Air Marshal Sir Victor Emmanuel Groom, (4 August 1898 – 6 December 1990) was a senior officer in the British

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 ...

and a

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

of 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 ...

credited with eight aerial victories. He rose to become a consequential participant in air operations to support Operation Overlord, the invasion of France during the Second World War.

Early life

Victor Emmanuel Groom was born 4 August 1898 in Peckham, London, England. Groom was educated at

Alleyn's School Alleyn's School is a 4–18 co-educational, independent, Church of England, day school and sixth form in Dulwich, London, England. It is a registered charity and was originally part of Edward Alleyn's College of God's Gift charitable foundation ...

, Dulwich. He enlisted into the Artists Rifles, London Regiment, as a private in 1916 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the

West Yorkshire Regiment ) , march = ''Ça Ira'' , battles = Namur FontenoyFalkirk Culloden Brandywine , anniversaries = Imphal (22 June) The West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) (14th Foot) wa ...

on 26 April 1917 before being attached to the Royal Flying Corps in September.''Bristol F 2 Fighter Aces of World War I'', p. 51.

World War I

Details of his training are unrecorded. However, Groom was appointed a flying officer on 30 January 1918 and placed on the General List of the Royal Flying Corps. On 18 March, he was assigned to No. 20 Squadron as a

Bristol F.2 Fighter The Bristol F.2 Fighter is a British First World War two-seat biplane fighter and reconnaissance aircraft developed by Frank Barnwell at the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It is often simply called the Bristol Fighter, ''"Brisfit"'' or ''"Bif ...

pilot. On his first combat flight, his formation leader fired a Very flare that landed in the rear cockpit of Groom's Bristol. While the observer burned his hands smothering the fire that threatened to set off munitions, Groom safely landed. Having survived friendly fire, Groom began to triumph over enemy fire on 8 May 1918, when he began a string of eight victories that would take him through to 30 July. Groom's final tally was three enemy planes set afire, four otherwise destroyed, and one driven down out of control; his observer/gunner for all these victories was Ernest Hardcastle. Groom went on leave, was laid low by influenza, and did not return to combat in France. Instead, upon recovery, he was posted to No. 111 Squadron in Egypt.

Between the World Wars

On 1 August 1919, Groom was granted a permanent commission as a lieutenant. On 15 December, he switched to No. 14 Squadron in Palestine and on 22 May 1920, he continued Middle Eastern service with a new posting, to No. 55 Squadron. On 25 March 1922, Groom returned home to begin a decade of staff assignments, enlivened only by being promoted from flying officer to flight lieutenant on 1 July 1924. He was given command of No. 28 Squadron on 26 October 1932. On 1 October 1934 he 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 ...

, his rank catching up with his position. He moved on to command of No. 58 Squadron, then on to staff work at Headquarters Bomber Command, even as he continued to ascend in rank. On 1 January 1938, having earned an OBE at Bomber Command, he was promoted to

wing commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...

. In 1924 He married Maisie Monica Maule (1909-1996); they had at least one son.

World War II

On 1 September 1940, he was promoted to temporary group captain and became Station Commander at RAF Marham. In 1941, he moved back into staff work in the Directorate of Plans. The following year, he became head of the RAF Air Staff planning for Operation Overlord. As part of his duties there, he accompanied Air Chief Marshal

Trafford Leigh-Mallory Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory, (11 July 1892 – 14 November 1944) was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force. Leigh-Mallory served as a Royal Flying Corps pilot and squadron commander during the First World War. Remaining in ...

to North Africa to study operations there and bring home lessons learned. In the meantime, he continued his climb through the ranks: on 18 November 1942, he was confirmed as a group captain. On 1 June 1943, he was bumped up to temporary air commodore and on 8 September 1943 he was promoted to acting air vice marshal on appointment as Senior Air Staff Officer at Headquarters

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 ...

. On 8 September 1944 he was promoted to air commodore while acting as air vice marshal. In August 1945 he became Air Officer Administration at Headquarters Flying Training Command.

Post World War II

Groom became Director General of Manning for the RAF on 1 January 1947 and took command of No. 205 Group on 20 October 1949. On 1 January 1952, he was promoted from air vice marshal to air marshal and appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. He took command of the Middle East Air Force in February 1952 and

Technical Training Command The United States Army Air Forces during World War II had major subordinate Commands below the Air Staff level. These Commands were organized along functional missions. One such Command was the Flying Training Command (FTC). It began as Air Corp ...

in July 1952. Groom retired to

Putney Putney () is a district of southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ancient paris ...

on 26 September 1955 and died in York on 6 December 1990.

Honours and awards

* Distinguished Flying Cross – 2 November 1918 * Bar to the Distinguished Flying Cross – 19 August 1921 *Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

– 11 July 1940 *Commander of the

– 5 July 1945 * Mentioned in dispatches – 1 January 1946 *Knight Commander of the

– 1 January 1952 *Knight Commander of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

– 16 July 1953

References

Bibliography

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Groom, Victor 1898 births 1990 deaths British World War I flying aces Companions of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Royal Air Force air marshals British Army personnel of World War I Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Military personnel from London Royal Flying Corps officers Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) People from Peckham People educated at Alleyn's School