Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation
Air Marshal Sir Richard Atcherley (16140)
Richard Llewelyn Roger
b: 12 Jan 1904
r: 4 Apr 1959
d: 18 Apr 1970
KBE - 31 May 1956 (CBE - 5 Jul 1945, OBE - 1 Jan 1941), CB - 8 Jun 1950, AFC - 1940, Bar – 24 Sep 1941, MiD - 17 Mar 1941, MiD - 11 Jun 1942, MiD – 1 Jan 1945, NWC - 18 Dec 1942.
1st Prize, 'R M Groves' Competition - 1924
Plt
Off: 31 Jul 1924, Fg Off: 31 Jan
1926, Flt Lt: 13 Nov 1929*,
Sqn Ldr: 1 Apr 1937, (T) Wg Cdr: 1
Mar 1940, (T) Gp Capt: 1 Mar 1942,
15
Sep 1922: Flight Cadet, 'A' Sqn, RAF College. (Flt Cdt Sgt)
31 Jul 1924: Appointed to a Permanent Commission
31
Jul 1924:
Pilot, No 29 Sqn. (Snipe - Duxford)
xx
xxx 1925: Attended Central Flying School.
xx
xxx 1925: Pilot/QFI, No 29 Sqn. (Snipes – Duxford)
26
Oct 1925: Pilot/QFI, No 23 Sqn. (Snipes – Henlow)
4
Aug 1926: QFI, Central Flying School.
6
Oct 1928:
Pilot, RAF High Speed Flight.
10
Oct 1929: QFI, Central Flying School.
9
Dec 1929: Flight Commander, No 23 Sqn.
13
Oct 1930: Flight
Commander, No 14 Sqn.
xx
Sep 1934: Test Pilot, Experimental Section, RAE.
xx
Jan 1937: Attended RAF Staff College.
1
Jan 1938: Air Staff, HQ Training Command
1
Jul 1939: Staff of AM Sir Charles Burnett, Inspector-General of the RAF.
4
Oct 1939: Officer Commanding, No 219 Sqn
8 Apr 1940: Staff Officer, HQ No 11 Group
xx
May 1940:
Officer Commanding, Air Element BEF, Norway.
25
Jun 1940: Officer Commanding, RAF Drem.
12-18 Dec 1940: Attached to RAF Turnhouse for Sector Control duties
29 Dec 1940:
CFI, No 54 OTU - RAF
Church Fenton.
1942: Officer Commanding, RAF Fairwood Common.
1942: Officer Commanding, RAF Kenley.
11
Apr 1943:
AOC, No 211 Group
- Tripoli
xx
xxx 1943:
Group Captain - Training, HQ Fighter Command.
1944: Head of RAF Section (Temporary), Training Section, HQ AEAF.
xx
Mar 1944: Deputy Head of RAF Section , Training Section, HQ AEAF.
xx Jul 1944: Commandant, Fighter Leaders' School/OC, RAF Millfield
25
Feb 1945: Commandant, Central Fighter Establishment.
xx
xxx 1945: SASO, Commonwealth Tactical Air Force.
12
Sep 1945: AOC,
RAFCranwell.
xx xxx 1946: Commandant, RAF College - Cranwell.
31
Jan 1949: Chief of the Air Staff, Royal Pakistani Air Force.
1
Jun 1951:
AOC, No 12 Group
xx
Nov 1953: Head of RAF Staff - British Joint Services Mission, Washington.
20
Dec 1955: AOC in C, Flying Training Command.
Richard
Atcherley, universally known as 'Batchy' gained a reputation together with his
twin brother, David, as a practical joker, despite which he was an exceptional
pilot and a charismatic leader.
Their father, a retired army major and then Chief Constable of the West
Riding of Yorkshire (he was recalled during WW1 becoming Major-General Sir
Llewelyn) had taken up ballooning in the early part of the 20th Century.
They attended Oundle School and both applied for admission into the RAF
as
Flight Cadets at the RAF College, Cranwell.
Richard was accepted whilst his brother was turned down on medical
grounds.
In 1927 he was selected to fly as a member of the School's aerobatic team
and remained a member for the next two seasons.
In
1929, he was selected as a member of the RAF High Speed Flight which was tasked
with flying Britain's entries in the Schneider Trophy Air Races.
Selected to fly N248 in the competition, he unfortunately turned inside a
pylon and was disqualified, however he subsequently went on to set records at 50
and 100 km of 332 and 331 mph respectively.
Another aspect of the work of the High Speed Flight was exhibited in
1929, when 'Batchy' with G H Stainforth as navigator, took part in the King's
Cup Air Race.
They flew a 2 seater Grebe and won the competition at an average speed of
150.3 mph.
