Marshal of the Royal Air Force Marshal of the Royal Air Force (MRAF) is the highest rank in the UK's Royal Air Force (RAF). In peacetime it was granted to RAF officers in the appointment of Chief of the Defence Staff (United Kingdom), Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), and to ...

Sir Michael James Beetham, (17 May 1923 – 24 October 2015) was a

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 ...

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft that utilizes air-to-ground weaponry to drop bombs, launch aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploy air-launched cruise missiles. There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical. Strateg ...

pilot and a high-ranking 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 ...

from the 1960s to the 1980s. As Chief of the Air Staff during the

Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...

, he was involved in the decision to send the Task Force to the South Atlantic. At the time of his death, Beetham was one of only six people holding his service's most senior rank and, excluding Prince Philip's honorary rank, he had the longest time in that rank, making him the senior Marshal of the Royal Air Force.The Air Force List, 2006.

HMSO The Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) is the body responsible for the operation of His Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) and of other public information services of the United Kingdom. The OPSI is part of the National Archives of the U ...

Early life

The son of Major G. C. Beetham MC,''

Who's Who A Who's Who (or Who Is Who) is a reference work consisting of biographical entries of notable people in a particular field. The oldest and best-known is the annual publication ''Who's Who (UK), Who's Who'', a reference work on contemporary promin ...

2010'', A & C Black, 2010, Beetham was born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on 17 May 1923. He was educated at St Marylebone Grammar School.Probert, p. 85

RAF career

Second World War

As a young man he witnessed the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...

from the ground which prompted him to join the RAF in May 1941. Promoted to

leading aircraftman Leading aircraftman (LAC) or leading aircraftwoman (LACW) is an enlisted rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Leading air ...

on 19 June 1942, Beetham was granted an emergency commission as a pilot officer on probation in the RAFVR on 13 December 1942. He was promoted to flying officer in the RAFVR on 13 June 1943. Following flying training in the United States under the Arnold Scheme and in Great Britain, he was assigned flying duties with 50 Squadron just prior to the Battle of Berlin. During the Battle, Beetham flew his Lancaster on bombing missions over Berlin 10 times. In a raid over

Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...

he lost an engine. He also survived the

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

Raid in which many Bomber Command aircraft were destroyed. In February 1944, whilst Beetham was on a training flight, one of his aircraft's engines caught fire. Beetham and his crew bailed out, landing by parachute near East Kirkby; Beetham then joined the Caterpillar Club. During his time on 50 Squadron, Beetham carried out 30 operations over enemy territory. Avro Lancaster B I PA474

In May 1944 Beetham was posted to a flying instruction role. He returned to operation duties with 57 Squadron just as the war in Europe was coming to an end. He was involved in dropping supplies to the Dutch and in the repatriation of prisoners-of-war. As an acting flight lieutenant in the RAFVR, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross on 6 June 1944, and was promoted to flight lieutenant on 13 December 1944.

Post-war career

In November 1945, just after the end of the Second World War, Beetham was posted to No. 35 Squadron which was then selected to carry out the victory fly-past and conduct a good-will tour of the United States. He was granted a permanent commission in the RAF on 1 September 1945 in the rank of flying officer, and was promoted to flight lieutenant on 1 July 1946 with seniority from 13 June 1945. He was posted to No. 82 (Recce) Squadron in East Africa in 1949, promoted to squadron leader on 1 January 1952 and attended the RAF Staff College, Andover that year. Beetham was also awarded a King's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air in the 1952 New Year Honours. In 1953, Beetham was posted to 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 ...

's Operational Requirements Branch.Probert, p. 86 Much of his time was taken up with the problems of bringing the V-bombers into service. Notably, Beetham also drafted the first specification for the TSR 2. Beetham's next appointment was as the Personal Staff Officer to Task Force Commander of Operation Buffalo in 1956. The open-air nuclear test explosions witnessed by Beetham led him to the view that it would never be possible to limit the extent of a nuclear war. Beetham was promoted to wing commander on 1 January 1958 and he then took up the post of Officer Commanding No. 214 Squadron. In July 1959 Wing Commander Beetham captained the first aircraft, a Valiant bomber, to fly non-stop from the United Kingdom to

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

. He was awarded the Air Force Cross in the 1960 New Year Honours. After several staff tours, during which time he was promoted to

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 ...

on 1 January 1962, Beetham was appointed Station Commander RAF Khormaksar (in

Aden Aden () is a port city located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, on the north coast of the Gulf of Aden, positioned near the eastern approach to the Red Sea. It is situated approximately 170 km (110 mi) east of ...

