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 Walter Graemes Cheshire, (21 March 1907 – 10 December 1978) 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) and ...

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can b ...

officer during

World War II 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 opposin ...

, and a senior commander in the 1950s and early 1960s.

RAF career

Educated at

Downing College, Cambridge Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge and currently has around 650 students. Founded in 1800, it was the only college to be added to Cambridge University between 1596 and 1869, and is often described as the olde ...

, Cheshire joined the

in 1926.Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Chief Marshal Sir Walter Cheshire
/ref> He served in

as Chief Intelligence Officer at Headquarters

RAF Bomber Command RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the strategic bombing of Germany in World War II. From 1942 onward, the British bo ...

, as Air Attache in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

and as Chief Air Intelligence Officer at Headquarters Air Command South East Asia, before becoming Air Officer Commanding AHQ Indo China in October 1945. Cheshire provided a short report on his time in French Indo-China, which refers to him commanding non-combat elements of the Japanese Air Force when the Air Officer Commanding in Saigon, Indo-china, for a 1979 SOAS London PhD thesis by Peter Dunn. In 2021 Stuart Hadaway, RAF Historical Branch, gave an illustrated talk on 'Britain's Vietnam War: The RAF Over Indo-China 1945-1946' and this includes Cheshire's role. After the war Cheshire was made Air Officer Commanding

RAF Gibraltar RAF Gibraltar (also formerly known as North Front) is a Royal Air Force station on Gibraltar. No military aircraft are currently stationed there, but RAF, Commonwealth and aircraft of other NATO nations will periodically arrive for transient stop ...

and then Commandant of the

RAF Staff College, Andover The RAF Staff College at RAF Andover was the first Royal Air Force staff college to be established. Its role was the training of officers in the administrative, staff and policy aspects of air force matters. History Foundation Following the fo ...

. He went on to be Air Officer Administration 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, ...

in 1953, Air Officer Commanding No. 13 Group in 1955 and RAF Instructor at the

Imperial Defence College The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest level ...

in 1957. Promoted to air marshal,RAF Promotions
Flight International, 8 January 1960 his last roles were as Air Officer Commanding

RAF Malta 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) and ...

in 1959 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 ...

in 1961 before retiring as an

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 ...

in 1965.

References

External links

Memoir by Air Chief Marshall Sir Walter Cheshire (1907-1978) of Allied disarmament mission in Saigon
1907 births 1978 deaths Alumni of Downing College, Cambridge Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Royal Air Force air marshals Royal Air Force personnel of World War II {{RAF-bio-stub