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 William Lawrence Mary MacDonald, (11 August 1908 – 9 November 1984) was a

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 ...

Officer who served as Commander-in-Chief of the

Near East Air Force The former Royal Air Force Near East Air Force, more simply known as RAF Near East Air Force, was the Command organisation that controlled all Royal Air Force assets in the Eastern Mediterranean (the Near East). History The Command was originally ...

from 1958 to 1962.

RAF career

Born in

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

and educated at

Castleknock College Castleknock College ( ga, Coláiste Caisleán Cnucha) is a voluntary Vincentian secondary school for boys, situated in the residential suburb of Castleknock, west of Dublin city centre, Ireland. Founded in 1835 by Philip Dowley, it is one ...

, William MacDonald joined the

(RAF) in 1929.Air Chief Marshal Sir William MacDonald biography
/ref> He was appointed

Officer Commanding The officer commanding (OC), also known as the officer in command or officer in charge (OiC), is the commander of a sub-unit or minor unit (smaller than battalion size), principally used in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. In other countries, ...

No. 150 Squadron in 1938 and served in 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 opposin ...

. On 30 September 1940, during the

Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...

, his

Fairey Battle The Fairey Battle is a British single-engine light bomber that was designed and manufactured by the Fairey Aviation Company. It was developed during the mid-1930s for the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a monoplane successor to the Hawker Hart and Hi ...

bomber was chased at tree top height by three German fighters and he cartwheeled into a French field. He continued his war service as a member of the Air Staff at Headquarters No. 1 Group before being appointed Air Officer for Administration at Headquarters No. 84 Group in November 1944. After the war MacDonald became Commandant of the

Central Flying School The Central Flying School (CFS) is the Royal Air Force's primary institution for the training of military flying instructors. Established in 1912 at the Upavon Aerodrome, it is the longest existing flying training school. The school was based at R ...

and then deputy director of Plans at the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...

, before being appointed Air Officer Commanding No. 230 Group and then Air Officer Commanding Air Headquarters Singapore in 1952. He was made Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (

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 ...

) in 1954 and Commander-in-Chief Middle East Air Force in 1958 (including responsibility for

British Forces Cyprus British Forces Cyprus (BFC) is the name given to the British Armed Forces stationed in the UK Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia on the island of Cyprus and at a number of related 'retained sites' in the Republic of Cyprus. The United ...

and being Administrator of the

Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia Akrotiri and Dhekelia, officially the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (SBA),, ''Periochés Kyríarchon Váseon Akrotiríou ke Dekélias''; tr, Ağrotur ve Dikelya İngiliz Egemen Üs Bölgeleri is a British Overseas Territory ...

). Following promotion from acting air marshal to air marshal on 1 January 1960, his role was retitled Commander-in-Chief Near East Air Force on 1 March 1961. He departed the roles of ''Administrator of the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia in the Island of Cyprus,'' and ''Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Near East and Commander British Forces in Cyprus'' on 16 July 1962. He was succeeded in both roles by Air Chief Marshal Sir

Denis Barnett Air Chief Marshal Sir Denis Hensley Fulton Barnett, (11 February 1906 – 31 December 1992) was a squadron commander and senior officer in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. In the post war years he held high command, serving as t ...

. MacDonald's final appointment was as

Air Secretary The Air Secretary and Chief of Staff, Personnel is the Royal Air Force officer with responsibility for appointments, promotions, postings, and discipline of high ranking members of the British air force. From 1978 to 1983 the Air Secretary was ...

in 1962; he was made Air Aide-de-Camp to

the Queen In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to: * Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death The Queen may also refer to: * Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...

in 1965 and retired on 11 August 1966. He died on 9 November 1984.

References

External links

MacDonald, William Lawrence Mary (Oral history) from the Imperial War Museum
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonald, William 1908 births 1984 deaths Royal Air Force pilots of World War II Military personnel from County Cork Royal Air Force air marshals Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Heads of RAF Intelligence Place of death missing People from County Cork People educated at Castleknock College