951. In the

1953 Coronation Honours The 1953 Coronation Honours were appointments by Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours on the occasion of her coronation on 2 June 1953. The honours were published in ''The London Gazette'' on 1 June 1953.New Zealand list: The reci ...

, Kennedy was awarded the Air Force Cross (AFC). Kennedy was appointed Deputy Commandant of the RAF Staff College, Bracknell in 1971, Director of Air Support Operations in 1973 and Air Officer Commanding Northern Maritime Air Region at RAF Pitreavie Castle in 1977. He went on to be Deputy Commander-in-Chief, RAF Strike Command in 1979 and was appointed to the combined posts of Commander-in-Chief Royal Air Force Germany and Commander Second Tactical Air Force in 1981. His last appointment was as Air Member for Personnel in 1983 before retiring in 1986.

Later life

In retirement, Kennedy became a Director of Dowty Group. He served as controller of the RAF Benevolent Fund from 1988 to 1993 during which time more than £20 million was raised. He served as Deputy Lieutenant of

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

and later became Lord Lieutenant of Rutland. He died on 18 November 2013.

Personal life

In 1959, Kennedy married Margaret Ann Parker. Together they had three children: one son and two daughters.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Thomas 1928 births 2013 deaths British military personnel of the Suez Crisis Deputy Lieutenants of Leicestershire Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Lord-Lieutenants of Rutland People educated at Hawick High School People from Hawick Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Air Force air marshals Royal Air Force personnel of the Korean War