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Air
Marshal Sir Thomas Elmhirst
Thomas
Walker
b: 15 Dec 1895
r: 29 Jun 1950
d: 6 Nov 1982
KBE
- 1 Jan 1946 (CBE -
2 Jun
1943), CB -
1 Jan
1945, AFC –
1 Jan 1919,
KStJ - 29 Jun 1956,
MiD - 1 Jan 1942, MiD - 11 Jun 1942,
MiD - 8 Jun 1944, MiD – 1
Jan 1946, Cwn, GO
- 26 Jul 1946, C de G (B) - xx xxx 194?, LoM (Cdr) - 11 Feb 1947, LoH,
Cdr - xx xxx 194?, C de G (F) - xx xxx 194?, DL (Fife) -
:
23 Feb 1960 – 22 Apr 1970.
(RN):
- Mid’n:
15 May 1913,
Act Sub-Lt: xx xxx xxxx,
Sub-Lt: 15 Jan 1916,
(T) Flt Sub-Lt: 15 Jan
1916, (T) Flt Lt: 1 Oct 1916.
(RAF):
- (T) Capt [Lt]: 1 Apr 1918,
(T) Maj: 6 Apr 1918, Flt
Lt: 1 Aug 1919 [1 Apr 1918], Sqn Ldr:
10 Oct 1928, Wg Cdr:
1 Jul 1935, Gp Capt: 1 Jan 1939, Act
A/Cdre: xx xxx 1940, (T) A/Cdre:
1 Dec 1940, Act (U) AVM: 2 Dec 1940
- 14 Apr 1941, Act AVM:
6 Nov 1943, A/Cdre:
1 Dec 1943, (T)
AVM: 1 Jun 1944, AVM: 1 Apr 1946,
Act AM: 13 Feb 1947, AM:
1 Oct 1948.
xx
xxx xxxx: Attended Britannia Naval College.
15
May 1913: Midshipman/Officer, HMS Indomitable (Battle of the Dogger Bank,
Dardanelles)
xx xxx 1915: Airship Pilot, RNAS Luce Bay.
xx
xxx
1916:
Airship Pilot, RNAS Howden
6
Apr 1918:
Officer Commanding, Airship Station - Anglesey.
xx
xxx 1918: Officer Commanding, Airship Station - Malahide.
1 Aug 1919: Awarded Permanent Commission in rank of Flight Lieutenant. (gazetted 26 Sep 1919)
1 Aug 1919: Staff Officer, 3rd Class (Technical), Air Ministry.
22
Jan
1920: Removed from the Navy Lists on being awarded Permanent Commission in RAF
1 Apr 1920: Attended School of Naval Co-operation and Aerial Navigation.
20 May 1921: Pilot (Airship), No 267 Sqn.
1
Aug
1923:
Pilot (Airship), No 481 Flt (formed from No 267 Sqn)
xx
xxx xxxx:
U/T Aeroplane Pilot,
5
May 1924: Attended RAF Staff College.
15
May 1925: Air Staff, Directorate of Operations and Intelligence.
31
Dec 1928: Staff, RAF Training Base, Leuchars.
23
May 1930: Air Staff, HQ RAF Mediterranean.
1
Jun 1934:
Officer Commanding, No XV Sqn. (Hart – Abingdon)
12
Aug 1935:
6
Feb 1937: Air Attaché, Ankara.
xx
xxx 1939: Officer Commanding, RAF Leconfield.
xx Sep 1939: Officer Commanding, RAF Abingdon
20 Jan 1940: Deputy Director of Intelligence (3)
7
Sep 1940: Controller, HQ Fighter Command.
2
Dec 1940: RAF Member, British Mission to Turkish General Staff.
14 Apr 1941: AOC, No 202 Group.
14
Feb 1942: AOA, HQ Desert Air Force.
xx
xxx 1942: AOC, AHQ Egypt.
1
Mar 1943: AOA,
HQ North-West Allied Tactical Air Forces.
6
Nov 1943: AOA,
HQ 2nd Tactical Air Force.
xx
Aug 1945: Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Intelligence).
xx
Feb 1947: Chief of Inter-Service Administration in India.
15 Aug 1947: AOC, Royal Indian Air Force.
xx
Jun
1948:
CAS/C in C, Indian Air Force.
Born near Howden (which would later become the RAF Airship Base), he father was a Curate at Laxton. Joining the Navy in 1913, he served aboard HMS Indomitable and took part in the chase of the Goeben and Breslau and later in the bombardment of the Dardenelles and the Battle of Dogger Bank. In 1915 he transferred to the RNAS and became an airship pilot, serving at Luce Bay and then Howden, near his birthplace, where he flew 'C' Type airships on North Sea patrols. At the end of war, he remained in the RAF and remained on airships, becoming a 1st Class Navigator following a course in 1920.
During his period as OC No 15 Sqn, that he adopted the form 'XV' for the squadron number which has been used ever since. Sir Thomas was asked to became first C in C of the independent Indian Air Force, but ill health forced him to end his tour early he returned to Britain and retirement. He became a County Councilor in Fife in 1950 and Civil Defence Controller for the Eastern Zone of Scotland in 1952. However, he gave up these posts in 1953 when he joined the Ministry of Supply to organise the staff and transportation of equipment in connection with the Atomic Bomb trails in Australia. Completing this task he was appointed the Lieutenant-Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Island of Guernsey, remaining in this post until 1958, on retirement from this post, he returned to Fife, where he was appointed Deputy Lieutenant in 1960, remaining in post until 1970.
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