Air Marshal Sir John Eustice Arthur Baldwin, (died 28 July 1975) was a senior officer 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 ...

during 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 ...

Early life

Educated at Rugby School and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Baldwin was commissioned into the 8th (King's Royal Irish) Hussars in 1911 and served as a cavalry Officer in the

First World War 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 ...

Military service

Baldwin was awarded the Royal Aero Club's Aviator's Certificate no. 971 on 17 November 1914 and became a pilot 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 ...

.Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Marshal Sir John Baldwin
/ref> He was appointed Officer Commanding No. 55 Squadron in October 1916 and Officer Commanding No. 41 Wing in December 1917 before transferring to the Royal Air Force on its formation in 1918. He was appointed Commandant of the Central Flying School in 1928 and served as Aide-de-Camp to King George V from 1931 to 1932. He went on to be Air Officer Commanding No. 1 Group in 1934, Director of Personal Services in 1935 and Commandant of the RAF College Cranwell in 1936 before taking up the post of Air Officer Commanding No. 21 Group in 1938. He retired in August 1939. Just two weeks later, Baldwin was recalled to serve in the

as Air Office Commanding No. 3 Group at RAF Bomber Command. Between 9 January and 21 February 1942, he was acting Commander in Chief of Bomber Command, after the removal of Richard Peirse. During this brief tenure the " Channel Dash" occurred, when the ''Scharnhorst'' and ''Gneisenau'' escaped from the French port of Brest and fled up the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

to the sanctuary of

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

harbour in northern

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. In October 1942 he became Deputy Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief,

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. This appointment was followed from November 1943 by his posting as Air Officer Commanding Third Tactical Air Force which supported the ground battle in South East Asia. On 5 February 1943, Baldwin attended the departure of Major General Orde Wingate, the Chindits and the 1st Air Commando Group departed for Operation THURSDAY in Burma. He reverted to the Retired List again on 15 December 1944. Jack was Colonel of the 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars from 1948 until 1958, when the unit amalgamated to form the Queen's Royal Irish Hussars.

Personal life

In 1916 Jack Baldwin married Kathleen Betsy Terry of the York confectionery family ( Terry's), they lived in the village of Ketton,

Rutland Rutland is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Leicestershire to the north and west, Lincolnshire to the north-east, and Northamptonshire to the south-west. Oakham is the largest town and county town. Rutland has a ...

from the 1930s to the 1950s and had two children, John and Pamela. John Noel Anthony Baldwin became a Captain in the 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars and was killed in action in 1942 in Libya. Baldwin was the High Sheriff of Rutland for 1955–56.

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Baldwin, Jack 1975 deaths British aviation pioneers Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Companions of the Order of the Bath Foreign recipients of the Air Medal Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Officers of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium) Recipients of the Czechoslovak War Cross Recipients of the Order of the White Lion Royal Air Force air marshals of World War II High sheriffs of Rutland Commandants of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars officers British Army personnel of World War I Date of birth missing Place of birth missing People educated at Rugby School