Air Marshal George Mitchell Croil

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, AFC (June 5, 1893 – April 8, 1959) was an American-born Canadian

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 ...

pilot during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

who went on to become the first Chief of the Air Staff of the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...

. Croil resigned as CAS in 1940 and then served as Inspector-General of the RCAF until his retirement in 1944, when the post of Inspector General was abolished.Juno Beach
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Early life

Croil was born on June 5, 1893, in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

. His parents, Thomas Croil and Christian Mitchell, were Scottish immigrants to the United States. Croil was a

first cousin A cousin is a relative who is the child of a parent's sibling; this is more specifically referred to as a first cousin. A parent of a first cousin is an aunt or uncle. More generally, in the lineal kinship, kinship system used in the English-s ...

of US Major General

Billy Mitchell William Lendrum Mitchell (December 29, 1879 – February 19, 1936) was a United States Army officer who had a major role in the creation of the United States Air Force. Mitchell served in France during World War I and, by the conflict's end, ...

, who, like Croil, was a pioneer of military aviation in the US.RCAF
When Croil was 11 years old, his family moved to Canada and settled in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Quebec, where he attended Westmount Academy from 1903 to 1907. From 1907 to 1911, Croil lived in Scotland, studying at

Robert Gordon's College Robert Gordon's College is a co-educational private school for day pupils in Aberdeen, Scotland. The school caters for pupils from Nursery through to S6. History Background Robert Gordon, an Aberdeen merchant, made his fortune in 18th cent ...

in Aberdeen. Remaining in Great Britain, Croil studied Civil Engineering and was chartered as an engineer 1912. In 1912 Croil moved to

Ratnapura Ratnapura (, ; , ) ("City of Gems" in Sinhala and Tamil) is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of Sabaragamuwa Province, as well as the Ratnapura District, and is a traditional centre for the Sri Lankan gem trade. It is loca ...

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

where he gained employment as an assistant superintendent with the Mahawale Tea and Rubber Estate until 1914, where he maintained machinery and supervised workers.

World War I

With the outbreak of

, Croil enlisted in the

Gordon Highlanders The Gordon Highlanders was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed for 113 years, from 1881 until 1994, when it was amalgamated with The Queen's Own Highlanders (Seaforth and Camerons) to form The Highlanders (Seaforth, Go ...

as a private soldier. He was soon commissioned, serving as a machine gun officer in the 5th Battalion of the Gordon Highlanders. In January 1915, he received an acting promotion to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

and took up duties as a company commander. In May 1916, Croil was detached to the

and undertook a two-month period of flying training. On successfully completing the course and receiving his

pilot's wings An aviator badge is an insignia used in most of the world's militaries to designate those who have received training and qualification in military aviation. Also known as a pilot's badge, or pilot wings, the aviator badge was first conceived to re ...

in July 1916, Croil was seconded from the Gordon Highlanders to the

with the temporary rank of

Interwar service

Croil became a member of the Canadian Air Board in June 1920 and played a key role in the establishment of air bases at Morley and

High River High River is a town within the Calgary Metropolitan Region of Alberta, Canada. It is approximately south of Calgary, at the junction of Alberta Highways 2 and 23. High River had a population of 14,324 in 2021. History The community takes ...

in Alberta. He went on to become one of the founding officers of the

at the time of its establishment in 1924. Although the RCAF was described as an air force and had a separate rank structure in line with 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 ...

of Great Britain, it was under the authority of the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army () is the command (military formation), command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also re ...

. The following year, in 1925, Croil was posted to Britain where he served as a liaison officer with the RAF. Croil also took a course of training at the

RAF Staff College, Andover 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 ...

. Returning to Canada by 1928, Croil was appointed Station Commander of RCAF Station Borden in Ontario, which, at that time, was one of the very few RCAF training bases. Returning to Britain for further advanced training, Croil attended the

Imperial Defence College The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest level ...

. Crossing back across the Atlantic once more in 1934, Croil was appointed Senior Air Officer with the RCAF, making him the head of the RCAF. In 1938, Croil succeeded in ensuring the RCAF's separation from the Army, and his post was upgraded to Chief of the Air Staff as a result. He also reported directly to the Minister of National Defence.

World War II and later life

Croil remained as Chief of the Air Staff until 1940 when he was forced to resign after a falling out with

Charles Gavan Power Charles Gavan "Chubby" Power (18 January 1888 – 30 May 1968) was a Canadians, Canadian politician and ice hockey player. Many members of his family, including his father, two brothers, a son and a grandson, all had political careers; two ...

, then-Minister of Defence for Air. Power was replaced two months later following Croil's resignation. Croil then served as the Inspector-General of the Royal Canadian Air Force until 1944. Croil died on April 8, 1959, in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

References

External links

Juno Beach Centre – Air Vice-Marshal G.M. CroilAir Force Association of Canada – Air Marshal George Mitchell Croil, CBE, AFC, MiD and Cde (Fr)Canadian Air Force – Half a Century of Croil Hall
, - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Croil, George 1893 births 1959 deaths British Army personnel of World War I Military personnel from Milwaukee People educated at Robert Gordon's College Gordon Highlanders officers Royal Flying Corps officers Royal Canadian Air Force air marshals of World War II Canadian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) Gordon Highlanders soldiers Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies American emigrants to Canada