Air Marshal Sir Richard Llewellyn Roger Atcherley, (12 January 1904 – 18 April 1970) was a senior

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

officer. He served as Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Pakistan Air Force from 1949 to 1951.

Early life

Richard Atcherley and his twin

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

were born on 12 January 1904, and were the sons of Major General Sir Llewellyn Atcherley, Chief Constable of the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

,Biography of Sir Richard Atcherley
/ref> and his wife, Eleanor Frances "Nelly" Mickelthwait (1871–1957), daughter of Richard Mickelthwait, of Ardsley House, in the valley of Deane near Barnsley. Major General Atcherley was a grandson of David Francis Atcherley of Marton Hall,

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of the

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and County Durham. Richard Atcherley and his brother, first cousins of

William Empson Sir William Empson (27 September 1906 – 15 April 1984) was an English literary critic and poet, widely influential for his practice of closely reading literary works, a practice fundamental to New Criticism. His best-known work is his firs ...

, attended

Oundle School Oundle School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) for pupils 11–18 situated in the market town of Oundle in Northamptonshire, England. The school has been governed by the Worshipful Company of Grocers of the ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

RAF career

In 1922, Atcherley attended the

RAF College Cranwell The Royal Air Force College (RAFC) is the Royal Air Force military academy which provides initial training to all RAF personnel who are preparing to become commissioned officers. The College also provides initial training to aircrew cadets and ...

and was commissioned two years later.Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Marshal Sir Richard Atcherley
/ref> He initially served as a pilot on No. 29 Squadron, flying Snipes out of Duxford. In 1925, Atcherley attended the

Central Flying School The Central Flying School (CFS) is the Royal Air Force's primary institution for the training of military flying instructors. Established in 1912 at the Upavon Aerodrome, it is the longest existing flying training school. The school was based at ...

and then returned to his squadron as both a pilot and a

qualified flying instructor A Qualified Flying Instructor is someone who is qualified to conduct flight training for pilots. They may also have other roles in aviation, such as aircraft certification and flight reviews, depending on the jurisdiction. Every country has its own ...

. He was a member of the RAF team that competed for the

Schneider Trophy The Coupe d'Aviation Maritime Jacques Schneider, also known as the Schneider Trophy, Schneider Prize or (incorrectly) the Schneider Cup is a trophy that was awarded annually (and later, biennially) to the winner of a race for seaplanes and flying ...

in 1929.

British team for Schneider Trophy race 1929

Second World War

Atcherley was appointed

Officer Commanding The officer commanding (OC), also known as the officer in command or officer in charge (OiC), is the commander of a sub-unit or minor unit (smaller than battalion size), principally used in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. In other countries, t ...

No. 219 Squadron in October 1939 and then became Officer Commanding the Air Element of the British Expeditionary Force in Norway in May 1940. He went on to be Station Commander at RAF Drem in

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in June 1940 in which year he was also awarded the Air Force Cross. He was awarded a

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to his Air Force Cross on 24 September 1941. In 1942 he served as Station Commander at

RAF Fairwood Common Royal Air Force Fairwood Common or more simply RAF Fairwood Common is a former Royal Air Force Sector station located at Fairwood Common on the Gower Peninsula to the west of Swansea. It is now the location of Swansea Airport. History RAF Fai ...

and then at

RAF Kenley The former Royal Air Force Station Kenley, more commonly known as RAF Kenley was an airfield station of the Royal Flying Corps in the First World War and the RAF in the Second World War. It played a significant role during the Battle of Britai ...

. He was promoted to temporary

group captain Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force, where it originated, as well as the air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank i ...

on 27 March 1942. In April 1943 Atcherley became Air Officer Commanding of No. 211 Group at

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Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Su ...

. At the time of the invasion of Sicily (

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) on 10 July 1943, No. 211 Group was the primary fighter force of Air Vice Marshal

Harry Broadhurst :''See also Henry Broadhurst for the trade unionist and politician'' Air Chief Marshal Sir Harry Broadhurst, (28 October 1905 – 29 August 1995), commonly known as Broady, was a senior Royal Air Force commander and flying ace of the Second Wor ...

Desert Air Force The Desert Air Force (DAF), also known chronologically as Air Headquarters Western Desert, Air Headquarters Libya, the Western Desert Air Force, and the First Tactical Air Force (1TAF), was an Allied tactical air force created from No. 204 ...

, a sub-command of Air Marshal Sir Arthur Coningham's

Northwest African Tactical Air Force The Northwest African Tactical Air Force (NATAF) was a component of the Northwest African Air Forces which itself reported to the Mediterranean Air Command (MAC). These new Allied air force organizations were created at the Casablanca Conference in ...

. Later that year he transferred to Headquarters

RAF Fighter Command RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War. It earned near-immortal fame during the Battle of Britai ...

and in 1944 he moved to Headquarters

Allied Expeditionary Air Force The Allied Expeditionary Air Force (AEAF), also known as the Allied Armies’ Expeditionary Air Force (AAEAF), was the expeditionary warfare component of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) which controlled the tactical air ...

in preparation for

Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

. He spent the closing stages of the War as Commandant of the Fighter Leaders' School and then as Commandant of the Central Fighter Establishment.

Post-war

After the War he was appointed Commandant of the

Royal Air Force College Cranwell The Royal Air Force College (RAFC) is the Royal Air Force military academy which provides initial training to all RAF personnel who are preparing to become commissioned officers. The College also provides initial training to aircrew cadets and ...

before becoming Chief of the Air Staff for the Royal Pakistani Air Force in 1949 and then Air Officer Commanding No. 12 Group in 1951. He went on to be Head of the RAF Staff in Washington D. C. in 1953 and Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at Flying Training Command in 1955 before retiring in 1959. In retirement he became Sales Director at Folland Aircraft Limited.Folland Visitor
Flight International, 5 June 1959

References

, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Atcherley, Richard Llewellyn Roger 1904 births 1970 deaths Chiefs of Air Staff, Pakistan Companions of the Order of the Bath Graduates of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Pakistan Air Force air marshals Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) Recipients of the War Cross with Sword (Norway) Royal Air Force air marshals Royal Air Force personnel of World War II British expatriates in Pakistan Commandants of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell Military personnel from York