Air Chief Marshal

Air Chief Marshal

Air chief marshal is a senior 4-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...

 Sir John Gingell, GBE

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...

, KCB

Order of the Bath

The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...

, KCVO

Royal Victorian Order

The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...

, RAF

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...

 (3 February 1925 – 10 December 2009) was a senior 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...

 commander.

Military career

Educated at St Boniface's Catholic College in Plymouth

Plymouth

Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...

, Gingel was commissioned into 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 April 1945. A few months later he transferred into the RNVR, serving in the Fleet Air Arm

Fleet Air Arm

The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the British Royal Navy responsible for the operation of naval aircraft. The Fleet Air Arm currently operates the AgustaWestland Merlin, Westland Sea King and Westland Lynx helicopters...

. In 1951 he returned to the Royal Air Force was was posted to flying duties on No. 58 Squadron

No. 58 Squadron RAF

No. 58 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Air Force.- History :No. 58 Squadron was first formed at Cramlington, Northumberland, on 8 June 1916 as a squadron of the Royal Flying Corps....

. In 1963 he was appointed Officer Commanding

Officer Commanding

The Officer Commanding is the commander of a sub-unit or minor unit , principally used in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. In other countries, the term Commanding Officer is applied to commanders of minor as well as major units.Normally an Officer Commanding is a company, squadron or battery...

 No. 27 Squadron

No. 27 Squadron RAF

No. 27 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Boeing Chinook HC2 from RAF Odiham.-The Great War:27 Squadron formed at Hounslow Heath Aerodrome on 5 November 1915, soon being equipped with Martinsyde Elephant fighter aircraft, hence the use of an elephant for the squadron badge...

 flying Vulcan B2

Avro Vulcan

The Avro Vulcan, sometimes referred to as the Hawker Siddeley Vulcan, was a jet-powered delta wing strategic bomber, operated by the Royal Air Force from 1956 until 1984. Aircraft manufacturer A V Roe & Co designed the Vulcan in response to Specification B.35/46. Of the three V bombers produced,...

s equipped with Blue Steel missiles and in 1966 he became Deputy Director of the Defence Operations Staff at the Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)

The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....

. He went on to be Military Assistant to Chairman of the Military Committee at NATO Headquarters in 1968, Air Officer Administration at Headquarters RAF Germany

Royal Air Force Germany

The former Royal Air Force Germany was a command of the Royal Air Force and part of British Forces Germany, consisting of those units located in Germany initially as part of the occupation following World War II, and later as part of the RAF's commitment to the defence of Europe during the Cold...

 in 1970 and Air Officer Commanding No. 23 Group in 1974. After that he became Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Policy) in 1975, Air Member for Personnel

Air Member for Personnel

The Air Member for Personnel is the senior Royal Air Force officer who is responsible for personnel matters and is a member of the Air Force Board...

 in 1978 and Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at RAF Support Command

RAF Support Command

-History:It was formed on 31 August 1973 by the renaming of Maintenance Command, with No. 90 Group being added to it. Its responsibilities included all logistical and maintenance support requirements of the RAF...

 in 1980. His last appointment was as Deputy Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces Central Europe in 1981 before he retired in 1984.

In retirement Gingell served as Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod

Black Rod

The Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod, generally shortened to just Black Rod, is an official in the parliaments of several Commonwealth countries. The position originates in the House of Lords of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...

 in the Houses of Parliament

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

until 1992.