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 Alfred Earle, (11 December 1907 – 27 March 1990) was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War who later served as Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff (1964–66), and Director General of British Defence Intelligence (1966–1968).

Military career

After studying at Shebbear College, Earle was commissioned into the Royal Air Force in 1925.Sir Alfred Earle
Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives He served in bomber squadrons in the United Kingdom and in Iraq and then became an instructor at the RAF School of Photography from 1930. He served in the Second World War and commanded the new School of Photography in

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

before joining the Directorate of Photography at the Air Ministry in 1940. He transferred to the Directorate of Plans in 1941 and then formed and commanded No. 428 Squadron RCAF in 1942. He was made

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

of RAF Ridgewell and RAF West Wickham in 1943 before joining the staff of General Sir Hastings Ismay for the Cairo Conference and then the Yalta Conference. In 1945 he was made Air Officer Commanding No. 300 (Transport) Group in Australia. After the war he became Air Officer Commanding No. 232 Group in South East Asia before joining the Directing Staff at the RAF Staff College, Bracknell in 1946. He was made Senior Personnel Staff Officer at Headquarters Technical Training Command in 1949 and then Commandant of the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

Staff College in 1951. He became Director of Policy (Air Staff) in 1954 and Air Chief of Staff (Policy) in 1955. He was Air Officer Commanding No. 13 Group from 1957 and Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff from 1960. He was made Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at Technical Training Command in 1962 and Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff in 1964. In 1966 Sir Alfred became the second chief of Defence Intelligence, then known as Director-General Intelligence, succeeding Sir Kenneth Strong.

Retirement

Earle retired from the RAF in 1966, before taking up the position of Director-General of Intelligence at the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

. From 1974 to 1976 he was the

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of Waveney

District Council District council may refer to: *A branch of local government in the United Kingdom: **Supervising one of the Districts of England: ***A Metropolitan borough ***A Non-metropolitan district ***A Unitary authority **Supervising one of the Principal ...

References

, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Earle, Alfred Royal Air Force air marshals Graduates of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell 1907 births 1990 deaths Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of the Bath People educated at Shebbear College