Air Council Posts and members

Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation

Air Council Appointments 1

This section lists all the posts that have, at some time, been established on the Air Council/Air Force Board. However, for continuity all holders of the post have been shown whether they sat on the Air Council/Air Force Board or not.

Details of the duties and responsibilities of the holders of these appointments and those of the subordinate Directorates, etc can be found in the Members' Area under 'AM Distribution of Duties'

Chief of the Air Staff:

Post established – 3 Jan 1918. Post appointed to Air Council – 3 Jan 1918

3 Jan 1918 Maj-Gen Sir Hugh Trenchard

13 Apr 1918 Maj-Gen Sir Frederick Sykes

22 Jan 1919 AM-MRAF Sir Hugh Trenchard

1 Jan 1930 ACM-MRAF Sir John Salmond

1 Apr 1933 ACM Sir Geoffrey Salmond

28 Apr 1933 MRAF Sir John Salmond (acting)

22 May 1933 ACM-MRAF Sir Edward Ellington

1 Sep 1937 ACM-MRAF Sir Cyril Newall

25 Oct 1940 ACM-MRAF Sir Charles Portal

1 Jan 1946 MRAF Sir Arthur Tedder

1 Jan 1950 ACM Sir John Slessor

1 Jan 1953 ACM Sir William Dickson

1 Jan 1956 ACM Sir Dermot Boyle

1 Jan 1960 ACM Sir Thomas Pike

1 Sep 1963 ACM Sir Charles Elworthy

1 Apr 1967 ACM Sir John Grandy

1 Apr 1971 ACM Sir Denis Spotswood

1 Apr 1974 ACM Sir Andrew Humphrey

7 Aug 1976 ACM Sir Neil Cameron

10 Aug 1977 ACM Sir Michael Beetham

15 Oct 1982 ACM Sir Keith Williamson

15 Oct 1985 ACM Sir David Craig

14 Nov 1988 ACM Sir Peter Harding

6 Nov 1992 ACM Sir Michael Graydon

10 Apr 1997 ACM Sir Richard Johns

21 Apr 2000 ACM Sir Peter Squire

1 Aug 2003 ACM Sir Jock Stirrup

13 Apr 2006 ACM Sir Glenn Torpy

31 Jul 2009 ACM Sir Stephen Dalton

xx Jul 2013 ACM Sir Andrew Pulford

xx Jul 2016 ACM Sir Stephen Hillier

xx Jul 2019: ACM M Wigston

Deputy Chief of the Air Staff:

Post established – 3 Jan 1918. Post appointed to Air Council - 3 Jan 1918, removed from Air Council, 1 Apr 1918? From 1923/5 to 1938, the post also held the dual title of Director of Operations and Intelligence. Post re-appointed to the Air Council - 1 Jan 1930. Post abolished - xx xxx 1968?

3 Jan 1918 Maj-Gen M E F Kerr

1 Apr 1918 Brig-Gen R M Groves

xx xxx xxxx Brig-Gen O Swann

xx xxx 1920 A/Cdre J M Steel

12 Apr 1926 A/Cdre C L N Newall

6 Feb 1931 A/Cdre C S Burnett

1 Feb 1933 AVM E R Ludlow-Hewitt

26 Jan 1935 AVM C L Courtney

25 Jan 1937 AVM R E C Peirse

xx xxx 1938 AVM W S Douglas

22 Jul 1940 AVM N H Bottomley

xx xxx 1942 Post abolished

xx xxx 1943 AM Sir Norman Bottomley

xx xxx 1945 AM Sir Albert Durston

4 Feb 1948 AM Sir Hugh Walmsley

1 Nov 1948 AM Sir Arthur Sanders

17 Mar 1952 ACM Sir John Baker

1 Nov 1952 AM Sir Ronald Ivelaw-Chapman

9 Nov 1953 AM Sir Thomas Pike

4 Jul 1956 AM Sir Geoffrey Tuttle

15 Nov 1959 AM Sir Charles Elworthy

18 Jul 1960 AM Sir Ronald Lees

5 Jun 1963 AM Sir Christopher Hartley

1 Apr 1966 AM R H E Emson

30 Jan 1967 AM Sir Peter Wykeham

Master-General of Personnel:

Post established - 3 Jan 1918. Post appointed to Air Council – 3 Jan 1918. Post absorbed into Department of CAS and downgraded to Director of Personnel – xx Apr-Jun 1919?

3 Jan 1918 Maj-Gen G M Paine

22 Aug 1918 Maj-Gen W S Brancker

xx xxx 1919 Post vacant

Controller-General of Equipment:

Post established - 3 Jan 1918. Post appointed to Air Council – 3 Jan 1918. Post renamed Director-General of Aircraft Production and Research.

