Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation


Home Page

Main Menu

Quick Menu

Members' Area

What New?

About this site

Reunions

Help Needed?

Glossary

Bibliography

Sign Guest Book

View Guest Book

Link to Amazon

Online Store

Contact Me


Air Vice-Marshal G C Eveleigh (33083)


Geoffrey Charles                      b: 25 Oct 1912            r: 27 Mar 1965                  d: 23 Dec 2005

CB – 13 Jun 1964, OBE – 1 Jan 1945, MiD - 1 Jan 1943.

(GD Branch): Plt Off: 16 Dec 1933, Fg Off: 16 Jun 1935, Flt Lt: 16 Jun 1937, Sqn Ldr: 1 Jun 1939, (T) Wg Cdr. 1 Jun 1941, Act Gp Capt: 6 Sep 1944, Wg Cdr (WS): 6 Mar 1945, Wg Cdr: 1 Oct 1946, Gp Capt: 9 Oct 1953 [1 Jan 1951], Act A/Cdre: 11 Nov 1955, A/Cdre: 1 Jan 1957, Act AVM: 1 Feb 1959, AVM: 1 Jan 1961

(Tech Branch): Wg Cdr: 5 May 1948 [1 Jul 1947], Gp Capt: 1 Jan 1949, .

14 Jan 1932:     Flight Cadet, 'B' Sqn, RAF College.

16 Dec 1933:   Appointed to a Permanent Commission.

16 Dec 1933:   Pilot, No 43 Sqn.

 1 Mar 1935:    Pilot, No 802 Sqn FAA.

xx xxx xxxx:      Flight Commander, No 802 Sqn FAA.

14 Nov 1938:   Supernumerary, Home Aircraft Depot.

14 Nov 1938:    Staff, No 13 Maintenance Unit

xx xxx xxxx:      Instructor, RAF Base Gosport.

27 Mar 1939:    Instructor, No 9 Flying Training School.

xx Nov 1939:   Staff, HQ No 60 Group

20 Dec 1940:    Signals Officer, No 13 OTU

18 Feb 1941:    Signals Officer, Bomber Development Unit.

21 Apr 1941:   Signals Staff Officer, HQ Bomber Command

 8 Oct 1941:     Group Signals Officer, HQ No 2 Group.

 6 Sep 1944:    Signals Staff Officer, HQ Bomber Command.

xx Jun 1945:     Signals Staff Officer?, ACSEA

30 Dec 1945:   Signals Staff, RAF Delegation, Washington.

5 May 1948:     Transferred to Technical Branch 

25 Oct 1948:     Deputy Director of Signals

12 Nov 1951:   Chief Signals Officer, HQ Bomber Command.

1 Jan 1953 – 18 Jun 1957:       ADC to The Queen.

 6 Oct 1953:     Transferred to General Duties Branch in the rank of Group Captain.

xx xxx 1954:     Officer Commanding, RAF North Weald

11 Nov 1955:   Chief of Staff, RNZAF.

xx Jan 1958:     Attended Imperial Defence College

 1 Feb 1959:    Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Signals)/Director-General of Signals.

 1 Jul 1961:      AOA, HQ Fighter Command.

He was born at Henley-on-Thames and educated at Brighton College and was keen to fly from the moment he saw his first aircraft. He entered the RAF College at Cranwell in 1932, where he represented the College at Soccer, Swimming, Athletics, attained the rank of Under officer and was awarded the Sword of Honour.

Joining No 43 Squadron, he flew the Hawker Fury, but just over a year later he joined the Fleet Air Arm and No 802 Squadron, where he flew the navalised version of the Fury, the Hawker Nimrod.  After an extended tour with 802, which he completed as a flight commander, he became a deck landing instructor at Gosport.

In November 1939, he started his work  in the signals/radar field when he was appointed to No 60 Group at Leighton Buzzard.  This group controlled various RDF (Radar) stations around the country and was also responsible for combating the German radio bombing aids.  He then joined the Bomber Development Unit at Boscombe Down, which was involved developing radio bombing and landing aids for Bomber Command as well as developing high altitude bombing techniques using pressurised versions of the Vickers Wellington.  For the remainder of the war he was involved in signals works at Command and Group level until being posted to the Far East in 1945.

On his return to Bomber Command in 1951 he was involved with development work on the introduction of the Canberra jet bomber and in preparing for the future introduction of the V-Bombers.  In 1954, he was given command of the fighter airfield at North Weald and then went to New Zealand as Assistant Chief of Air Staff to the RNZAF.

After attending the Imperial Defence College, he returned to the signals world as  Director-General of Signals at the Air Ministry.  During this period he was involved in a major review of the air defence system in order to met the threat from supersonic aircraft and ballistic missiles.  His final appointment was back in Fighter Command, as Air Officer Administration, where he was involve din te implementation of many of the systems he had planned as DGS.

Qualified as a Signals Officer, he spent much of his career alternating between GD and Technical (Signals) Branch.  He eventually retired on the GD List and retired to Majorca, where he built his own house and stayed there until 1990.  In 2005 he attended the Flying Legends airshow at Duxford, where he was reunited with one  of the Nimrod fighters he had flown with 802 Squadron, which had been restored by The Fighter Collection to flying condition.

This page was last updated on 05/01/24©

Return to D R Evans D R Evans                                        [Top of Page]                               D C S Evill Forward to D C S Evill