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 ...

Philippa Frances Marshall (4 November 1920 – 4 February 2005) was a British

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 served as director of the

Women's Royal Air Force The Women's Royal Air Force (WRAF) was the women's branch of the Royal Air Force. It existed in two separate incarnations: the Women's Royal Air Force from 1918 to 1920 and the Women's Royal Air Force from 1949 to 1994. On 1 February 1949, the ...

from 1969 to 1973.

Biography

Marshall was born on 4 November 1920 in

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England. It has an estimated population of 259,965 as of 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

, England. She was educated at St Dominic's High School for Girls, an all-girls

private school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

in Stoke-on-Trent. In 1941, Marshall joined the

Women's Auxiliary Air Force The Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), whose members were referred to as WAAFs (), was the female auxiliary of the British Royal Air Force during the World War II, Second World War. Established in 1939, WAAF numbers exceeded 181,000 at its peak ...

(WAAF). On 10 June 1942, she was commissioned as an assistant section officer (equivalent in rank to

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 probation. With the creation of the

(WRAF) in 1949, she was transferred to the WRAF as a flight officer (equivalent to flight lieutenant) on 1 February 1949 with seniority in that rank from 10 December 1946. She was promoted to squadron officer (equivalent 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 1953, to wing officer (equivalent 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 1964, and to group officer (equivalent 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 1966. From 1968 to 1969, she served as commanding admin officer at

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 1969, she was appointed director of the Women's Royal Air Force in succession to Dame Felicity Hill. On 1 July 1969, she 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 ...

, becoming the most senior ranking woman in the

. She stepped down as director in July 1973 to be succeeded by

Molly Allott Air Commodore Molly Greenwood Allott CB (28 December 1918 – 12 December 2013)Obituary
telegraph.co.uk; ...

, and retired on 1 September 1973. Marshall died on 4 February 2005, aged 84.

Honours

In the 1956 New Year Honours, Marshall was appointed an

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 ...

(OBE). In the 1971, she was appointed a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregi ...

(CB).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Marshall, Philippa 1920 births 2005 deaths 20th-century Royal Air Force personnel Women's Royal Air Force officers Officers of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of the Bath Women's Auxiliary Air Force airwomen Women's Auxiliary Air Force officers People educated at St Dominic's Grammar School