) in November 1963. At the time of his arrival, Khormaksar was the RAF's largest overseas base and markedly overcrowded. That December saw the start of a major attacks against British forces in Aden (the

Aden Emergency The Aden Emergency, also known as the 14 October Revolution () or as the Radfan Uprising, was an armed rebellion by the National Liberation Front (South Yemen), National Liberation Front (NLF) and the Front for the Liberation of Occupied South ...

) and over the next two years Beetham spent considerable time dealing with the security of his overcrowded station. However, the security problems did not prevent the aircraft based at Khormaksar being used on operations in the neighbouring region of Radfan.

Air officer appointments

Beetham 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 July 1966. He was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire 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 ...

in the 1967 New Year Honours. More senior appointments followed: these included Director of Strike Operations in 1968 and Commandant of the RAF Staff College at Bracknell in 1970 as an acting air vice-marshal. He was promoted to air vice-marshal on 1 January 1971, and appointed Assistant Chief of Staff (Plans and Policy) at

Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe The Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) is the military headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) that commands all NATO operations worldwide. SHAPE is situated in the villag ...

in 1972 and to Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Strike Command in 1975, for which he was promoted to acting air marshal on 10 June 1975. He was promoted to air marshal on 1 July 1975, knighted with the

Knight Commander 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 ...

in the 1976 New Year Honours and appointed Commander-in-Chief RAF Germany and Commander of the Second Tactical Air Force in 1976.

Chief of the Air Staff

Promoted to air chief marshal on 21 May 1977, Beetham's final tour saw him appointed Air Aide-de-Camp to the Queen on 31 July 1977 and the Chief of the Air Staff on 1 August 1977. He was promoted to a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB) in the 1978 New Year Honours list. As the professional head of his Service, Beetham defended the decision to introduce the strike version of the

Tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

and supported the introduction of the Airborne Early Warning

Nimrod Nimrod is a Hebrew Bible, biblical figure mentioned in the Book of Genesis and Books of Chronicles, the Books of Chronicles. The son of Cush (Bible), Cush and therefore the great-grandson of Noah, Nimrod was described as a king in the land of Sh ...

which was later cancelled.Probert, p. 89 He also worked to build up the RAF's reserve forces. Towards the end of his tenure as Chief of the Air Staff, the Argentine invasion of 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 ...

occurred: at the time Beetham was acting Chief of the Defence Staff and as such he was involved in the decision to send the Task Force to the South Atlantic. Operation Black Buck, the bombing raids on Argentine positions in the Falkland Islands, were Beetham's idea. When Beetham relinquished his appointment in October 1982 he had served for more than five years, making him the longest serving Chief of the Air Staff since Trenchard.Probert, p. 88 He was promoted to

on 15 October 1982.

Later life

As a

, Beetham remained on the RAF's Active List, although for practical purposes he retired in 1982. From 1986 to 1990 Beetham was Chairman of GEC Avionics. In 1989 he was made a deputy lieutenant of the County of Norfolk. Michael Beetham held the appointment of Honorary

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 ...

of No 2620 Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force Regiment. He was President of the Society of Friends of the RAF Museum. The Museum's conservation centre is named the Michael Beetham Conservation Centre in his honour. Beetham was also President of the Bomber Command Association. In 2005, Beetham took part in his second fly-past over London, this time as part of the celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II. He joined the crew of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Lancaster bomber prior to its takeoff from Duxford. Beetham wrote the foreword to three books: *''Bombs Gone: Development and Use of British Air-dropped Weapons from 1912 to Present Day'' – Patrick Stephens Ltd (1990) *''In Cobhams' Company'' – Published by Cobham Plc (1994) *''The Strategic War Against Germany'' – Frank Cass Publishers (1998) In 2010 Beetham spent time working with the author Peter Jacobs on a biography entitled "Stay the Distance: The Life and Times of Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Michael Beetham". The book was published in February 2011. Sir Michael Beetham visits RAF Mildenhall

Sir Michael Beetham visits RAF Mildenhall

In retirement he lived in South Creake, near Fakenham in

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

. Marshal of the RAF Beetham died on 24 October 2015, aged 92. The then Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Andrew Pulford, was to say of Beetham that he was "one of the greatest leaders the Royal Air Force has produced."

Personal life

In 1956 he married Patricia Elizabeth Lane; they have one son and one daughter. Lady Beetham died in January 2016.Beetham
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References

Sources

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