Air Chief Marshal Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air 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 i ...

Sir Gareth Thomas Butler Clayton, (13 November 1914 – 5 February 1992) was a senior

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 ...

officer who served as

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 ...

from 1970 to 1972.

RAF career

Clayton joined the Royal Air Force in 1936.Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Marshal Sir Gareth Clayton
/ref> He served in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as a Flight Commander with No. 25 Squadron and then with No. 100 Squadron before being appointed Officer Commanding No. 576 Squadron in 1943 and then Deputy Station Commander at

RAF Faldingworth Royal Air Force Faldingworth or more simply RAF Faldingworth is a former Royal Air Force satellite station used during and after the Second World War. It was located close to the village of Faldingworth in Lincolnshire, England. Development B ...

in 1944. He then served on the Air Staff at No. 1 Group and as a Staff Officer on the Future Operational Plans Staff at the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force and civil aviation that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the ...

. After the War he became Air Attaché in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

and then Station Commander first at

RAF Cottesmore Royal Air Force Cottesmore or more simply RAF Cottesmore is a former Royal Air Force station in Rutland, England, situated between Cottesmore and Market Overton. On 15 December 2009, Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth announced that the stati ...

and then at

RAF Honington Royal Air Force Honington or more simply RAF Honington is a Royal Air Force station located south of Thetford near Ixworth in Suffolk, England. It was used as a bomber station during the Second World War and through the Cold War, hosting Han ...

. He was appointed Director of Operations – Air Transport & Overseas Theatres in 1959, Air Officer Commanding No. 11 Group in 1962 and Chief of Staff for the

Second Tactical Air Force The Second Tactical Air Force (2TAF) was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force (RAF) during and after the Second World War. It was made up of squadrons and personnel from the RAF, other British Commonwealth air forces, and ...

in 1963. He went on to be Director-General of RAF Personnel Services in 1966, Chief of Staff at Headquarters

RAF Strike Command The Royal Air Force's Strike Command was the military formation which controlled the majority of the United Kingdom's bomber and fighter aircraft from 1968 until 2007 when it merged with Personnel and Training Command to form the single Air ...

in 1969 and

in 1970 before retiring in 1972. He is buried in the churchyard of St Mary's,

Polstead Polstead is a village and civil parish in the Babergh district of Suffolk, England. The village lies northeast of Nayland, southwest of Hadleigh and north of Colchester. It is situated on a small tributary stream of the River Stour. In 20 ...

, Suffolk.Per photograph alongside

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Clayton, Gareth 1914 births 1992 deaths Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Air Force air marshals Royal Air Force personnel of World War II

RAF career

Further reading

References