William Coles (RAF officer): Difference between revisions
migrating Persondata to Wikidata, please help, see challenges for this article |
m en-GB |
||
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2017}} |
|||
{{Use British English|date=May 2017}} |
|||
{{Infobox military person |
{{Infobox military person |
||
|name= Sir William Coles |
|name= Sir William Coles |
Revision as of 02:24, 4 May 2017
Sir William Coles | |
---|---|
Born | 26 July 1913 |
Died | 7 June 1979 | (aged 65)
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service | Royal Air Force |
Years of service | 1938–1968 |
Rank | Air Marshal |
Commands | Technical Training Command (1966–68) No. 23 (Training) Group (1960–63) RAF Middleton St. George (1950–51) No. 233 Squadron (1944–45) No. 117 Squadron (1943–44) |
Battles / wars | Second World War |
Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companion of the Order of the Bath Distinguished Service Order Distinguished Flying Cross & Bar Air Force Cross Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) |
Air Marshal Sir William Edward Coles KBE, CB, DSO, DFC & Bar, AFC (26 July 1913 – 7 June 1979) was a Royal Air Force officer who served as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Technical Training Command from 1966 to 1968.
RAF career
Coles joined the Royal Air Force in 1938.[1] He served in the Second World War as Officer Commanding No. 117 Squadron and as Officer Commanding No. 233 Squadron.[1] After the war he became a Staff Officer at the Air Ministry before joining the Central Flying School.[1] He was appointed Station Commander at RAF Middleton St. George in 1950, Chief Flying Instructor at the Central Flying School in 1951 and Air Adviser to the High Commissioner to Australia in 1953.[1] He went on to be Senior Air Staff Officer at Headquarters No. 3 (Bomber) Group in 1957, Air Officer Commanding No. 23 (Training) Group in 1960 and Director-General of RAF Personal Services in 1963.[1] His last appointment was as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Technical Training Command in 1966 before retiring in 1968.[1]
In retirement he became President of the Not Forgotten Association[2] and Controller of the RAF Benevolent Fund.[3]
References
- ^ a b c d e f Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Marshal Sir William Coles
- ^ Not Forgotten Association Annual Review 2010
- ^ World News Flight International, 30 October 1969
- 1913 births
- 1979 deaths
- Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
- Companions of the Order of the Bath
- Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire
- Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)
- Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross and Bar (United Kingdom)
- Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
- Royal Air Force air marshals
- Royal Air Force personnel of World War II