Air Chief Marshal Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer originating from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. An air chief marshal is equivalent to an Adm ...

Sir Henry Neil George Wheeler, (8 July 1917 – 9 January 2009) was a senior

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

(RAF) officer.

Military career

Educated St Helen's College in

Southsea Southsea is a seaside resort and a geographic area of Portsmouth, Portsea Island in England. Southsea is located 1.8 miles (2.8 km) to the south of Portsmouth's inner city-centre. Southsea is not a separate town as all of Portsea Island's ...

and the

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

, Wheeler was commissioned into the RAF in 1935.Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
/ref> He served with

Bomber Command Bomber Command is an organisational military unit, generally subordinate to the air force of a country. The best known were in Britain and the United States. A Bomber Command is generally used for strategic bombing (although at times, e.g. during t ...

from 1937 and then spent part of the Second World War as Officer Commanding No. 236 SquadronAir of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Chief Marshal Sir Neil Wheeler
/ref> in

Fighter Command RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War. It earned near-immortal fame during the Battle of Britai ...

before going to the RAF Staff College and US Army Staff College in 1943. After the war he joined the Directing Staff at the RAF Staff College and then transferred to the Far East Air Force in 1947. He was posted to the Directing Staff at the Joint Services Staff College in 1949 and to Bomber Command in 1951 before going 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, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...

in 1953. He was appointed Assistant Commandant at the RAF College in 1957 and

Officer Commanding The officer commanding (OC), also known as the officer in command or officer in charge (OiC), is the commander of a sub-unit or minor unit (smaller than battalion size), principally used in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. In other countries, t ...

RAF Laarbruch Royal Air Force , more commonly known as RAF ICAO EDUL (from 1 January 1995 ETUL) was a Royal Air Force station, a military airfield, located in Germany on its border with the Netherlands. The Station's motto was (). The site now operates a ...

in 1959. He 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 ...

in 1961 and then served in the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

from 1961. He became Senior Air Staff Officer at Headquarters

RAF Germany The former Royal Air Force Germany (RAFG) was a command of the Royal Air Force and part of British Forces Germany. It consisted of units located in Germany, initially as part of the occupation following the Second World War, and later as part o ...

(2 Tactical Air Force) in 1963 and Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Operational Requirements) in 1966. He was made Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Operational Requirements) in 1967 and Commander of the Far East Air Force in 1969. He was Air Member for Supply and Organisation at the Ministry of Defence from 1970 and then

Controller of Aircraft Controller Aircraft (CA), originally Controller of Aircraft, is a senior (3 star) British Ministry of Defence appointment who is responsible for delivering an airworthy aircraft to the Services, whereupon the Service issues a Release to Service ...

at the Procurement Executive from 1973. In retirement he became a Director of Rolls-Royce Limited.

Family

In 1942 he married Elizabeth Weightman and then went on to have two sons and a daughter. He was the younger brother of Major General

Norman Wheeler Major General (Thomas) Norman (Samuel) Wheeler (16 June 1915 – 21 September 1990) was a British Army officer who commanded the 2nd Division from 1964 to 1966. Military career Born in Worcester, Worcestershire, England, on 16 June 1915, the so ...

, and uncle of General Sir Roger Wheeler.Obituary: Sir Neil Wheeler
Daily Telegraph, 13 January 2009

References

External links

The Battle of Britain Historical Society Discussion Forum: Obituary
, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Wheeler, Neil 1917 births 2009 deaths People from Pretoria Non-U.S. alumni of the Command and General Staff College Alumni of the Royal College of Defence Studies Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Air Force air marshals Graduates of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell British World War II pilots Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)