Air Chief Marshal Sir Thomas Lawrie "Jock" Kennedy, (19 May 1928 – 18 November 2013) 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 ...

officer. He served as Deputy Commander of

RAF Strike Command The Royal Air Force's Strike Command was the military formation which controlled the majority of the United Kingdom's bomber and fighter aircraft from 1968 until 2007 when it merged with Personnel and Training Command to form the single Air C ...

from 1979 to 1981, and

Air Member for Personnel The Air Member for Personnel (AMP) is the senior Royal Air Force officer who is responsible for personnel matters and is a member of the Air Force Board. The AMP is in charge of all aspects of recruiting, non-operational flying and ground tr ...

from 1983 to 1986. Following his retirement from the military, he served as

Lord Lieutenant of Rutland The ancient position of Lord-Lieutenant of Rutland was abolished on 31 March 1974. Between 1 April 1974 and its reestablishment on 8 April 1997 Rutland came under the Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire. Since 1690, all lord-lieutenants have also b ...

Early life

Kennedy was born on 19 May 1928 in

Hawick Hawick ( ; sco, Haaick; gd, Hamhaig) is a town in the Scottish Borders council area and historic county of Roxburghshire in the east Southern Uplands of Scotland. It is south-west of Jedburgh and south-south-east of Selkirk. It is one ...

, Roxburghshire, 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 ...

Military career

In April 1946, Kennedy joined the

as an

airman An airman is a member of an air force or air arm of a nation's armed forces. In certain air forces, it can also refer to a specific enlisted rank. An airman can also be referred as a soldier in other definitions. In civilian aviation usage, t ...

as part of his

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

. He served for six months before being selected for officer training. Having attended

Royal Air Force College Cranwell The Royal Air Force College (RAFC) is the Royal Air Force military academy which provides initial training to all RAF personnel who are preparing to become commissioned officers. The College also provides initial training to aircrew cadets and ...

, he was commissioned on 8 April 1949 as a pilot officer. 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 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 re ...

, Kennedy was awarded the Air Force Cross (AFC). Kennedy was appointed Deputy 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. ...

in 1971, Director of Air Support Operations in 1973 and Air Officer Commanding Northern Maritime Air Region at

RAF Pitreavie Castle Royal Air Force Pitreavie Castle or RAF Pitreavie Castle was a station of the Royal Air Force located at Pitreavie Castle in Dunfermline and near Rosyth, Fife, Scotland. Built in the early 17th century, the castle was sold to the Air Ministry in ...

in 1977. He went on to be Deputy Commander-in-Chief,

in 1979 and was appointed to the combined posts of Commander-in-Chief

Royal Air Force Germany The former Royal Air Force Germany (RAFG) was a command of the Royal Air Force and part of British Forces Germany. It consisted of units located in Germany, initially as part of the occupation following the Second World War, and later as part o ...

and Commander

Second Tactical Air Force The RAF Second Tactical Air Force (2TAF) was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force (RAF) during and after the Second World War. It was made up of squadrons and personnel from the RAF, other British Commonwealth air forces ...

in 1981. His last appointment was as

in 1983 before retiring in 1986.

Later life

In retirement, Kennedy became a Director of

Dowty Group Dowty Group was a leading British manufacturer of aircraft equipment. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. The firm ceased operating as an individual entity following its acquisition by T ...

. He served as controller of the

RAF Benevolent Fund The Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund (RAF Benevolent Fund or RAFBF) is the Royal Air Force's leading welfare charity, providing financial, practical and emotional support to serving and former members of the RAF – regardless of rank – as wel ...

from 1988 to 1993 during which time more than £20 million was raised. He served as Deputy Lieutenant of Leicestershire and later became

. 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