Royal Air Force commander of the RAF Regiment
The Commandant-General of the RAF Regiment (CG RAF Regt) is the Royal Air Force commander of the RAF Regiment. The post was established in January 1942 immediately prior to the creation of the RAF Regiment. The first two holders of the post were major-generals in the British Army. From 1948 onward, the Commandant-General has been an RAF officer of air rank. These officers all held the rank of air vice-marshal until 1993 when the post was downgraded to air commodore. In 2022, the position was more upgraded to Air Vice-Marshal with the appoint of AVM Michael Smeath.
Commandants-general
Sources[1][2]
Ordinal
|
Date of appointment
|
Rank on appointment
|
Name of officer
|
Other duty
|
1st
|
January 1942
|
Major-General
|
Sir Claude Liardet
|
Director-General of Ground Defences at the Air Ministry
|
2nd
|
1945
|
Major-General
|
A E Robinson[3]
|
|
3rd
|
30 June 1948
|
Air Vice-Marshal
|
H T Lydford[4]
|
Inspector of Ground Combat Training
|
4th
|
26 October 1950
|
Air Vice-Marshal
|
S C Strafford[5]
|
Inspector of Ground Combat Training
|
5th
|
1 October 1952
|
Air Vice-Marshal
|
Sir Francis Mellersh
|
Inspector of Ground Combat Training
|
6th
|
23 September 1954
|
Air Vice-Marshal
|
B C Yarde
|
Inspector of Ground Defence
|
7th
|
12 February 1957
|
Air Vice-Marshal
|
J L F Fuller-Good
|
Inspector of Ground Defence
|
8th
|
1 March 1959
|
Air Vice-Marshal
|
J H Harris
|
Inspector of Ground Defence
|
9th
|
5 August 1961
|
Air Vice-Marshal
|
E M F Grundy
|
Inspector of Ground Defence
|
10th
|
7 January 1963
|
Air Vice-Marshal
|
Sir Bernard Chacksfield
|
Inspector of Ground Defence
|
11th
|
3 May 1968
|
Air Vice-Marshal
|
B P Young[6]
|
Inspector of Ground Defence
|
12th
|
6 January 1973
|
Air Vice-Marshal
|
D A Pocock[7][8]
|
Inspector of Ground Defence
|
13th
|
3 May 1975
|
Air Vice-Marshal
|
A Griffiths
|
Inspector of Ground Defence – to 1976 Director-General of Security (RAF) – from 1976
|
14th
|
28 May 1977
|
Air Vice-Marshal
|
B G Lock[9]
|
Director-General of Security (RAF)
|
15th
|
28 April 1979
|
Air Vice-Marshal
|
H Reed-Purvis[10]
|
Director-General of Security (RAF)
|
16th
|
4 August 1983
|
Air Vice-Marshal
|
J F G Howe[11]
|
Director-General of Security (RAF)
|
17th
|
30 August 1985
|
Air Vice-Marshal
|
D B Leech[12]
|
Director-General of Security (RAF)
|
18th
|
15 December 1987
|
Air Vice-Marshal
|
J H Harris[13]
|
Director-General of Security (RAF)
|
19th
|
11 January 1990
|
Air Vice-Marshal
|
G C Williams[14]
|
Director-General of Security (RAF)
|
20th
|
25 January 1991
|
Air Vice-Marshal
|
D R Hawkins (later Hawkins-Leth)
|
|
21st
|
8 March 1993
|
Air Commodore
|
T G Thorn
|
Director of Defence Fire Services
|
22nd
|
March 1995
|
Air Commodore
|
I W P McNeil
|
|
23rd
|
May 1999
|
Air Commodore
|
R C Moore
|
|
24th
|
1 April 2001
|
Air Commodore
|
N A Bairsto[15]
|
|
25th
|
January 2003
|
Air Commodore
|
S Anderton
|
|
26th
|
March 2005
|
Air Commodore
|
P J Drissell[16][17]
|
|
27th
|
2 January 2007
|
Air Commodore
|
S Abbott[17]
|
Air Officer RAF Police
|
28th
|
5 February 2010
|
Air Commodore
|
R W La Forte
|
|
29th
|
February 2012
|
Air Commodore
|
N Bray
|
|
30th
|
13 May 2013
|
Air Commodore
|
A J Hall
|
Air Officer, RAF Police.[18]
|
31st
|
April 2016
|
Air Commodore
|
R F J Clifford[19]
|
|
32nd
|
May 2019
|
Air Commodore
|
S M Miller[20]
|
|
33rd
|
May 2022
|
Air Vice-Marshal
|
M J Smeath[21]
|
Head of British Defence Staff, United States UK Defence Attaché to the USA
|
References