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 Commonwealth of Nations, countries which have historical British infl ...

Sir Richard Charles Fairfax Peirse, (16 March 1931 – 8 February 2014) 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 who served as Defence Services Secretary from 1985 to 1988.

Early life

Peirse was born on 16 March 1931, the son of

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 Richard Peirse. He was educated at Bradfield College.

Military career

He attended the

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 ...

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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, Commissioned a pilot officer in the RAF on 9 April 1952, he was promoted to flying officer on 9 April 1953 and to flight lieutenant on 9 October 1954. He was promoted to squadron leader on 1 July 1959 and to wing commander on 1 July 1965. Peirse became Commanding Officer of No. 51 Squadron in 1968. Promoted to group captain on 1 July 1969, he became Deputy Captain of the Queen's Flight that year. He was Station Commander at RAF Waddington in 1973 and deputy director of Operational Requirements in 1976, and Director of Personnel (Air) in 1977. Promoted to air commodore on 1 January 1978, he became Director of Operational Requirements in 1980. On 30 January 1982, Air Commodore Peirse was appointed Commandant of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell, with the acting rank of air vice marshal. He was promoted to substantive air vice marshal on 6 July. 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 ...

in the 1984 New Year Honours List, he served as Defence Services Secretary from 1985 to his retirement. On 9 March 1988 Peirse was appointed a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, and retired from the RAF on 16 June.The London Gazette, 26 July 1988
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Later life

In retirement, he was Gentleman Usher of the Scarlet Rod between 1990 and 2002 and Registrar and Secretary 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 ...

between 2002 and 2006.

Personal life

In 1955 Peirse married Karalie Grace Cox; they had two daughters, Amanda and Susan. After his first marriage was dissolved, he married Deirdre Mary O'Donovan in 1963; they had one son, who died (Richard b. 1965). Following the death of his second wife he married Anna Jill Margaret Long (née Latey) in 1977.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peirse, Richard 1931 births 2014 deaths Companions of the Order of the Bath Graduates of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order People educated at Bradfield College Royal Air Force air marshals Commandants of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell Military personnel from the Royal Borough of Greenwich Military personnel from the London Borough of Lewisham 20th-century Royal Air Force personnel People from Blackheath, London