Marshal of the Royal Air Force Marshal of the Royal Air Force (MRAF) is the highest rank in the Royal Air Force (RAF). In peacetime it was granted to RAF officers in the appointment of Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), and to retired Chiefs of the Air Staff (CAS), who were ...

Sir Peter Robin Harding, (2 December 1933 – 19 August 2021) was a

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 who served as a bomber pilot in the 1950s, a helicopter squadron commander in the 1960s and a station commander in the 1970s. He became Chief of the Air Staff in 1988 and served in that role during the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

in 1991. He became Chief of the Defence Staff in December 1992 but resigned after his affair with Lady (Bienvenida) Buck, the wife of Conservative MP

Antony Buck Sir Philip Antony Fyson Buck (19 December 1928 – 6 October 2003) was a British Conservative politician. Early life and career The son of Arthur F. Buck, a farmer and agricultural merchant, and his wife Laura (née Fyson), a founder member o ...

, became public.

Early life and education

Harding was born on 2 December 1933 in Lambeth, London, to Elizabeth (née Clear) and Peter Harding. He was educated at Chingford High School.'' Who's Who 2010'', A & C Black, 2010,

RAF career

Harding was commissioned into the Royal Air Force as an

acting pilot officer Acting pilot officer (A/Plt Off) is the lowest commissioned grade in the Royal Air Force. Acting pilot officer is not an actual military rank, therefore acting pilot officers are regraded to pilot officer instead of receiving a promotion. Unl ...

on national service on 3 September 1952 and given a permanent commission in the same rank on 15 October 1952. He was promoted to the substantive rank of pilot officer on 12 August 1953 and posted to No. 12 Squadron flying Canberra bombers in 1954. Promoted to flying officer on 10 September 1954, Harding became a qualified flying instructor and flight commander at 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 ...

in 1957, before being promoted to flight lieutenant on 10 March 1958. In 1960, he was sent to Australia to serve as a pilot with No. 1 Squadron RAAF flying Canberra bombers again. He attended

RAF Staff College The RAF Staff College may refer to: *RAF Staff College, Andover (active: 1922 to 1940 and 1948 to 1970) *RAF Staff College, Bulstrode Park The RAF Staff College, Bulstrode Park, was a satellite staff college for the Royal Air Force based at Buls ...

in 1963 and was promoted to

squadron leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is als ...

on 1 July 1963. In 1964, he started a tour in the

Air Secretary The Air Secretary and Chief of Staff, Personnel is the Royal Air Force officer with responsibility for appointments, promotions, postings, and discipline of high ranking members of the British air force. From 1978 to 1983 the Air Secretary was ...

's department at the Ministry of Defence. He became Officer Commanding No. 18 Squadron at

RAF Gütersloh Royal Air Force Gütersloh, more commonly known as RAF Gütersloh, was a Royal Air Force Germany military airfield, the nearest Royal Air Force airfield to the East/West German border, in the vicinity of the town of Gütersloh. It was const ...

and then

RAF Acklington Royal Air Force Acklington, simply known as RAF Acklington, is a former Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force station located south west of Amble, Northumberland and north east of Morpeth, Northumberland. The airfield was operational initia ...

in 1966, flying the

Westland Wessex The Westland Wessex is a British-built turbine-powered development of the Sikorsky H-34 (in US service known as Choctaw). It was developed and produced under licence by Westland Aircraft (later Westland Helicopters). One of the main chang ...

helicopter and then, having been promoted to

wing commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...

on 1 July 1968, he joined the Defence Policy Staff at the Ministry of Defence in 1970. After attending the National Defence College at Latimer in 1969, Harding became Director of Air Staff Briefing in 1971. Promoted to group captain on 1 July 1972, he became Station Commander at

RAF Bruggen Royal Air Force Brüggen, more commonly known as RAF Brüggen, in Germany was a major station of the Royal Air Force until 15 June 2001. It was situated next to the village of Elmpt, approximately west of Düsseldorf on the Dutch-German bo ...

in July 1974. He was appointed aide-de-camp to

The Queen In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to: * Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death The Queen may also refer to: * Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...

on 1 January 1975. Promoted to air commodore on 1 January 1976, he was then made Director of Defence Policy at the Ministry of Defence in 1976 and Assistant Chief of Staff (Plans and Policy) at

SHAPE A shape or figure is a graphical representation of an object or its external boundary, outline, or external surface, as opposed to other properties such as color, texture, or material type. A plane shape or plane figure is constrained to lie ...

on 18 July 1978. He was promoted to

air vice-marshal Air vice-marshal (AVM) is a two-star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes ...

on 1 January 1979 and appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 1980

Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are prese ...

Harding became Air Officer Commanding No.11 Group on 7 January 1981, and Vice-Chief of the Air Staff with the acting rank of air marshal on 28 August 1982. He was advanced to

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as o ...

in the 1983

New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

. Promoted to air chief marshal on 1 January 1985, he became Vice Chief of the Defence Staff early that year. Appointed Air Officer Commanding Strike Command on 29 August 1985, he was advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in the 1988

. He was made Air Aide-de-Camp to The Queen on 14 November 1988 and became Chief of the Air Staff on the same day. As Chief of the Air Staff he advised the British Government on the deployment of air power during the

. Promoted to

on 6 November 1992, Harding became Chief of Defence Staff on 31 December 1992 but he resigned in March 1994 after it was revealed by

Max Clifford Maxwell Frank Clifford (6 April 1943 – 10 December 2017) was an English publicist who was particularly associated with promoting " kiss and tell" stories in tabloid newspapers. In December 2012, as part of Operation Yewtree, Clifford was arr ...

and the '' News of the World'' that, aged 58, he had had an affair with the 32-year-old Bienvenida Pérez, the Spanish wife of Conservative MP

. In addition to security concerns, and although Harding was a serving officer rather than a politician, the story was embarrassing to the government as it coincided with a string of " Back to Basics" scandals. Unlike other Marshals of the Royal Air Force who only relinquished their appointments, Harding resigned his commission on 14 June 1994 and consequently ceased to be listed in the Air Force List; however, he was subsequently returned to the list.

Later career

After leaving the RAF, Harding was deputy chairman of GEC-Marconi from 1995 to 1998. He was also chairman and chief executive of Merlyn International Associates from 1997 to 2006 and chairman of Thorlock International from 1999 to 2000. He became a vice-patron of the United Kingdom National Defence Association. He was awarded an honorary

Doctor of Science Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...

from Cranfield University in 1990.

Personal life

In 1955 Harding married Sheila Rosemary May; they had three sons and one daughter. Harding died on 19 August 2021.

References

, - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Harding, Peter 1933 births 2021 deaths People from Lambeth Chiefs of the Air Staff (United Kingdom) Chiefs of the Defence Staff (United Kingdom) Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Marshals of the Royal Air Force Military personnel from London