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 Admi ...

Frank Robert Miller (April 30, 1908 – October 20, 1997) was a Canadian airman, the last Chairman of the

Chiefs of Staff Committee The Chiefs of Staff Committee (CSC) is composed of the most senior military personnel in the British Armed Forces who advise on operational military matters and the preparation and conduct of military operations. The committee consists of the ...

in 1964, the first chief of the Defence Staff from 1964 until 1966, and deputy minister of

National Defence National security, or national defence, is the security and defence of a sovereign state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived as protection against military attac ...

. He held a range of Air Force training appointments during World War II.

Military career

Frank Robert Miller was born in

Kamloops Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the South flowing North Thompson River and the West flowing Thompson River, east of Kamloops Lake. It is located in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, w ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

, on April 30, 1908, to Hedley Miller and his wife Mary. After completing his education at the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a Public university, public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexande ...

(where he gained a BSc) Miller joined the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

Camp Borden Canadian Forces Base Borden (also CFB Borden, French: Base des Forces canadiennes Borden or BFC Borden), formerly RCAF Station Borden, is a large Canadian Forces base located in Ontario. The historic birthplace of the Royal Canadian Air Force, C ...

on September 15, 1931, with the rank of

pilot officer Pilot officer (Plt Off officially in the RAF; in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly P/O in all services, and still often used in the RAF) is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countri ...

. He received his wings on December 16 and was promoted to flying officer. Miller then underwent further training before becoming an instructor at the Camp Borden flying and navigation school in 1935. Promoted to

flight lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior Officer (armed forces)#Commissioned officers, commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) RAF officer ranks, system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries. I ...

on September 1, 1937, he taught at the Air Navigation and Seaplane School, Trenton from May 1937 to September 1938. In September 1938, Miller was posted to England to attend the Specialist Air Navigation Course at the School of Air Navigation,

RAF Manston Royal Air Force Manston or more simply RAF Manston is a former Royal Air Force station located in the north-east of Kent, at on the Isle of Thanet from 1916 until 1996. The site was split between a commercial airport Kent International Airpo ...

, during which time 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 ...

on April 1, 1939. At the outbreak of war in September, Miller was the Officer Commanding of the Air Navigation and Reconnaissance School, Trenton. He was promoted to acting

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 December 1940. From May 1942 Miller commanded the Air Navigation School at

Rivers, Manitoba Rivers is an unincorporated urban community in the Riverdale Municipality within the Canadian province of Manitoba. It is located northwest of Brandon, above sea level. It is within the Westman Region (Southwestern Manitoba). Agriculture, hea ...

. Promoted to acting

group captain Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force, where it originated, as well as the air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank i ...

in July, he commanded the General Reconnaissance School on

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

before moving to the Air Force Headquarters in January 1943 where he served as Director of Training Plans and Requirements. He was promoted to acting air commodore in January 1943. In 1944 Miller was posted to England and on September 19 he took up command of

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 ...

's No. 61 Base in North Yorkshire, with the substantive rank of air commodore from October 14. No 61 Base was headquartered at Topcliffe and commanded the RAF establishments at

Dalton Dalton may refer to: Science * Dalton (crater), a lunar crater * Dalton (program), chemistry software * Dalton (unit) (Da), the atomic mass unit * John Dalton, chemist, physicist and meteorologist Entertainment * Dalton (Buffyverse), minor ch ...

Dishforth Dishforth is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. Dishforth translates from Old English as dic-ford; a ford by a dike or ditch. The population of the parish taken at the 2001 census as 719 and had ...

, and

Wombleton Wombleton is a village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is situated just south from the main Thirsk to Scarborough road A170 road and to the west of Pickering. The village has one public house, the Plough Inn, which was renov ...

. On November 9 Millar's command was redesignated No. 76 Base and Gamston in Nottinghamshire was added as a subordinate unit. On January 13, 1945, Miller took up command of No. 63 Base which was responsible for

RAF Leeming Royal Air Force Leeming or RAF Leeming is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located near Leeming, North Yorkshire, England. It was opened in 1940 and was jointly used by the RAF and the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Between 1950 and 1991, it ...

(headquarters) and

RAF Skipton-on-Swale Royal Air Force station Skipton-on-Swale or more simply RAF Skipton-on-Swale is a former Royal Air Force station operated by RAF Bomber Command during the Second World War. The station was located at Skipton-on-Swale west of Thirsk (near the ...

. After the war, Miller served in several senior positions in the Royal Canadian Air Force. In September 1951, Miller was promoted to vice-chief of the Air Staff with the rank of

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 ...

, serving until 1954. He was then posted to

Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) is the military headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) that commands all NATO operations worldwide. ACO's and SHAPE's commander is t ...

as General

Lauris Norstad Lauris Norstad (March 24, 1907 – September 12, 1988) was an American general officer in the United States Army and United States Air Force. Early life and military career Lauris Norstad was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota to a Norwegian imm ...

’s Vice-Deputy Air. Gaining promotion to air marshal in 1955 he then retired from the RCAF at Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent's request to serve in the senior civil service position of deputy minister of National Defence, remaining in post until 1957. He then became Deputy Commander-in-Chief

NORAD North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and protection ...

. In 1960, he was appointed Chairman of the

, gaining promotion to

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 Admi ...

on September 1, 1961. Three years later he became the first chief of the Defence Staff, serving from 1964 until 1966. As chief of the Defence Staff, Miller was opposed to the plans of the Defence Minister

Paul Hellyer Paul Theodore Hellyer (August 6, 1923 – August 8, 2021) was a Canadian engineer, politician, writer, and commentator. He was the longest serving member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada at the time of his death. Early life Hellyer w ...

to merge the Royal Canadian Air Force, the Royal Canadian Navy and the Canadian Army into one service, and in 1966 resigned in protest, saying he could not in good conscience co-operate with Hellyer's plans.Morton, Desmond ''A Military History of Canada'', Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1999 page 252. In 1972 Miller was made a Companion of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

. He died on October 20, 1997.

Academic qualifications

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

(BSc) *

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor ...

(LLD)

Notes

References

External links

Order of Canada Citation

Frank Robert Miller
at

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available f ...

, - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Frank Robert 1908 births 1997 deaths Canadian military personnel from British Columbia Chiefs of the Defence Staff (Canada) Canadian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of Canada People from Kamloops Royal Canadian Air Force air marshals Royal Canadian Air Force personnel of World War II