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 ...

Richard Ernest Saul, (16 April 1891 – 30 November 1965) was a pilot during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and 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 ...

commander during the

Second World War 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 ...

Earlier years

Saul was born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, Ireland, in 1891. He was a bank official with the Royal Bank of Ireland before joining the Army. At the start of the First World War he was a second lieutenant in the

Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and do ...

but by 1916 he was a Flying Officer (Observer) with No. 16 Squadron of the

Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...

.Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Vice-Marshal R E Saul
/ref> During the war he rose to command No. 4 Squadron and after the armistice he commanded No. 7 Squadron and then No. 12 Squadron. In 1925 he was given command of No. 2 Squadron. A keen sportsman Saul played rugby and hockey for the RAF; in both 1928 and 1932 he was the RAF tennis champion. In September 1933 Saul was appointed the Officer Commanding No. 203 Squadron operating from

Basra Basra () is a port city in Iraq, southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the List of largest cities of Iraq, third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq bor ...

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 ...

and in 1935 Saul led a flight of flying boats, from his squadron, on a long-distance journey from

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

to Basra.

Second World War and beyond

During the

Saul was Air Officer Commanding No. 13 Group from 1939, Air Officer Commanding No. 12 Group from 1940 and then Air Officer Commanding Air Defences Eastern Mediterranean from 1943. Saul retired from the RAF on 29 June 1944 and then served as the Chairman of the

United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA, pronounced ) was an international relief agency founded in November 1943 on the joint initiative of the United States, United Kingdom, USSR, and the Republic of China. Its purpose ...

's mission in the Balkans. He next acted as the vice-chairman of the International Transport Commission in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. After Saul left Rome in 1951, he took up employment as the manager of the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

bookshop until finally retiring in 1959. Richard Saul died on 30 November 1965 after being hit by a car two days earlier.

Notes

References

Century of Flight – Air Vice Marshal Richard Ernest Saul D.F.C.
, - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Saul, Richard 1891 births 1965 deaths British World War I fighter pilots Royal Flying Corps officers British Army personnel of World War I Royal Air Force personnel of World War I Royal Air Force air marshals of World War II Battle of Britain Aviators from Dublin (city) Irish people of World War I Irish people of World War II Royal Army Service Corps officers British officials of the United Nations Companions of the Order of the Bath Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Knights of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium) Military personnel from Dublin (city) Irish officers of the Royal Flying Corps Irish officers of the Royal Air Force