3 Jan 1918 Maj-Gen E L Ellington

Director-General of Aircraft Production and Research:

Post replaced Controller-General of Equipment - xx Feb 1919. Post appointed to Air Council – xx Feb 1919. Post renamed Director-General of Supply and Research.

xx xxx 1919 Maj-Gen E L Ellington

Director-General of Supply and Research:

Post replaced Director-General of Aircraft Production and Research - xx Mar/Apr 1919. Post appointed to Air Council – xx Mar/Apr 1919. Post renamed Air Member for Supply and Research.

xx xxx 1919 Maj-Gen/AVM E L Ellington

23 Feb 1922 AVM Sir Geoffrey Salmond

Air Member for Personnel

Deputy Commander (Capability)/Member for Personnel and Capability

Post upgraded from Director of Personnel - xx xxx 1923. Post appointed to Air Council - xx xxx 1923. On 1 Apr 1994, the post was amalgamated with that of AOC in C, Personnel and Training Command with a single officer holding both titles. From 1 April 2007 PTC was disbanded and the post holder took on the duty of Deputy C-in-C (Personnel), HQ Air Command, which was changed to Deputy Commander (Capability) in 2012

xx xxx 1923 AVM Sir Oliver Swann

27 Nov 1923 AVM Sir Philip Game

1 Jan 1929 ACM Sir John Salmond

1 Jan 1930 AVM Sir Tom Webb-Bowen

26 Sep 1931 AM Sir Edward Ellington

22 May 1933 Vacant

31 Jul 1933 AVM F W Bowhill

1 Jul 1937 AM Sir William Mitchell

xx xxx xxxx AM Sir Leslie Gossage

1 Dec 1940 AM Sir Philip Babington

17 Aug 1942 AM Sir Bertine Sutton

5 Apr 1945 AM Sir John Slessor

1 Oct 1947 AM Sir Hugh Saunders

31 Oct 1949 ACM Sir Leslie Hollinghurst

1 Nov 1952 AM Sir Francis Fogarty

1 Jan 1957 AM Sir John Whitley

1 Apr 1959 ACM Sir Hubert Patch

1 Oct 1959 AM Sir William Macdonald

11 Dec 1961 AM Sir Walter Cheshire

22 Feb 1965 AM Sir David Lee

18 Mar 1968 AM Sir Andrew Humphrey

18 Mar 1970 AM Sir Lewis Hodges

25 Apr 1973 AM Sir Harold Martin

5 Oct 1974 AM Sir Neil Cameron

5 Jun 1976 AM Sir John Aiken

25 Feb 1978 AM Sir John Gingell

3 May 1980 AM Sir Charles Ness

7 May 1983 AM/ACM Sir Jock Kennedy

28 Feb 1986 AM Sir Anthony Skingsley

20 Mar 1987 AM Sir Laurence Jones

25 Oct 1989 ACM Sir David Parry-Evans

xx xxx xxxx AM Sir Roger Palin

16 Apr 1993 AM Sir Andrew Wilson

1 May 1995 AM/ACM Sir David Cousins

7 Aug 1998 AM Sir Anthony Bagnall

23 Mar 2000 AM Sir John Day

20 Mar 2001 AM Sir Christopher Coville

25 Apr 2003 AM Sir Joe French

6 Jan 2006 AM B M Thornton

1 May 2007 AM S G G Dalton

1 Apr 2009 AM Sir Simon Bryant

xx Jul 2010 AVM M G Lloyd (acting)

1 Sep 2010 AM A D Pulford

3 May 2013 AM Sir Baz North

xx xxx xxxx

23 May 2019 AM A M Turner

22 May 2022 AM R J Knighton

Air Member for Supply and Research:

Post replaced Director-General of Supply and Research - xx xxx 1923. Post appointed to Air Council - xx xxx 1923. Duties split into two - 14 Jan 1935, Air Member for Research and Development and Air Member for Supply and Organisation.

xx xxx 1923 AVM Sir Geoffrey Salmond

27 Dec 1926 AVM Sir John Higgins

1 Sep 1930 AVM H C T Dowding

Air Member for Research and Development:

Post established by splitting the duties of the Air Member of Supply and Research - 14 Jan 1935. Post appointed to Air Council - 14 Jan 1935.

14 Jan 1935 AM Sir Hugh Dowding

1 Apr 1936 AVM W R Freeman

Air Member for Supply and Organisation:

Post established by splitting the duties of the Air Member of Supply and Research - 14 Jan 1935. Post appointed to Air Staff - 14 Jan 1935. Post renamed Air Member for Logistics - 1 Sep 1994.

14 Jan 1935 AVM C L N Newall

1 Sep 1937 AVM W L Welsh

15 Jan 1940 AM Sir Christopher Courtney

14 Sep 1945 AM Sir Leslie Hollinghurst

1 Sep 1948 ACM Sir George Pirie

2 Mar 1950 ACM Sir William Dickson

1 Sep 1952 ACM Sir John Whitworth-Jones

1 May 1954 ACM Sir Donald Hardman

1 Jan 1958 ACM Sir Walter Dawson

8 Apr 1960 AM Sir Walter Merton

xx xxx 1963 AM Sir John Baker-Carr (acting)

1 Aug 1963 AM Sir John Davis