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

  1. ^ Barrass, M. B. (2015). "Other RAF Appointments: Commandant-Generals of the RAF Regiment". Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  2. ^ Mackie, Colin (2016). "Royal Air Force Senior Appointments" (PDF). gulabin.com. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  3. ^ "Major-General Alfred E. Robinson". King's Collections Military Archives. Archived from the original on 4 August 2012.
  4. ^ Barrass, M. B. (2015). "H T Lydford". Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  5. ^ Barrass, M. B. (2015). "S C Strafford". Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  6. ^ "No. 44580". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 May 1968. p. 5183.
  7. ^ "No. 45873". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 January 1973. p. 374.
  8. ^ Barrass, M. B. (2016). "D A Pocock". Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  9. ^ "No. 47231". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 June 1977. p. 7369.
  10. ^ "No. 47835". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 May 1979. p. 5988.
  11. ^ "No. 49434". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 August 1983. p. 10182.
  12. ^ "No. 50258". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 September 1985. p. 12794.
  13. ^ "No. 51152". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 December 1987. p. 15346.
  14. ^ "No. 52031". The London Gazette. 26 January 1990. p. 1297.
  15. ^ "A History of the Purchase and development of the RAF Regiment Memorial Garden at the National Memorial Arboretum". RAF Regiment Association. 2009. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  16. ^ "No. 57220". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 March 2004. p. 2669.
  17. ^ a b "Air Rank Appointments List 7/06". Royal Air Force. July 2006. Archived from the original on 4 October 2012. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  18. ^ "No. 60543". The London Gazette (Supplement). 18 June 2013. p. 11992.
  19. ^ "Senior Appointments". Royal Air Force. 8 February 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  20. ^ "Senior Appointments". Royal Air Force. 16 November 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  21. ^ "Appointment of Commandant General of the RAF Regiment". Royal Air Force. 4 May 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
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