| Sir Richard Atcherley | |
|---|---|
The RAF team for Schneider Trophy race 1929. Atcherley is shown on the right. |
|
| Nickname | Batchy |
| Born | 12 January 1904 York, England |
| Died | 18 April 1970 (aged 66) Aldershot, England |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/branch | Royal Air Force |
| Years of service | 1922–1959 |
| Rank | Air Marshal |
| Commands held | No. 219 Squadron RAF Drem RAF Fairwood Common RAF Kenley No. 211 Group Fighter Leaders' School Central Fighter Establishment RAF College Cranwell Royal Pakistan Air Force No. 12 Group Flying Training Command |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companion of the Order of the Bath Air Force Cross & Bar Norwegian War Cross |
Air Marshal Sir Richard Llewellyn Roger Atcherley KBE, CB, AFC & Bar (12 January 1904 – 18 April 1970) was a senior commander in the RAF who also served as chief of Air Staff for the Royal Pakistan Air Force.
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Richard Atcherley and his twin David were born on 12 January 1904, and were the sons of Major-General Sir Llewellyn William Atcherley CMG CVO, Chief Constable of the West Riding of Yorkshire,[1] and his wife 'Nellie', Eleanor Frances (1871–1957), daughter of Richard Mickelthwait JP, of Ardsley House, in the valley of Deane near Barnsley. Their father was a grandson of David Francis Atcherley Esq. of Marton Hall, High Sheriff of Shropshire, Serjeant-at-law, Attorney-General of the County Palatine of Lancaster and County Durham. Richard Atcherley and his brother, first cousins of William Empson, attended Oundle School in Northamptonshire.[1]
In 1922, Atcherley attended the RAF College Cranwell and was commissioned two years later.[2] He initially served as a pilot on No. 29 Squadron, flying Snipes out of Duxford.[2] In 1925, Atcherley attended the Central Flying School and then returned to his squadron as both a pilot and a qualified flying instructor.[2] He was a member of the RAF team that competed for the Schneider Trophy in 1929.[3]
Atcherley was appointed Officer Commanding No. 219 Squadron in October 1939 and then became Officer Commanding the Air Element of the British Expeditionary Force in Norway in May 1940.[2] He went on to be Station Commander at RAF Drem in Scotland in June 1940 in which year he was also awarded the Air Force Cross.[2] He was awarded a bar to his Air Force Cross on 24 September 1941.[4] In 1942 he served as Station Commander at RAF Fairwood Common and then at RAF Kenley.[2]
He was promoted to temporary Group Captain on 27 March 1942.[5] In April 1943 Atcherley became Air Officer Commanding of No. 211 Group at Tripoli in Libya.[2] At the time of the invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky) on 10 July 1943, No. 211 Group was the primary fighter force of Air Vice Marshal Harry Broadhurst's Desert Air Force, a sub-command of Air Marshal Sir Arthur Coningham's Northwest African Tactical Air Force.[6] Later that year he transferred to Headquarters RAF Fighter Command and in 1944 he moved to Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Air Force in preparation for Operation Overlord.[2] He spent the closing stages of the War as Commandant of the Fighter Leaders' School and then as Commandant of the Central Fighter Establishment.[2]
After the War he was appointed Commandant of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell before becoming Chief of the Air Staff for the Royal Pakistani Air Force in 1949 and then Air Officer Commanding No. 12 Group in 1951.[2] He went on to be Head of the RAF Staff in Washington D. C. in 1953 and Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at Flying Training Command in 1955 before retiring in 1959.[2]
In retirement he became Sales Director at Folland Aircraft Limited.[7]
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by W E G Bryant |
RAF College Commandant 1946 – 1948 |
Succeeded by G R Beamish |
| Preceded by Allan Perry-Keene |
Commander-in-Chief, Royal Pakistan Air Force 1949 – 1951 |
Succeeded by Leslie William Cannon |
| Preceded by G Harcourt-Smith |
Air Officer Commanding No. 12 Group 1951 – 1953 |
Succeeded by W J Crisham |
| Preceded by Sir Lawrence Pendred |
Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Flying Training Command 1955–1959 |
Succeeded by Sir Hugh Constantine |