Air Marshal Sir Victor Emmanuel Groom, (4 August 1898 – 6 December 1990) was a senior officer in the 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 ...

and a

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...

of 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 ...

credited with eight aerial victories. He rose to become a consequential participant in air operations to support

Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The ope ...

, the invasion of France during the Second World War.

Early life

Victor Emmanuel Groom was born 4 August 1898 in

Peckham Peckham ( ) is a district in south-east London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon place name meaning the vi ...

, London, England. Groom was educated at

Alleyn's School Alleyn's School is a 4–18 Mixed-sex education, co-educational, independent, day school and sixth form in Dulwich, London, England. It is a registered charity and was originally part of Edward Alleyn's College of God's Gift charitable foundatio ...

, Dulwich. He enlisted into the

Artists Rifles The 21 Special Air Service Regiment (Artists) (Reserve), historically known as The Artists Rifles, is a regiment of the British Army Reserve. Its name is abbreviated to 21 SAS(R). Raised in London in 1859 as a volunteer light infantry unit, ...

London Regiment London Regiment may refer to two infantry regiments in the British Army: * London Regiment (1908–1938) The London Regiment was an infantry regiment in the British Army, part of the Territorial Force (renamed the Territorial Army in 1921). Th ...

, as a private in 1916 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the

West Yorkshire Regiment The West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) (14th Foot) was an infantry regiment of the British Army. In 1958 it amalgamated with the East Yorkshire Regiment (15th Foot) to form the Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire which was ...

on 26 April 1917 before being attached to 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 ...

in September.''Bristol F 2 Fighter Aces of World War I'', p. 51.

World War I

Details of his training are unrecorded. However, Groom was appointed a

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 30 January 1918 and placed on the General List of the Royal Flying Corps. On 18 March, he was assigned to No. 20 Squadron as a Bristol F.2 Fighter pilot. On his first combat flight, his formation leader fired a Very flare that landed in the rear cockpit of Groom's Bristol. While the observer burned his hands smothering the fire that threatened to set off munitions, Groom safely landed. Having survived friendly fire, Groom began to triumph over enemy fire on 8 May 1918, when he began a string of eight victories that would take him through to 30 July. Groom's final tally was three enemy planes set afire, four otherwise destroyed, and one driven down out of control; his observer/gunner for all these victories was Ernest Hardcastle. Groom went on leave, was laid low by influenza, and did not return to combat in France. Instead, upon recovery, he was posted to No. 111 Squadron in Egypt.

Between the World Wars

On 1 August 1919, Groom was granted a permanent commission as a lieutenant. On 15 December, he switched to No. 14 Squadron in

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

and on 22 May 1920, he continued Middle Eastern service with a new posting, to No. 55 Squadron. On 25 March 1922, Groom returned home to begin a decade of staff assignments, enlivened only by being promoted from

to flight lieutenant on 1 July 1924. He was given command of No. 28 Squadron on 26 October 1932. On 1 October 1934 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 ...

, his rank catching up with his position. He moved on to command of No. 58 Squadron, then on to staff work at Headquarters Bomber Command, even as he continued to ascend in rank. On 1 January 1938, having earned an

OBE 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 ...

at Bomber Command, 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 ...

. In 1924 He married Maisie Monica Maule (1909-1996); they had at least one son.

World War II

On 1 September 1940, he was promoted to temporary group captain and became Station Commander at

RAF Marham Royal Air Force Marham, commonly abbreviated RAF Marham is a Royal Air Force station near the village of Marham in the county of Norfolk, East Anglia. It is home to No. 138 Expeditionary Air Wing (138 EAW) and, as such, is one of the RAF's ' ...

. In 1941, he moved back into staff work in the Directorate of Plans. The following year, he became head of the RAF Air Staff planning for Operation Overlord. As part of his duties there, he accompanied

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 ...

Trafford Leigh-Mallory to North Africa to study operations there and bring home lessons learned. In the meantime, he continued his climb through the ranks: on 18 November 1942, he was confirmed as a group captain. On 1 June 1943, he was bumped up to temporary air commodore and on 8 September 1943 he was promoted to acting air vice marshal on appointment as Senior Air Staff Officer at Headquarters

Second Tactical Air Force The Second Tactical Air Force (2TAF) was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force (RAF) during and after the Second World War. It was made up of squadrons and personnel from the RAF, other British Commonwealth air forces, and ...

. On 8 September 1944 he was promoted to air commodore while acting as air vice marshal. In August 1945 he became Air Officer Administration at Headquarters

Flying Training Command Flying Training Command was an organization of the Royal Air Force; it controlled flight training units. The command's headquarters were at RAF Shinfield Park, Reading in Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal Count ...

Post World War II

Groom became Director General of Manning for the RAF on 1 January 1947 and took command of No. 205 Group on 20 October 1949. On 1 January 1952, he was promoted from air vice marshal to air marshal and appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. He took command of the Middle East Air Force in February 1952 and

Technical Training Command The United States Army Air Forces during World War II had major subordinate Commands below the Air Staff level. These Commands were organized along functional missions. One such Command was the Flying Training Command (FTC). It began as Air Cor ...

in July 1952. Groom retired to

Putney Putney () is an affluent district in southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ...

on 26 September 1955 and died in York on 6 December 1990.

Honours and awards

* Distinguished Flying Cross – 2 November 1918 * Bar to the Distinguished Flying Cross – 19 August 1921 *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 ...

– 11 July 1940 *Commander of the

– 5 July 1945 *

Mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

– 1 January 1946 *Knight Commander of the

– 1 January 1952 *Knight 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 ...

– 16 July 1953

References

Bibliography

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Groom, Victor 1898 births 1990 deaths British World War I flying aces Companions of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Royal Air Force air marshals British Army personnel of World War I Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Military personnel from the London Borough of Southwark Royal Flying Corps officers Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) People from Peckham People educated at Alleyn's School Artists' Rifles soldiers Territorial Force soldiers