(William) Sholto Douglas, 1st Baron Douglas of Kirtleside
by Walter Stoneman
bromide print, January 1938
NPG x434
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Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation
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Marshal of the RAF Lord Douglas of Kirtleside
William
Sholto b:
23 Dec 1893
r: 1 Nov 1947
d: 31 Oct 1969
Baron - 1 Jan 1948 (Conferred 17 Feb 1948), GCB - 1 Jan 1946 (KCB - 1 Jul 1941, CB - 11 Jul 1940), MC - 14 Jan 1916, DFC - 8 Feb 1919, MiD - 1 Jan 1916, MiD - 20 May 1918, MiD - 31 Dec 1918, C de G (F) - xx xxx 1915, PR2 - 29 May 1942, WL - 12 Jan 1943, WE (S)2 - 21 Jan 1944, LoM (CC) - 28 Aug 1945 (LoM (Cdr) - 28 Jul 1944), DSM (USN) - 23 Nov 1945, SO (GC) - 9 Oct 1945, OP(GC) - 6 Sep 1946, ON(KGC) - 15 Oct 1946, LoH, GC - xx xxx 194?, CWC - xx xxx 194?, GOOC - 20 Jun 1947, Hon CRAes - xx xxx 1950, DL (County of London) - 24 Feb 1949.
(Army):
- 2 Lt: 15 Aug 1914, Lt:
9 Jun 1915, (T) Capt:
27 Dec 1915/10 Jan
1916?, (T) Maj: 1 Jul 1916.
(RAF):
- (T) Maj [Capt]: 1 Apr
1918, (T)
Lt Col: 20 Nov 1918, Sqn Ldr: 25
Mar 1920, Wg Cdr: 1 Jan 1925, Gp
Capt: 1 Jan 1932, A/Cdre: 1 Jul
1935, AVM: 1 Jan 1938, (T) AM: 25 Nov 1940, AM: 14 Apr 1942 [25 Nov 1940], (T) ACM:
1 Jul 1942, ACM: 6 Jun 1945, MRAF:
1 Jan 1946.
(William) Sholto Douglas, 1st Baron Douglas of Kirtleside
by Walter Stoneman
bromide print, January 1938
NPG x434
15
Aug 1914: Officer, Royal Field Artillery.
7
Jan 1915: Observer, No 2 Sqn RFC. (Various types Western Front)
xx
May 1915:
Pilot Training, France and England. (RAeC Cert. No 1301)
23 Jul 1915:
Pilot, No 14 Sqn RFC. (Various types Shoreham)
16
Aug 1915:
Pilot, No 8 Sqn RFC. (BE2c Western Front)
27 Dec 1915: Appointed Flight Commander.
10 Jan 1916: Flight Commander, No 18 (Reserve) Sqn RFC. (Montrose)
15 Apr 1916:
Officer Commanding, No 43 Sqn RFC. (Sopwith 11
Strutter UK/Western Front)
xx
May 1917: Recuperation/Airfield Selection Duties, Ireland.
10
Aug 1917: Officer Commanding, No 84 Sqn RFC/RAF. (SE5, SE5A Western Front)
xx xxx xxxx: Officer Commanding, No 22 Wing.
20
Nov 1918, Officer Commanding, No 59 Wing, Cranwell.
xx
xxx 1919, Pilot/OC, No 1 (Communications) Sqn. (Various types Hendon)
21
Apr 1919: Unemployed List.
25
Mar 1920: Air
Staff, HQ No 1 Group.
17 Dec 1920:
4
Apr 1921:
Staff, School of Technical Training (Men).
22
Jul 1921:
CFI, No 6 FTS.
3
Apr 1922:
Attended RAF Staff College (Course No 1).
1
May 1923: Head
of T.1, Directorate of Training and Staff Duties
xx xxx xxxx: Head
of T.1, Directorate of Training.
1
Jan 1927:
Attended Imperial Defence College.
4
Jan 1928:
Supernumerary, RAF North Weald
6
Jan 1928:
Officer Commanding, RAF North Weald
16
Aug 1929: Air
Staff, HQ Middle East Command - Khartoum.
xx
Nov 1929: Senior Air Staff Officer, Khartoum, Sudan
20
Mar 1932: Supernumerary, RAF Depot
27
Jun 1932:
Instructor, Imperial Defence College
1
Jan 1936:
Director of Staff Duties, Air Ministry
17
Feb 1938: Assistant Chief of the Air Staff
22
Apr 1940:
Deputy Chief of the Air Staff
25
Nov 1940: AOC in C, Fighter Command
11
Jan 1943:
AOC in C, Middle East Command
20
Jan 1944:
AOC in C, Coastal Command
15
Jul 1945:
C in C, British Air Forces of Occupation/Air Division, Control Commission
for Germany
1
May 1946:
C in C, British Forces of Occupation/UK Member of Control Commission and
Military Governor, British Zone of Occupation, Germany.
xx xxx 1948: Chairman, BOAC
14 Mar 1949 - xx xxx xxxx: Chairman, BEA
14 Mar 1954 - xx xxx 1964: Chairman, BEA
Educated at Tonbridge School, he
was awarded an exhibition at Lincoln College, Oxford, where he started in 1913.
Here he continued as a member of the O.T.C. and although originally in
the Signals section of the Infantry, he managed to wangle a transfer to the
artillery. Having found disfavour
with his CO, he transferred to the RFC.
In May 1915 he began his retraining as a pilot, initially in France and
after gaining his RAeC Certificate (No 1301 on 2 Jun 1915) back in England.
Unsure
if he could survive in a peace time RAF which appeared to have an uncertain
future he decided to leave, joining Handley Page Transport Ltd as their Chief
Pilot and on 1 May 1919, the day on which the ban on civil flying was lifted, he
piloted a Handley Page 0/400 on the first commercial passenger carrying flight
between London and Manchester and then in July he flew the first cross-Channel
commercial flight when he flew an 0/400 to Brussels.
However, he became disenchanted with civilian flying and left
Handley-Page. He considered
returning to College at Oxford, following his father into the art business and
even emigrating to America. In
early 1920 he was offered a job a job in India as a jute merchant and whilst
considering it, he had a chance meeting with Trenchard who suggested that he
"come back to the RAF", which he did being awarded a permanent
commission as a Squadron Leader.
On
28 June 1939, he and AM Sir Christopher Courtney were accompanying Sir Kingsley
Wood on a visit to Belfast, when their aircraft flew into a mountainside in
Cumberland. Sholto Douglas
was the least injured and he managed to make his way to a shepherd's hut where
he able to summon help. As AOC in
C, Fighter Command he moved Fighter
Command from the defensive to the offensive, in an attempt to destroy the German
fighter forces by enticing them into the air to combat large concentrations of
fighters escorting a small number of bombers.
When he and Sir Arthur Harris were promoted to Marshal of the RAF, they
become only two officers in the history of the RAF to hold the rank without
having held the post of Chief of the Air Staff.
Retiring from the RAF, he held a number of positions in the post war
civil aviation industry, including a Director of BOAC (1948 - 49), Chairman of
BEA (1949 - xxxx and 1954 - 64), Chairman of Horizon Travel Associates Ltd (1964 - 69) and was
the President of the International Air Transport Association (1956 - 57).
Further
reading: - Years of Combat/Years of Command, Sholto Douglas Collins
(1963/1966)
This page was last updated on 16/10/22
A G Douglas 