Sir Ian David Macfadyen, (born 19 February 1942) is 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, a former

Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man The lieutenant governor of the Isle of Man ( or ''lhiass-chiannoort vannin'') is the Lord of Mann's official personal representative in the Isle of Man. He has the power to grant royal assent and is styled "His Excellency". No Manx-born perso ...

(2000–05) and

Constable and Governor of Windsor Castle The Constable and Governor of Windsor Castle is in charge of Windsor Castle in England on behalf of the sovereign. The day-to-day operations are under the Superintendent, who is an officer of the Master of the Household's Department of the Roya ...

(2009–14).

RAF career

Born the son of Air Marshal Sir Douglas Macfadyen, Ian Macfadyen was educated at

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English private boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. It was founded as Marlborough School in 1843 by the Dean of Manchester, George ...

and entered the

RAF College Cranwell The Royal Air Force College (RAFC) is the Royal Air Force 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 is respo ...

in 1960. Like his father, he graduated with the Sword of Honour.The International Who's Who 2004 By Europa Publications, p. 1053
/ref> After service on 19 Squadron in the UK and RAF Germany flying the Lightning, in 1970 he became a flying instructor and a member of the Poachers formation aerobatic teamAir Marshal Ian Macfadyen
Cranston Fine Arts at the

Royal Air Force College Cranwell The Royal Air Force College (RAFC) is the Royal Air Force 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 is resp ...

. In 1980 as a wing commander he was appointed

Officer Commanding The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually giv ...

of No. 29 Squadron flying F4 Phantom aircraft at RAF Coningsby with whom he saw operational service in the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Dub ...

, and Officer Commanding of No. 23 Squadron in 1983. In 1985 as a group captain he was Station Commander at

RAF Leuchars Royal Air Force Leuchars or more simply RAF Leuchars is a former Royal Air Force station located in Leuchars, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. Throughout the Cold War and beyond, the station was home to fighter aircraft which policed northe ...

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

He was at the Royal College of Defence Studies in 1988. In late 1990 he became the Chief of Staff, Headquarters British Forces Middle East and later became the Commander of British Forces. From 1991 as an Air Vice-Marshal he was

Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff The Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (ACDS) is a senior British military officer. There are a number of ACDS appointments and they are held by officers of two-star rank (rear admiral, air vice-marshal, or major general). They work in the Min ...

, Operational Requirements (Air Systems) – ACAS OR (Air). In 1994 he was promoted to Air Marshal and became Director General of the Saudi Arabia Armed Forces Project in Riyadh. He retired from the RAF in February 1999.

Later life

In October 2000 Macfadyen was appointed

. From 2006 to 2008 he was the National President of the

Royal British Legion The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants. Membership Service in th ...

and later the Honorary Inspector General of the

Royal Auxiliary Air Force The Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF), formerly the Auxiliary Air Force (AAF), together with the Air Force Reserve, is a component of His Majesty's Reserve Air Forces ( Reserve Forces Act 1996, Part 1, Para 1,(2),(c)). It provides a primary re ...

. In October 2009 Macfadyen became

in succession to Vice Admiral Ian Jenkins.Court Circular
The Times, 18 June 2009 Before retirement from this post in July 2014, Macfadyen was knighted by the Queen as a

Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

in a private ceremony in Windsor Castle.

References

External links

Debrett's – Air Marshal I D Macfadyen
, - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Macfadyen, Ian 1942 births Living people Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Companions of the Order of the Bath Officers of the Order of the British Empire Royal Air Force air marshals Fellows of the Royal Aeronautical Society Graduates of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies People educated at Marlborough College Royal Air Force air marshals of the Gulf War Lieutenant governors of the Isle of Man Recipients of the Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air