Air Marshal Sir Thomas Melling Williams, (27 September 1899 – 10 June 1956) was an ace pilot in the Royal Flying Corps during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, scoring nine aerial victories, and a senior officer 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) an ...

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 ...

and the following years.

Military career

Williams was commissioned into the 12th South African Infantry and was in action in

German West Africa German West Africa (''Deutsch-Westafrika'') was an informal designation for the areas in West Africa that were part of the German Colonial Empire between 1884 and 1919. The term was normally used for the territories of Cameroon and Togo. German W ...

in 1916 and 1917. He transferred into the Royal Flying Corps in 1917. After training as a pilot, Williams was assigned to No. 65 Squadron in France, flying

Sopwith Camels The Sopwith Camel is a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft that was introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It was developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the Sopwith Pup and became one of the be ...

. He achieved nine air victories, and was 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 his "conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty" during operations in 1918 in which "he destroyed three enemy aircraft and drove down two out of control." This was followed by the award of the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) later that year. The citation for the latter was published in a supplement to the '' London Gazette'' of 2 November 1918, reading:Supplement to the London Gazette, 2 November 1918 By the end of the war in 1918 Williams was a flight commander, a role he continued when he was assigned to the British force in North Russia, supporting anti-

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

forces for which he was awarded a Bar to his DFC. After the war he commanded No. 423 Flight and then No. 406 Flight of the

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...

. He was appointed Station Commander at

RAF Andover RAF Andover is a former Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force station in England, west of Andover, Hampshire. As well as RFC and RAF units, units of the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps, Royal Canadian Air Force, United States Army Air ...

in 1938 and served in the

being one of the last RAF officers to escape from France to Britain in 1940, leaving from

Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus **Brest Region **Brest Airport **Brest Fortress * Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria * Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France ** Arrondissement of Brest **Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Br ...

with his Air Officer Commanding. He continued his war service as Station Commander at

RAF Watton Royal Air Force Watton or more simply RAF Watton is a former Royal Air Force station located southwest of East Dereham, Norfolk, England. Opened in 1937 it was used by both the Royal Air Force (RAF) and United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) d ...

from 1940, as Senior Air Staff Officer at Headquarters

No. 2 Group No. 2 Group is a Group (military aviation unit)#United Kingdom, group of the Royal Air Force which was first activated in 1918, served from 1918–20, from 1936 through the Second World War to 1947, from 1948 to 1958, from 1993 to 1996, was react ...

from 1941 and then as Senior Air Staff Officer at Headquarters RAF Bomber Command from later that year. After serving in the Far East and in India, Williams was appointed Air Officer Commanding the AHQ

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

in 1943. He became Deputy Commander at Headquarters Eastern Air Command at Air Command South East Asia in December 1943 and Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Operations) in August 1944. After the war he became Commandant of the

RAF Staff College, Bracknell The RAF Staff College at Bracknell was a Royal Air Force staff college active for most of the second half of the 20th century. Its role was the training of staff officers in the administrative, staff and policy aspects of air force matters. ...

and then Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief British Air Forces of Occupation before becoming Inspector-General of the RAF in 1951. Williams' air force career was cut short by ill-health and he died in June 1956.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Thomas Melling South African military personnel of World War I Royal Air Force air marshals Military personnel from Lancashire Royal Flying Corps officers 1899 births 1956 deaths British World War I flying aces Recipients of the Military Cross Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Foreign recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (United States) Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Officers of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Air Medal Commanders of the Legion of Merit Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Air Force personnel of the Russian Civil War Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army)