RAF Staff College, Andover

The first RAF Staff College course at Andover in 1922

The RAF Staff College at RAF Andover was the first Royal Air Force staff college to be established. Its role was the training of officers in the administrative, staff and policy aspects of air force matters.

History

Foundation

Following the foundation of the RAF in April 1918 and the end of the First World War in November 1918, there was a determination to maintain the Air Force as an independent service rather than let the Army and Royal Navy control air operations again. Therefore, the creation of an RAF Staff College to parallel the Army Staff College and the Royal Naval Staff College was an important element in fully establishing the RAF.

On 14 November 1921, Air Commodore Robert Brooke-Popham was tasked with setting up the RAF Staff College. On 1 April the following year, the new RAF Staff College came into being with Brooke-Popham as its first commandant. The Staff College was based at RAF Andover and was subordinate to Inland Area.

The dog seen in the photograph on Robert Brooke-Popham's lap was Jane who was buried in the Staff College grounds.^[1] The gravestone still exists^[2] and was the only remaining memorial to the college in 2010.

From its foundation and through the 1920s and 1930s, the Staff College provided training to selected officers (usually promising flight lieutenants or squadron leaders) to prepare them for staff duties at the Air Ministry or at Command or Group headquarters.

Changes during and after the Second World War

Although the college was closed on 3 September 1939, the day the British declaration of war was made, it reopened the same November running shorter courses. However, the next year on 28 May 1940, the college closed again. The RAF reopened its staff college at Bulstrode Park in December 1941. The college at Bulstrode Park was later reduced in size and only offered training to allied and foreign air force officers. When Bulstrode Park closed in 1948, this smaller College returned to Andover and its role in training overseas officers was continued. It was not until 1970 that the Staff College at Andover finally closed when it was absorbed into the RAF Staff College at Bracknell.

Commandants

1922 to 1940

• 1 April 1922 Air Vice-Marshal H R M Brooke-Popham
• 28 March 1926 Air Commodore E R Ludlow-Hewitt
• 7 September 1930 Air Commodore P B Joubert de la Ferté
• 12 December 1933 Air Vice-Marshal W R Freeman
• 1 January 1936 Air Marshal Sir Arthur Barratt
• 1939 Unknown

1948 to 1970

From 1941 to 1948 a single RAF staff college was located at Bulstrode Park which had its own commandant.

• 26 July 1948 Air Commodore L W Cannon
• 1949 Air Commodore J N T Stephenson
• 31 March 1952 Air Commodore W G Cheshire
• 25 April 1953 Air Commodore G. P. Chamberlain
• 1 May 1954 Air Commodore D W Lane
• 21 April 1958 Air Commodore E D McK Nelson
• 3 October 1960 Air Commodore N C Hyde
• 24 September 1962 Air Commodore C V D Willis
• 3 March 1965 Air Commodore W D Hodgkinson
• 7 March 1966 Air Commodore P O V Green
• 7 October 1968 Air Commodore J A G Jackson

Notable alumni

• Allan Perry-Keene, British Air Vice Marshal and first Air Officer Commanding of the Royal Pakistan Air Force^[3]
• Haider Raza, Pakistani Air Vice Marshal and Chief of Staff^[4]
• Asghar Khan, Pakistani Air Marshal and 2nd Commander-in-Chief^[4]
• Nur Khan, Pakistani Air Marshal and 3rd Commander-in-Chief
• Mohammad Akhtar, Pakistani Air Vice Marshal and Deputy Chief of Air Staff^[5]

References

1. "Gravestone at former RAF Andover, Andover Advertiser, 11 June 2010". Archived from the original on 3 November 2021. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
2. "Sanctuary, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) conservation magazine, issue 34, 2005, p. 93" (PDF). Retrieved 15 June 2020.
3. "Royal Air Force Intelligence". Flight. 9 February 1933. p. 137.
4. "TWO RPAF OFFICERS PROMTED TO AIR COMMODORE". The Civil and Military Gazette. 18 April 1954.
5. Aero News. Vol. 19. 1967. p. 7. Air Vice Marshal Mohammad Akhtar has been appointed General Manager & Senior Vice President of Pakistan International Airlines Corporation . In this capacity he will be responsible to the President PIAC , for the overall co - ordination and operation of the Airline. Immediately before taking up his present assign- ment, Air Vice Marshal Moham-mad Akhtar held the post of Air Officer Commanding, P.A.F. Opera- tional Command . Having been born at Sialkot , on July 10 , 1921 , Air Vice Marshal Mohammad Akhtar graduated from Government College , Lahore and was commissioned as a Pilot Officer in the Royal Indian Air Force in 1941 . During World War II , Air Vice Marshal Mohammad Akhtar saw active service in Burma with No. 9 Royal Indian Air Force Squadron, which he later commanded . Since Independence he has held various important command and staff app- ointments in the Pakistan Air Force , such as Station Commander P.A.F. Peshawar , Director of Training , Assistant Chief of Air Staff ( Admi- nistration ) , Assistant Chief of Air Staff ( Maintenance ) , Assistant Chief of Air Staff ( Operations ) and Deputy Chief of Air Staff at Air Headquar- ters . He also held the appointments of Air Officer Commanding No. 1 Group , Air Officer Commanding No. 2 Group and Air Officer Com- manding Air Defence . Air Vice Marshal Mohammad Akhtar is a graduate of the Royal Air Force Staff College , And over , U.K. He was awarded Sitarai-Khid-mat in 1964.

• Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation - Schools and Staff Colleges