Wing Commander William Ronald Read, (17 May 1885"Wing Commander Read Retires", ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', 21 May 1932 − 1972) was a highly decorated

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 ...

officer of

World War I 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 ...

and the inter-war period. A pre-war member of the

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

(which became the RAF in 1918), he was one of only a handful of officers to ever receive a second bar to the Air Force Cross (i.e. he was awarded the AFC three times).

Early life and career

Read came from a wealthy familyLinda R. Robertson, ''The Dream of Civilized Warfare: World War I Flying Ages and the American Imagination'', University of Minnesota Press, 2003
/ref> and was the eldest son of W. T. Read of

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

."Forthcoming Marriages", ''The Times'', 7 December 1915 Both his parents died when he was twelve and he and his siblings were raised by guardians. He was educated at

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

. Read was commissioned a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the Hampshire Carabiniers, a

yeomanry Yeomanry is a designation used by a number of units or sub-units of the British Army, British Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Army Reserve, descended from volunteer British Cavalry, cavalry regiments. Today, Yeomanry units serve in a variety of ...

(part-time volunteer cavalry) regiment, on 23 September 1906. On 6 March 1907, after leaving Cambridge, he transferred to the 1st (King's) Dragoon Guards, a regular regiment. After obtaining his pilot's licence in April 1913, Read was seconded to the Royal Flying Corps as a pilot on 28 April 1914 and joined 3 Squadron. He was promoted

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

on 14 June 1914.

First World War

Read accompanied his squadron to France in August 1914. He was wounded in December 1914. On 8 February 1915, he was appointed a flight commander in the

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

with the temporary rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. In December 1915 he was sent home to organise 45 Squadron, returning to France in command in April 1916. He was awarded the

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

on 1 January 1916 and promoted to the substantive rank of captain on 19 August 1917. In April 1917, disillusioned with heavy losses and with his superiors, he requested and received a transfer back to his regiment. He did not much enjoy it, however, and returned to the RFC as the first commanding officer of 104 Squadron, a bomber unit, in September 1917 with the acting rank of

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

. He was awarded the Air Force Cross (AFC) on 1 January 1919, and the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) on 3 June 1919 for services in France.

Post-war

After the war he remained in the Royal Air Force with the rank of

flight lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...

, although technically still on attachment from his regiment. He served in

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with No. 216 Squadron from 1919 to 1921, and received a

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to his AFC on 12 July 1920. By October 1921, he had been 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 also ...

in the RAF, although still holding the rank of captain in the Army, and was in command of 216 Squadron. On 17 November 1921, he finally transferred from the Army to a permanent commission in the Royal Air Force. He was awarded a second bar to his AFC in the

1922 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1922 were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by members of the British Empire. They were published on 30 December 1921. The recipients of honours are displayed here ...

. He was promoted

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 ...

on 1 January 1924. Having previously been commander of an apprentices' wing at

RAF Halton Royal Air Force Halton, or more simply RAF Halton, is one of the largest Royal Air Force stations in the United Kingdom. It is located near the village of Halton near Wendover, Buckinghamshire. The site has been in use since the First World W ...

, in January 1928 he became station commander of

RAF Upavon Royal Air Force Upavon or RAF Upavon is a former RAF station in Wiltshire, England. It was a grass airfield, military flight training school, and administrative headquarters of the Royal Air Force. The station opened in 1912 and closed in 1993, ...

,"New Air Station", ''The Times'', 26 September 1930 and he was appointed first commander of

RAF Boscombe Down MoD Boscombe Down ' is the home of a military aircraft testing site, on the southeastern outskirts of the town of Amesbury, Wiltshire, England. The site is managed by QinetiQ, the private defence company created as part of the breakup of the Def ...

in September 1930. In March 1931, he was appointed Inspector of Recruiting for the RAF."RAF Recruiting", ''The Times'', 4 April 1931 He retired on 17 May 1932, his 47th birthday.

Personal life

In December 1915, Read became engaged to Marjory Masters, daughter of an army chaplain. However, he seems to have never actually married. He was an amateur

steeplechase Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...

rider, riding in many races,"Racing", ''The Times'', 10 February 1925 and

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player."The Army and RAF Championships", ''The Times'', 14 July 1925 Read's wartime diaries and papers are held by the

Imperial War Museum Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Read, William 1885 births 1972 deaths Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge Hampshire Yeomanry officers 1st King's Dragoon Guards officers Royal Flying Corps officers Royal Air Force officers British Army personnel of World War I Royal Air Force personnel of World War I Recipients of the Military Cross Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) English jockeys People from Hampstead British World War I pilots