Air Vice-Marshal Air vice-marshal (AVM) is a two-star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes u ...

William Edward Theak, (1898 – 28 January 1955) was a

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 ...

pilot in the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

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) and ...

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 opposin ...

and the post war decade. In 1940, Theak was appointed as the chief signals officer at the headquarters of

Bomber Command Bomber Command is an organisational military unit, generally subordinate to the air force of a country. The best known were in Britain and the United States. A Bomber Command is generally used for strategic bombing (although at times, e.g. during t ...

. In February 1944, he was promoted to

air vice-marshal Air vice-marshal (AVM) is a two-star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes u ...

and given command of No. 60 (Signals) Group. After the war Theak was made the director-general of signals at the Air Ministry. In 1949 he took up post as the air officer administration at the headquarters of the Middle East Air Force. In 1951 he returned to Great Britain to serve as Air Officer Commanding No. 90 (Signals) Group. He retired in March 1954 and died the following year.

External links

Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Vice-Marshal W E Theak
, - 1898 births 1955 deaths British World War I pilots Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of the Bath Royal Air Force air marshals of World War II Royal Flying Corps officers London Regiment soldiers Military personnel from London {{RAF-bio-stub