Peter Harding

For the rock climber of the same name, see Peter Harding (climber).

Sir Peter Harding
Born	2 December 1933 (1933-12-02) (age 78) London, England
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Air Force
Years of service	1952–1994
Rank	Marshal of the Royal Air Force
Commands held	No. 18 Squadron RAF Bruggen RAF Strike Command
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath

Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Peter Robin Harding, GCB (born 2 December 1933) is a retired Royal Air Force Chief of the Air Staff, and Chief of Defence Staff.

1 RAF career
2 Resignation
3 Later work
4 Family
5 References

RAF career

Educated at Chingford High School he joined the Royal Air Force in 1952.^[1] He served as Officer Commanding No. 18 Squadron at RAF Gütersloh and RAF Acklington from 1966 to 1969 and then joined the Defence Policy Staff at the Ministry of Defence in 1970.^[1] He went on to be Director of Air Staff Briefing in 1971 and then Station Commander at RAF Bruggen in 1974.^[2] He was then made Director of Defence Policy at the Ministry of Defence in 1976 and Assistant Chief of Staff (Plans and Policy) at SHAPE in 1978.^[1] He became Air Officer Commanding No.11 Group in 1981,^[3] Vice-Chief of the Air Staff in 1982 and Vice Chief of the Defence Staff in 1985.^[1] He was appointed Air Officer Commanding Strike Command later in 1985^[4] before being made Chief of the Air Staff in 1988 and Chief of Defence Staff in 1993.^[5]

Resignation

Harding resigned after it was revealed by Max Clifford and the News of the World that he had an affair with Lady (Bienvenida) Buck, the wife of Conservative MP Anthony Buck.^[6] Although Harding was a serving officer rather than a politician, the story was especially embarrassing as it coincided with a string of scandals (known, after John Major's slogan of October 1993, as "Back to Basics") associated with members of the Conservative government at that time.

Harding was promoted to Marshal of the Royal Air Force in 1992 and since that time there have been no further promotions to the RAF's highest rank. Unlike other MRAFs who only relinquished their appointments, Harding resigned from the RAF in 1994.^[7] Consequently, he is no longer listed in the Air Force List.^[8]

Later work

After leaving the RAF, Harding was deputy Chairman of GEC-Marconi from 1995 to 1998. As of September 2008, Harding is a vice-patron of the United Kingdom National Defence Association.^[9]

Family

In 1955 he married Sheila Rosemary May: they have three sons and one daughter.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Debrett's People of Today 1994
^ Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation - RAF Station Commanders - 2 TAF, BAFO & RAF Germany
^ Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation - Group No's 10 - 19
^ Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation - RAF Home Commands formed between 1958 - 2002
^ Caretaker defence chief likely to be appointed as successor The Independent, 15 March 1994
^ Morgan, Piers (2002). "...As Hugh Cudlipp said...". British Journalism Review 13 (2): 19–24. doi:10.1177/095647480201300204. ISSN 0956-4748. http://www.bjr.org.uk/data/2002/no2_morgan.htm. Retrieved 2007-03-18.
^ Rallings, Colin; Broughton, David (1996) [1996]. "Reference Section". British Elections and Parties Yearbook. Farrell, David. Taylor & Francis. p. 179. ISBN 0714642436.
^ The Air Force List, 2006. HMSO ISBN 0-11-773038-6
^ UK National Defence Association

The International Who's Who 2004, Europa Publications, p 689, ISBN 1857432177

Military offices
Preceded by D Harcourt-Smith	Station Commander RAF Bruggen 1974 – 1976	Succeeded by J R Walker
Preceded by P A Latham	Air Officer Commanding No. 11 Group 1981 – 1982	Succeeded by K W Hayr
Preceded by Sir David Craig	Vice-Chief of the Air Staff 1982–1985	Succeeded by Post Disbanded
Preceded by Sir David Craig	Commander-in-Chief Strike Command 1985–1988	Succeeded by Sir Patrick Hine
Preceded by The Lord Craig	Chief of the Air Staff 1988–1992	Succeeded by Sir Michael Graydon
Preceded by Sir Richard Vincent	Chief of the Defence Staff 1993–1994	Succeeded by Sir Peter Inge

Chiefs of the Defence Staff of the United Kingdom

Sir William Dickson • Earl Mountbatten • Sir Richard Hull • Sir Charles Elworthy • Sir Peter Hill-Norton • Sir Michael Carver • Sir Andrew Humphrey • Sir Edward Ashmore • Sir Neil Cameron • Sir Terence Lewin • Sir Edwin Bramall • Sir John Fieldhouse • Sir David Craig • Sir Richard Vincent • Sir Peter Harding • Sir Peter Inge • Sir Charles Guthrie • Sir Michael Boyce • Sir Michael Walker • Sir Jock Stirrup • Sir David Richards

Chiefs of the Air Staff of the Royal Air Force

Sir Hugh Trenchard • Sir Frederick Sykes • Sir Hugh Trenchard • Sir John Salmond • Sir Geoffrey Salmond • Sir John Salmond • Sir Edward Ellington • Sir Cyril Newall • Lord Portal • Lord Tedder • Sir John Slessor • Sir William Dickson • Sir Dermot Boyle • Sir Thomas Pike • Sir Charles Elworthy • Sir John Grandy • Sir Denis Spotswood • Sir Andrew Humphrey • Sir Neil Cameron • Sir Michael Beetham • Sir Keith Williamson • Sir David Craig • Sir Peter Harding • Sir Michael Graydon • Sir Richard Johns • Sir Peter Squire • Sir Jock Stirrup • Sir Glenn Torpy • Sir Stephen Dalton

Persondata
Name	Harding, Peter
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	2 December 1933
Place of birth	London, England
Date of death
Place of death