Air Vice Marshal Air vice-marshal (Air Vce Mshl or AVM) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries which have historical British infl ...

Sir Charles Alexander Holcombe Longcroft, (13 May 1883 – 20 February 1958) was a pilot and squadron commander in the

Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...

who went on to become a senior commander in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

. He was the first commandant of the RAF College, Cranwell.

Early years

Charles Alexander Holcombe Longcroft was born on 13 May 1883 in

Cardiganshire Ceredigion (), historically Cardiganshire (, ), is a county in the west of Wales. It borders Gwynedd across the Dyfi estuary to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. Ab ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, the third of four children born to Charles Edward Longcroft (1842–1892) and his wife, Catherine Alicia Holcombe. The Longcrofts had originated in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

but first rose to prominence as merchants in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

in the 18th century. Charles' somewhat distinguished great-grandfather, Captain Edward Longcroft RN (c.1750–1812), had settled in Wales in the mid-1780s after returning from a lengthy period of service in the West Indies during the American War of Independence. Charles' father inherited the Llanina estate in 1888 but after his death only four years later the estate passed in trust to his nine-year-old son.Phillips-Evans, J. ''The Longcrofts: 500 Years of a British Family'' (Amazon, 2012), pp. 381–384 Charles Longcroft was educated at Charterhouse, attended the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC) was a United Kingdom, British military academy for training infantry and cavalry Officer (armed forces), officers of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian Armies. It was founded in 1801 at Gre ...

, before May 1903 and was then commissioned into the

Welch Regiment The Welch Regiment (or "The Welch", an archaic spelling of "Welsh") was an infantry regiment line infantry, of the line of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1969. The regiment was created in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the am ...

. After obtaining his

Royal Aero Club The Royal Aero Club (RAeC) is the national co-ordinating body for air sport in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1901 as the Aero Club of Great Britain, being granted the title of the "Royal Aero Club" in 1910. History The Aero Club was foun ...

certificate in March 1912, Longcroft was attached to the Air Battalion of the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

at his request. With the establishment of the

in the following month, he was seconded to the new Corps.

First World War

By 1914, Longcroft had been promoted to

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

and was appointed Officer Commanding No. 1 Squadron RFC. For the next year and a half, apart from a brief period as a supernumerary, Longcroft was the squadron commander of either No. 1 Squadron or No. 4 Squadron RFC. During the period 1915 to 1918, he was promoted several times and had command of the RFC's Training Wing, 2nd Wing, V Brigade and Training Division. Longcroft finished the war as General Officer Commanding the 3rd Brigade.

Royal Air Force commander

With the establishment of the Royal Air Force on 1 April 1918, Longcroft transferred to the new service on a temporary basis. In March 1919 he succeeded

Philip Game Sir Philip Woolcott Game (30 March 1876 – 4 February 1961) was a Royal Air Force commander, who later served as Governor of New South Wales and Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis (London). Born in Surrey in 1876, Game was educated at Cha ...

as commander of South-West Area. On 1 August 1919, he resigned his commission in the Welch Regiment and was awarded a permanent RAF commission in the rank of

group captain Group captain (Gp Capt or G/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British influence. Group cap ...

. Just four days later he was promoted to

air commodore Air commodore (Air Cdre or Air Cmde) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from 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 November 1919, Longcroft was appointed as the first commandant of the world's first air academy, the RAF (Cadet) College at Cranwell. The first intake of cadets arrived on the following February and his post was upgraded to Air Officer Commanding RAF Cranwell. He became Director-General of Personal Services in 1923 and Air Officer Commanding, Inland Area in 1926 before retiring from the RAF at his own request on 2 November 1929.

Later years

On 27 April 1921 he married the widowed Marjory Hepburn, née McKerrell-Brown, and together they had a son, Charles McKerrell Longcroft, who was born in 1926. From 1932 Longcroft was appointed Gentleman Usher of the Scarlet Rod of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

, before being appointed Registrar and Secretary of the Order of the Bath in 1948. He was appointed Knight of the Order of the Bath in 1938. Longcroft died in London on 20 February 1958. His widow, Lady Longcroft, died in 1964.

References

External links

Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – AVM Sir Charles Longcroft
, - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Longcroft, Charles Alexander Holcombe 1883 births 1958 deaths Royal Air Force generals of World War I Royal Air Force air marshals British Army generals of World War I Military personnel from Ceredigion Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Royal Flying Corps officers Welch Regiment officers Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) Britannia Trophy winners People educated at Charterhouse School Commandants of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell