Air Chief Marshal Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air 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 i ...

Sir Peter Ted Squire, (7 October 1945 – 19 February 2018) was 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. He was a fast jet pilot in the 1970s, a squadron commander 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 ...

, and a senior air commander in the 1990s. Squire served as Chief of the Air Staff from 2000 to 2003. In retirement he was the chairman of the

board of trustees A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

of the

Imperial War Museum The Imperial War Museum (IWM), currently branded "Imperial War Museums", is a British national museum. It is headquartered in London, with five branches in England. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, it was intended to record the civ ...

and vice-chairman of the board of the

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...

Early life

Peter Squire was born at

Felixstowe Felixstowe ( ) is a port town and civil parish in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. The estimated population in 2017 was 24,521. The Port of Felixstowe is the largest Containerization, containe ...

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

, on 7 October 1945, the son of Wing Commander Frank Squire, D.S.O., D.F.C., who was the son of a

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

farmer, and Margaret Pascoe Squire (née Trump). He received his schooling at the independent King's School, Bruton in

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, the fees of which were paid for by the British Government as he was the son of a serving military commissioned officer.''

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,

Military career

In 1961, at the age of sixteen Squire was awarded a scholarship to academically study at RAF College Cranwell, which he entered in 1963. He received a commission into the Royal Air Force with the rank of

Pilot Officer Pilot officer (Plt Off or P/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. Pilot officer is the lowest ran ...

on 15 July 1966. 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 ...

on 15 January 1967, and sent to No. 20 Squadron based in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

to fly Hunters in 1968. He was promoted to flight lieutenant on 15 January 1969, and joined No. 4 Flying Training School in

Anglesey Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...

in 1970. In 1973 he commanded the R.A.F.'s display squadron " The Red Arrows", and was awarded the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air in the 1973 Birthday Honours, and having been 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 1973, flew Harriers with No. 3 Squadron in

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

from 1975. He was awarded the Air Force Cross in the 1979 Birthday Honours. Promoted to wing commander on 1 July 1980, DF-ST-85-13457

Squire was appointed commanding officer of No. 1 (F) Squadron based at RAF Wittering flying Harrier GR3's in 1981. In 1982, he commanded the squadron in action in the

. He flew with the squadron to

CFB Goose Bay Canadian Forces Base Goose Bay , commonly referred to as CFB Goose Bay, is a Canadian Forces Base located in the municipality of Happy Valley-Goose Bay in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is operated as an air force base by ...

in Canada on 13 April 1982, on a six-hour flight using air-to-air refuelling for an exercise. The squadron departed for the Falklands on 3 May 1982 from RAF St Mawgan, flying to RAF Ascension Island, where a few days later it boarded the merchant transport ship . Arriving in the

South Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

, it transferred from the ''Atlantic Conveyor'' to , a few days before the ''Atlantic Conveyor'' was attacked by the

Argentine Navy The Argentine Navy (ARA; ). This forms the basis for the navy's ship prefix "ARA". is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the Argentine Army, Army and the Argentine ...

sunk by two Exocet missiles. No.1 (F) Squadron was the first R.A.F. unit to operate in a combat role from a British aircraft carrier since the

World War II 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 ...

. With No.1 (F) Squadron R.A.F. assigned to a ground-attack role in the conflict, Squire personally flew twenty four sorties against Argentine positions in support of

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

and

Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...

operations on

West Falkland West Falkland () is the second largest of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. It is a hilly island, separated from East Falkland by the Falkland Sound. Its area is , 37% of the total area of the islands. Its coastline is long. Popula ...

and

East Falkland East Falkland () is the largest island of the Falkland Islands, Falklands in the South Atlantic, having an area of or 54% of the total area of the Falklands. The island consists of two main land masses, of which the more southerly is known as L ...

. During one attack a 7.62mm bullet fired from the ground penetrated his harrier's cockpit. On 8 June 1982 he suffered an engine failure whilst landing at a forward operating base behind British lines at San Carlos and crashed the aircraft, walking away uninjured. On 13 June 1982 he was the first R.A.F. pilot to drop a

laser-guided bomb A laser-guided bomb (LGB) is a guided bomb that uses semi-active laser guidance to strike a designated target with greater accuracy than an unguided bomb. First developed by the United States during the Vietnam War, laser-guided bombs quickly pro ...

in action during fighting at Mount Longdon, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Four Harriers from No.1 (F) Squadron of its ten combat strength were lost during the war, three to enemy ground fire, and one (piloted by Squire) through engine failure whilst in flight. After the war, whilst still in the Falklands, on 6 November 1982 Squire again suffered engine failure whilst out on a routine patrol, and was forced to eject from the aircraft at low altitude near Cape Pembroke, being rescued from the sea uninjured by a Royal Navy helicopter. On return to the United Kingdom he became leader of the R.A.F.'s 'Command Briefing and Presentation Team', and subsequently went on to be Personal Staff Officer to the Air Officer Commanding

RAF Strike Command The Royal Air Force's Strike Command was the military formation which controlled the majority of the United Kingdom's bomber and fighter aircraft from 1968 until 2007 when it merged with Personnel and Training Command to form the single Air ...

in 1984. 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 July 1985, he took up the appointment of Station Commander of RAF Cottesmore in 1986. He was appointed to the post of Director Air Offensive at the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

in 1989. Following his promotion 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 January 1990, he became senior air staff officer at H.Q. 'Strike Command' and Deputy Chief of Staff Operations (United Kingdom) Air Forces in 1991 and received further promotion 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 July 1991. He was appointed Air Officer Commanding No. 1 Group in February 1993, however, after only a few months he was replaced by Air Vice Marshal John Day. He served as Assistant Chief of the Air Staff from 1994 and, having been promoted to air marshal on 9 February 1996, became Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Programmes and Personnel) in 1996. He was appointed

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 1997 Birthday Honours. Appointed Air Aide-de-Camp to The Queen on 29 March 1999, he was promoted to

air chief marshal Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air 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 i ...

, and became Commander-in-Chief

, and Commander Allied Air Forces Northwestern Europe on 30 March 1999. In 2000 he became Chief of the Air Staff, and was advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in the 2001 New Year Honours. As Chief of the Air Staff he advised the British Government on the British air contribution to Operation Veritas in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

in 2001, and then to Operation Telic in

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. He retired on 5 December 2003.

Later life

In retirement Squire joined the

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force (RAF) in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force ( ...

. He was chairman of the

of the

from 2003 to 2011, and vice-chairman of the board of the

from 2005 to 2008. He was also a governor at King's School, Bruton, and the deputy lieutenant of

. In 2004 he privately issued a narrative of the combat operations by No.1 (F) Squadron in the Falklands in 1982, entitled 'The Harrier Goes to War'. In 2005 he recorded an extended interview detailing his military career with the Imperial War Museum's Sound Archive. He died of heart failure at the age of 72 on 19 February 2018 at his home, "Lower Park", at Gidleigh in

. A funeral service was held at Holy Trinity Church, Gidleigh in early March 2018. A memorial service was held for him at St Clement Danes Church in London on 1 June 2018, the Queen being represented by Lord Craig of Radley.

Personal life

In 1970 he married Carolyn Joynson, the marriage producing three sons. His main personal interest was golf.

Arms

References

External links

The air combat in the Falklands War
, - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Squire, Peter 1945 births 2018 deaths Royal Air Force air marshals Recipients of the Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air Chiefs of the Air Staff (United Kingdom) Royal Air Force personnel of the Falklands War Falklands War pilots Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) Red Arrows Graduates of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell People educated at King's School, Bruton Fellows of the Royal Aeronautical Society Deputy lieutenants of Devon Military personnel from Suffolk