His success in the Schneider Trophy and King's Cup Air Races had brought
him fame around the world and in 1930 he was invited to take part in the Chicago
Air Races in the USA.
On arrival it was apparent that his demonstration of aerobatics in a
standard British light aircraft would fall short of the American experts in
their specially designed high performance aircraft.
Therefore he decided to give a display of 'crazy flying', in which he
flew the aircraft as though it was being flown by an unqualified pilot.
His display was so spectacular that he was asked to return the following
year, although by then he had been posted to Amman in Trans-Jordan with No 14
Squadron and this annual visit to the USA had to start with a flight home to the
UK in his own aircraft.
Whilst
serving in Palestine, he carried out night flying/navigation experiments which
he would later perfect into an approved night landing system.
Another of his eccentricities at this time was his menagerie, which
included a pet lion which he often took flying with him.
Prior to leaving the Middle East, however, his antics caught up with him,
when he carried out an aerobatic display over a tennis party which included the
AOC, Sir Cyril Newell.
Court Martialed, he lost 50 places in the seniority lists and was
prevented from attending the RAF Staff College.
Whilst
he was in Chicago, he witnessed some experiments in Air to Air Refuelling and
was immediately fascinated by them.
As a result in 1934 he found himself posted to the second of his initial
ambitions, the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough, where he was able
develop his ideas on air refuelling alongside other methods then being tested.
He also continued his previous experiments in night landing systems and
even suggested that aircrews should wear specially designed flying suits based
on the ski-suit (another common feature today).
Following his tour at Farnborough, he was allowed to attend the course at
the RAF Staff College at Andover from which he had been previously been barred.
Appointed
a staff officer at HQ Training Command, he was tasked with increasing
the output of the command, which required both aircraft and airfields.
He used his own aircraft for both searching for suitable airfield sites
and for visiting Public Schools.
He set up the Public School's Air Cadet Wing, whereby Schools' OTCs were
affiliated to RAF Stations and at least two masters in each school were
responsible for the training of OTC cadets in air matters.
He went further, setting up annual camps for these cadets with Air
Experience in Ansons and initial flying training for selected cadets in Tiger
Moths.
His brother David also assisted him and when unable to run the last camp
before the war, David successfully stepped in and took over.
With
the German invasion of Norway, he was sent to organise the airfield at Bardufoss
for the Gladiators of No 263 Sqn and later the Hurricanes of 46 Sqn.
In order to make the landing ground safe. it was necessary to clear the
snow from the runways.
With limited resources, he was able to coerce the local population to
undertake the task.
With the situation in Norway becoming untenable the RAF personnel were
ordered to evacuate and burn their aircraft.
However, not wishing to lose valuable aircraft, he and 'Bing' Cross (OC,
No 46 Sqn), decided to attempt the evacuation of the Hurricanes and Gladiators
by landing them aboard HMS Glorious rather than destroying and abandoning them
in Norway.
The actual landing of the squadrons aboard the carrier was a complete
success, but unfortunately it was sunk on it's way to Britain.
On
his return to the UK, he assumed command of RAF Drem in Scotland, where he
continued development of his night landing light system, eventually adopted by
the RAF and known as the 'Drem' system.
Later at Fairwood Common, he was replaced by his brother and many of the
station personnel did not even notice the change.
At Kenley he often flew with the Wing but after protests from the
squadron commanders that he could not see the enemy quick enough and when asked
by the AOC in C to stop flying with the Wing he readily agreed.
However, the next day the AOC in C, was informed the 'Batchy' had been
shot down and was at that moment somewhere in the English Channel.
Rescued
from the Channel having been wounded in the engagement a period of recovery was
followed by a posting to the Middle East, where having been promoted Act A/Cdre
in the Western Desert Air Force he crashed a new Kittyhawk, incurring the wrath
of new AOC, AVM Harry Broadhurst.
As a result he found himself returned to the UK as a Group Captain.
Whilst
at HQ AEAF, he had proposed the idea of a Central Fighter Establishment and when
the idea was eventually put into action in 1945, it was logical and appropriate
that 'Batchy' should become it's first Commandant.
This unit was responsible for developing new tactics and assessing new
fighter designs. The dropping of the Atomic Bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
removed the need for the planned Commonwealth force of which he was to have been
the SASO and instead he became the first ex-Cranwell cadet to become Commandant
of the RAF College.
Here he developed a technique whereby he inspected the whole station,
permanent staff, cadets and apprentices whilst flying inverted in his personal
Gloster Meteor.
He was also responsible for returning Cranwell to the glory of its
pre-war years.
This page was last updated on 05/04/22 using FrontPage 2003©
D F W Atcherley