Air Chief Marshal Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British i ...

Sir Roderic Maxwell Hill, (1 March 1894 – 6 October 1954) was a senior

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 ...

commander during 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 ...

. He was a former Rector of Imperial College and

Vice-Chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth of Nati ...

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

. The Department of Aeronautics of

Imperial College Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a cultural district in South Kensington that included museums ...

was situated in a building named after him.

Early life

Roderic Maxwell Hill was born in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

, London, on 1 March 1894, the eldest of the three children of Michaiah John Muller Hill, professor of mathematics at

University College In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies f ...

, London, and his wife, Minnie. His brother was Geoffrey T. R. Hill and Sir George Francis Hill was their uncle. Roderic was educated at

Bradfield College Bradfield College is a coeducational public school (independent boarding and day school) for pupils aged 13–18, in the village of Bradfield, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It is noted for its open-air Greek theatre and its trien ...

and, in 1912, went to the fine arts department of University College, London, with the ambition of becoming an architect. From 1909 onwards both he and Geoffrey became fascinated by aviation; with money earned by Roderic from drawings published in ''The Sphere'', they built, and successfully flew, a glider of their own design in 1913.

RAF career

Hill was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in the 12th Northumberland Fusiliers in December 1914, and was posted to France in the second half of 1915. Hill first saw intensive combat in the

Battle of Loos The Battle of Loos took place from 1915 in France on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front, during the First World War. It was the biggest British attack of 1915, the first time that the British used Chemical weapons in World War I, ...

, where he earned a

mention in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

but suffered a wound in the side. While recovering from his wounds, Hill successfully applied to join 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 ...

and by July 1916 he had transferred and qualified as a pilot. Demonstrating above average flying ability he was posted to No. 60 Squadron, then flying the tricky Morane-Saulnier N.Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Chief Marshal Sir Roderic Hill
/ref> He quickly proved himself a skilled pilot, making repeated patrols and engagements over the German lines and fighting in the air battles during the Somme offensive in November 1916. Shortly after this he was again mentioned in despatches and awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

, for "conspicuous skill and gallantry. Under very heavy fire he dived at an enemy balloon, and brought it down in flames." In December 1916 Hill became flight commander of No. 60 Squadron and was promoted captain. In February 1917, Hill's reputation as an intelligent pilot with aerobatic skills led to his posting as the leader of the experimental flying department at Royal Aircraft Factory, Farnborough. There, his test flying contributed to the success of the S.E.5, the R.E.8, and the DH.9 (with the

Napier Lion The Napier Lion is a 12-cylinder, petrol-fueled 'broad arrow' W12 engine, W12 configuration aircraft engine built by D. Napier & Son from 1917 until the 1930s. A number of advanced features made it the most powerful engine of its day and kept ...

engine). On the formation of the

in April 1918, Hill was promoted to

squadron leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr or S/L) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Squadron leader is immediatel ...

. In August of that year he was awarded the Air Force Cross (AFC) for meritorious flying as an experimental pilot at Farnborough; he had flown into a

barrage balloon A barrage balloon is a type of airborne barrage, a large uncrewed tethered balloon used to defend ground targets against aircraft attack, by raising aloft steel cables which pose a severe risk of collision with hostile aircraft, making the atta ...

cable to test a newly invented protective device. During this tour, he also carried out development work testing wireless direction finding, radio control; he experimented personally with early types of parachute. In recognition, he was awarded a Bar to his AFC in 1921. At the Hendon Pageant of 1922, he demonstrated the manoeuvrability of the Airco DH.10 Amiens twin-engined bomber in a mock dogfight with S.E 5 fighters. Also in that year, he won the R. M. Groves aeronautical research prize.The R. M. Groves aeronautical research prize was awarded annually to the officer, non-commissioned officer or airman who, in the opinion of the Air Council, had done most during the preceding year to advance aeronautical science. Hill remained at Farnborough until 1923, when he attended the RAF Staff College in Andover. After graduating in 1924, he was briefly employed on Air Staff duties at Inland and Area H.Q. then in September was posted as the commanding officer of No. 45 Squadron at Hinaidi. There he was instrumental in running the Cairo–Baghdad air route, flying Vickers Vernon transport aircraft, and in maintaining the security of Iraq. He wrote and illustrated a memoir of his time in Iraq and the Middle East: it gives a lively account of flying the large biplanes of the period over difficult desert terrain, and also provides a sharply focussed, and sometimes lyrical description of the landscape and people of the region.''The Baghdad Air Mail'', Edward Arnold and Co, London, 1929. Hill joined the Directing Staff at the RAF Staff College in 1927 and then went on to be the Officer Commanding the

Oxford University Air Squadron The Oxford University Air Squadron, abbreviated Oxford UAS, or OUAS, formed on 11th October 1925, is the training unit of the Royal Air Force at the University of Oxford and forms part of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. OUAS is one of fif ...

in 1930, deputy director of Repair and Maintenance 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 and civil aviation that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the ...

in 1932 and Air Officer Commanding Palestine & Transjordan Command in 1936. During the

Hill was Director-General of Research and Development at the Air Ministry and then Commandant of the RAF Staff College from 1942. He was appointed Air Officer Commanding No. 12 Group in 1943 and then served as Commander-in-Chief of

Fighter Command RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It operated throughout the Second World War, winning fame during the Battle of Britain in 1940. The ...

(also briefly called the Air Defence of Great Britain during his command) from 1943 to 1945. Under his command the RAF was able to deal a blow to the German Luftwaffe's strategic bombing campaign during Operation Steinbock. After the war Hill was Air Member for Training and then Air Member for Technical Services before retiring in 1948. In retirement he became Rector of Imperial College. In 1953 he was nominated Vice-Chancellor of London University, before ill-health forced him to resign in the following year before completing his term of office.Denis Richards: ''Hill, Sir Roderic Maxwell (1894–1954)'', rev. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2011, Retrieved 28 Dec 2012
/ref>

Personal life

Befitting of his original ambition to be an architect, Hill was a talented illustrator. During the First World War, and for a time afterwards, he was a frequent contributor of drawings to

Flight Flight or flying is the motion (physics), motion of an Physical object, object through an atmosphere, or through the vacuum of Outer space, space, without contacting any planetary surface. This can be achieved by generating aerodynamic lift ass ...

. Hill married Mabel Helen Catherine Morton in 1917. They had two daughters and an only son who was killed in action in 1944. Hill died from a

coronary thrombosis Coronary thrombosis is defined as the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel of the heart. This blood clot may then restrict blood flow within the heart, leading to heart tissue damage, or a myocardial infarction, also known as a heart ...

near

St Bartholomew's Hospital St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 by Rahere, and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by ...

Notes

References

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