Alick Foord-Kelcey
Encyclopedia
Air Vice Marshal Alick Foord-Kelcey CBE
AFC
(6 April 1913 - 26 October 1973) was a Royal Air Force
officer who became Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at Signals Command
.
, the son of William Foord-Kelcey, a lawyer, and his wife Irene Marion Ethel Payne. His father was killed in World War I
in 1918 and his mother, who was a sculptress, took her sons to England in 1923. He was educated at The King's School, Canterbury
and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
where he joined the Cambridge University Air Squadron
and was then commissioned in the RAFVR
in 1934 before joining the Royal Air Force as a cadet in 1935. He served in World War II
on the Air Staff at Headquarters British Forces in Aden and as a pilot and instructor in the Western Desert
before joining the Directorate of Plans at the Air Ministry
. and later a member of the Joint Planning Staff at the Cabinet War Offices.
After the War he became Station Commander at RAF Stradishall
and then Senior Air Staff Officer at Headquarters No. 12 (Fighter) Group
before joining the staff on the British Joint Staffs Mission to Washington D. C. He was appointed Assistant Chief of Staff (Operations) at Headquarters Allied Air Forces Central Europe
in 1955, Air Officer Commanding No. 11 Group
in 1959 and Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at Signals Command
in a temporary basis for three months in 1961 before becoming Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Intelligence) in 1961 and retiring in 1964.
In retirement he was Deputy Director of the Foreign Office
Arms Control and Disarmament Research Unit and then Executive Director of the Federation of World Health Foundations in Geneva
.
He was appointed CBE
in the New Year Honours List in 1956.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
AFC
Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)
The Air Force Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom Armed Forces, and formerly also to officers of the other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying, though not in active operations against the enemy"...
(6 April 1913 - 26 October 1973) was a Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
officer who became Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at Signals Command
RAF Signals Command
Signals Command was the RAF's command responsible for control of signals units from 1958 to 1969. It was based at RAF Medmenham near Marlow, Buckinghamshire.-History:The Command was formed on 3 November 1958 by raising No. 90 Group to Command status...
.
RAF career
Foord-Kelcey was born in CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, the son of William Foord-Kelcey, a lawyer, and his wife Irene Marion Ethel Payne. His father was killed in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in 1918 and his mother, who was a sculptress, took her sons to England in 1923. He was educated at The King's School, Canterbury
The King's School, Canterbury
The King's School is a British co-educational independent school for both day and boarding pupils in the historic English cathedral city of Canterbury in Kent. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and the Eton Group....
and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
Corpus Christi College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is notable as the only college founded by Cambridge townspeople: it was established in 1352 by the Guilds of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary...
where he joined the Cambridge University Air Squadron
Cambridge University Air Squadron
Cambridge University Air Squadron, abbreviated CUAS, formed in 1925, is the training unit of the Royal Air Force at the University of Cambridge and forms part of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. It is the oldest of 14 University Air Squadrons in the UK...
and was then commissioned in the RAFVR
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve consists of a number of groupings of individual military reservists for the management and operation of the Royal Air Force's Air Training Corps and CCF Air Cadet formations, Volunteer Gliding Squadrons , Air Experience Flights, and also to form the...
in 1934 before joining the Royal Air Force as a cadet in 1935. He served in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
on the Air Staff at Headquarters British Forces in Aden and as a pilot and instructor in the Western Desert
Western Desert
Western Desert may refer to:* Libyan Desert, located in the northern and eastern part of the Sahara Desert. It occupies Egypt west of the Nile , eastern Libya and northwestern Sudan alongside the Nubian Desert.* Western Desert cultural bloc or just Western Desert is a cultural region in...
before joining the Directorate of Plans at the Air Ministry
Air Ministry
The Air Ministry was a department of the British Government with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964...
. and later a member of the Joint Planning Staff at the Cabinet War Offices.
After the War he became Station Commander at RAF Stradishall
RAF Stradishall
RAF Stradishall was a Royal Air Force station in Suffolk, opened in 1938.The airfield closed in 1970 and is now the site of two category C prisons: HMP Highpoint North and HMP Highpoint South...
and then Senior Air Staff Officer at Headquarters No. 12 (Fighter) Group
No. 12 Group RAF
No. 12 Group of the Royal Air Force was a command organization that exisited over two separate periods, namely the end of World War I when it had a training function and from just prior to World War II until the early 1960s when it was tasked with an air defence role.No. 12 Group was first formed...
before joining the staff on the British Joint Staffs Mission to Washington D. C. He was appointed Assistant Chief of Staff (Operations) at Headquarters Allied Air Forces Central Europe
Allied Air Forces Central Europe
Allied Air Forces Central Europe was the headquarters for NATO air forces in Central Europe from 1951 to 1967 and from 1974 to 1993.-History:It was first based at Fontainebleau , and originally activated in April 1951...
in 1955, Air Officer Commanding No. 11 Group
No. 11 Group RAF
No. 11 Group was a group in the Royal Air Force for various periods in the 20th century, finally disbanding in 1996. Its most famous service was during 1940 when it defended London and the south-east against the attacks of the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain.-First World War:No. 11 Group was...
in 1959 and Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at Signals Command
RAF Signals Command
Signals Command was the RAF's command responsible for control of signals units from 1958 to 1969. It was based at RAF Medmenham near Marlow, Buckinghamshire.-History:The Command was formed on 3 November 1958 by raising No. 90 Group to Command status...
in a temporary basis for three months in 1961 before becoming Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Intelligence) in 1961 and retiring in 1964.
In retirement he was Deputy Director of the Foreign Office
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO is a British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.The head of the FCO is the...
Arms Control and Disarmament Research Unit and then Executive Director of the Federation of World Health Foundations in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
.
He was appointed CBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in the New Year Honours List in 1956.