Air Marshal Sir Roy David Austen-Smith, (28 June 1924 – 27 March 2021) was a

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 ...

air marshal who served as Commander of

British Forces Cyprus British Forces Cyprus (BFC) is the name given to the British Armed Forces stationed in the UK Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia on the island of Cyprus and at a number of related 'retained sites' in the Republic of Cyprus. The United ...

RAF career

Educated at

Hurstpierpoint College Hurstpierpoint College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school), located just north of the village of Hurstpierpoint, West Sussex. The Co ...

, Austen-Smith 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 ( ...

in 1943 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 ...

.''

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 A & C Black is a British book publishing company, owned since 2002 by Bloomsbury Publishing. The company is noted for publishing ''Who's Who'' since 1849 and the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' between 1827 and 1903. It offers a wide variety of boo ...

, 2010, He received an emergency commission as a

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) on 7 April 1944, and was confirmed in his rank and 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 ...

(war-substantive) on 8 October. Austen-Smith was posted to his first operational unit, No. 41 Squadron, on 27 March 1945, and fought front line actions with 125 Wing through the Netherlands and Germany until the cessation of hostilities in May 1945. He remained with the unit until 31 March 1946, and was promoted to flight lieutenant (war-substantive) on 7 April 1946, subsequently receiving an extended-service commission in the rank of flying officer on 15 August. He was promoted to the substantive rank of flight lieutenant on 7 October 1947, and was granted a permanent commission in the RAF on 15 January 1948, in the same rank. Austen-Smith served as a Flight Commander with No. 33 Squadron in

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

from 1950 to 1953, when he was posted to the RAF College at Cranwell. 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 October 1954 and became Officer Commanding No. 73 Squadron in 1956. He was 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 July 1960, and became Officer Commanding No. 57 Squadron in 1964. 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 1966, he went on to be Station Commander at

RAF Wattisham Royal Air Force Wattisham or more simply RAF Wattisham was, between 1939 and 1993, the name of a Royal Air Force station located in East Anglia just outside the village of Wattisham, south of Stowmarket in Suffolk, England. During the Cold W ...

in 1968. Austen-Smith 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 ...

on 1 January 1970. He was posted for special duty with the Air Staff on 14 February 1972, with the acting rank of

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 ...

. He was appointed the Commandant of 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 ...

in September 1972 and was promoted to the substantive rank of air vice-marshal on 1 January 1973. He was appointed Senior Air Staff Officer at Headquarters Near East Air Force in November 1975. After that he became Commander,

/Air Commander, Cyprus and, Administrator, British Sovereign Base Areas - Cyprus on 1 April 1976; and Head of the British Defence Staff in Washington, D.C., in 1978. He was promoted to air marshal on 1 July 1979, and retired on 1 November 1981 after a 38-year career. In retirement Austen-Smith served as a

Gentleman Usher Gentleman Usher and Lady Usher are titles for some officers of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. For a list of office-holders from the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 up to the present day see List of Lady and Gentleman Ushers. Gen ...

to the Queen. He died on 27 March 2021 at the age of 96.

Honours

Austen-Smith was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) in March 1953, for service during the

Malayan Emergency The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War, was a guerrilla warfare, guerrilla war fought in Federation of Malaya, Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Arm ...

. He was appointed a Companion 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 ...

, Military Division (CB) in the 1975 Birthday Honours. He was knighted as a Knight Commander 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 ...

, Military Division (KBE) in the

1979 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1979 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate ...

, and as a Gentleman Usher to the Queen, appointed a Commander of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

(CVO) in the

1994 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1994 were appointments by most of the sixteen Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other ...

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Austen-Smith, Roy 1924 births 2021 deaths Royal Air Force air marshals Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II People educated at Hurstpierpoint College Air attachés for the United Kingdom Commandants of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell