Air Vice-Marshal Air vice-marshal (Air Vce Mshl or AVM) 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 sometime ...

Peter James Murray Squires, (born 1968) 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, who currently serves as the Commander of British Forces Cyprus. From August 2016 to October 2019 he served as Commandant of

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 ...

. He was formerly a Harrier pilot and served as commander of No. 100 Squadron RAF, flying

BAE Systems Hawk The BAE Systems Hawk is a British single-engine, subsonic, jet-powered advanced trainer aircraft. Its aluminum alloy fuselage is of conventional string-frame construction. It was first known as the Hawker Siddeley Hawk, and subsequently produc ...

Early life and education

Squires was born in 1968 in the United Kingdom. From 1975 to 1986, he was educated at

Warwick School Warwick School is a British Public school (United Kingdom), public school (independent school (UK), independent boarding school, boarding and Day school, day school) for boys, in the market town of Warwick, in Warwickshire, England. Known as ...

, an all-boys public school in

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...

. He learned to fly at

Wellesbourne Mountford Airfield Wellesbourne Mountford Airfield is located in Wellesbourne, Warwickshire, England, east of Stratford-upon-Avon. The airfield was formerly the Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, station RAF Wellesbourne Mountford. Welles ...

, passing his junior flying test at the age of sixteen. Having received a

bursary A bursary is a monetary award made by any educational institution or funding authority to individuals or groups. It is usually awarded to enable a student to attend school, university or college when they might not be able to, otherwise. Some awar ...

, he studied

aeronautics Aeronautics is the science or art involved with the study, design process, design, and manufacturing of air flight-capable machines, and the techniques of operating aircraft and rockets within the atmosphere. While the term originally referred ...

and

astronautics Astronautics (or cosmonautics) is the practice of sending spacecraft beyond atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere into outer space. Spaceflight is one of its main applications and space science is its overarching field. The term ''astronautics' ...

at the

University of Southampton The University of Southampton (abbreviated as ''Soton'' in post-nominal letters) is a public university, public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universit ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Engineering A Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) or a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) is an undergraduate academic degree awarded to a college graduate majoring in an engineering discipline at a higher education institution. In the United Kingdom, a Ba ...

(BEng) degree in 1989. He later undertook a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

(MA) degree in defence studies, which he completed in 2006.

RAF career

On 1 October 1989, Squires was granted a short service commission in the General Duties Branch of the

(RAF). On 1 April 1990, he was promoted to

flying officer Flying officer (Fg Offr or F/O) is a junior officer 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. Flying officer is immediately ...

, with seniority in that rank from 1 October 1988. He was promoted to flight lieutenant on 1 April 1992. He completed the

Qualified Weapons Instructor Qualified Weapons Instructor (QWI) (''queue-why'') is a qualification given to graduates of the British Armed Forces Qualified Weapons Instructor courses. It is the equivalent to the United States Air Force (USAF) Weapons School Course or United ...

course in 1995. Squires transferred to a permanent commission in the RAF on 2 May 1997. Flying Harrier IIs, in the same year he took part in the

No. 1 Squadron RAF Number 1 Squadron, also known as No. 1 (Fighter) Squadron, is a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was the first squadron to fly a VTOL aircraft. It currently operates Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft from RAF Lossiemouth. The squadron motto, ' ...

display, before in 1998 he deployed for five months in

Operation Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and villages that form the wider ...

. He was promoted to

squadron leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr or S/L) 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 countries that have historical British influence. Squadron leader is immediatel ...

on 1 July 1999. Having been promoted to

wing commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr or W/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 countries that have historical British influence. Wing commander is immediately se ...

on 1 January 2005, Squires served as Wing Commander Joint Combat Aircraft Requirements' Manager before attending the

Advanced Command and Staff Course The Advanced Command and Staff Course is a staff course for mid career military officers of the United Kingdom armed forces and allies. It is taught at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom in Shrivenham, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom. The cours ...

to study for a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in Defence Studies. He then joined

3rd (United Kingdom) Division The 3rd (United Kingdom) Division, also known as The Iron Division, is a regular army division of the British Army. It was created in 1809 by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, as part of the Anglo-Portuguese Army, for service in the P ...

, commanding the Divisional Air Cell and serving as the senior air advisor to the

general officer commanding General officer commanding (GOC) is the usual title given in the armies of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth (and some other nations, such as Ireland) to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC ...

the division. He deployed with the division in the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

in 2008 as Chief Air Plans for the Multi-National Division (South-East). From April 2009 to April 2011, Squires commanded No. 100 Squadron RAF, a

Hawk Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are very widely distributed and are found on all continents, except Antarctica. The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks, and others. This ...

squadron based at

RAF Leeming Royal Air Force Leeming or more simply RAF Leeming is a Royal Air Force station located near Leeming, North Yorkshire, England. It was opened in 1940 and was jointly used by the RAF and the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Between 1950 and 19 ...

. He was

Commanding Officer 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 give ...

of the 906 Expeditionary Air Wing during

Operation Unified Protector Operation Unified Protector was a NATO operation in 2011 enforcing United Nations United Nations Security Council, Security Council United Nations Security Council resolution, resolutions United Nations Security Council Resolution 1970, 1970 and ...

, the NATO-enforced no-fly zone over Libya, from June 2011. He left the command towards the end of the year. 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 2012 and, in the

2012 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2012 were announced on 31 December 2011 in the United Kingdom, New Zealand,Officer 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 ...

for his services with No. 100 Squadron. In the Spring he was appointed Director of Defences Studies for the RAF. It was announced in December 2015 that Squires would be the next Commandant of

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 ...

. He then studied at

Royal College of Defence Studies 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 leve ...

to prepare for the command. In August 2016, he succeeded Chris Luck as commandant and was made an Aide-de-Camp to The Queen. In October 2019 he left Cranwell to take up the post of Head Directorate Operational Capability in the Ministry of Defence. Squires was promoted to

air vice-marshal Air vice-marshal (Air Vce Mshl or AVM) 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 sometime ...

on 1 September 2022, when he was appointed Commander of British Forces Cyprus and Administrator of the

Sovereign Base Areas Akrotiri and Dhekelia (), officially the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (SBA), is a British Overseas Territory made of two non-contiguous areas on the island of Cyprus. The areas, which include British military bases and instal ...

. He will take up the appointment of Director of the

Military Aviation Authority The Military Aviation Authority (MAA) is an organisation within the British Ministry of Defence and is the single regulatory authority responsible for regulating all aspects of Air Safety across Defence, with full oversight of all Defence aviati ...

in March 2025.

Personal life

Squires is married and has three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Squires, Peter James Murray Living people Royal Air Force air marshals People educated at Warwick School Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies Alumni of the University of Southampton Officers of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air Year of birth missing (living people) Commandants of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell 1968 births