Air Chief Marshal Sir Philip Bennet Joubert de la Ferté, (21 May 1887 – 21 January 1965) was a senior commander in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

during the 1930s and the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Early life

Joubert de la Ferté was born in

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a city in the northernmost region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the Koshi Pr ...

, India to Col. Charles Henry Joubert de la Ferté, IMS and Eliza Jane, eldest daughter of Philip Sandys Melvill of the Indian Civil Service. He was of partial French descent, his paternal grandfather having emigrated to England in 1840. He was sent to England as a child where he attended Elstree School and later

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

RAF career

Joubert de la Ferté joined the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

attending the Royal Military Academy Woolwich and gaining his commission in 1907.Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Chief Marshal Sir Philip Joubert de la Ferté
/ref> From 1907 to 1913 he served in the Royal Field Artillery, rising to the rank of

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

. In 1913 he attended the Central Flying School and went on to serve in the

Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...

. With the outbreak of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in 1914, he joined the British Expeditionary Force flying one of the first two operational sorties of the war. In 1915 Joubert de la Ferté was appointed Officer Commanding, No. 15 Squadron RFC. Later that year he took up command of No. 1 Squadron. As the war progressed, Joubert de la Ferté commanded No. 33 Squadron and then several different wings. On 1 April 1918 Joubert de la Ferté transferred to the Royal Air Force in the rank of lieutenant colonel and by the end of hostilities in 1918 he had command of the Royal Air Force in Italy. During the inter-war years, Joubert de la Ferté occupied several staff and command posts, rising through the ranks. Notably, he was appointed Air Officer Commanding No. 23 Group in 1929, Commandant of the RAF Staff College, Andover, in 1930 and Air Officer Commanding No. 11 Group in July 1936 before becoming Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Coastal Command in September 1936. At the start of the

, Joubert de la Ferté was Air Officer Commanding Air Forces in India. On his return to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

he occupied a number of senior staff appointments and returned to his former post as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Coastal Command. It was there that he pioneered several innovations. These included Planned Flying and Maintenance and the introduction of a torpedo version of the Beaufighter. In February 1943 he became an Inspector-General of the RAF. On 23 November 1943, Joubert de la Ferté was appointed as the Deputy Chief of Staff (Information and Civil Affairs) at the South East Asia Command. Two years later on 14 November 1945, Joubert de la Ferté retired from the RAF. In 1915 he married Marjorie Denison: they had two daughters.

Bibliography

The following books by Joubert de la Ferté were published: *''The Fated Sky: An Autobiography'' – Hutchinson (1952) *''The Third Service'' – Thames and Hudson (1955) *''Rocket'' – Hutchinson (1957) *''Look at Aircraft'' – H Hamilton (1960) *''Birds and Fishes - The Story of Coastal Command'' – Hutchinson (1960) *''The Forgotten Ones: The Story of the Ground Crews'' – Hutchinson (1961) *''Fun and Games'' – Hutchinson (1964)

References

, - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Joubert De La Ferte, Philip 1887 births 1965 deaths English people of French descent British Army personnel of World War I Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Commanders of the Legion of Merit Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau Knights of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus People educated at Elstree School People educated at Harrow School Recipients of the War Cross for Military Valor Royal Air Force air marshals of World War II Royal Field Artillery officers Royal Flying Corps officers Military personnel of British India