John Herbert Thomas Simpson
Encyclopedia
Air Commodore
John Herbert Thomas Simpson DSO
AFC
RAF R’td
(born 26 March 1907 – died 26 August 1967 [aged 60])was a bomber pilot during the Second World War and a senior RAF staff officer during the 1950s.
In his final appointment before retirement in 1959 Simpson was the eighth Commandant of the Royal Observer Corps
.
on 30 December 1927 and completed his basic induction training at the RAF Central Depot
, RAF Uxbridge and two months later transferred to the No. 2 Flying Training School as a pilot under instruction. In December 1928 he qualified as a pilot in the rank of Pilot Officer
on a short service commission and was posted to the newly reformed No. 101 Squadron RAF
at RAF Bircham Newton
flying Boulton Paul Sidestrand
bombers in a day-bombing role. In June 1929 he was promoted to the rank of Flying Officer
.
In April 1930 he was posted to a directing staff appointment at the RAF training base at RAF Leuchars
. In December 1931, he had sat the first exam taken by Short Service Commission holders to undertake specialisation training, successful completion of which would lead to the award of a Permanent Commission. He attended the extended Officer's Engineering Course at the RAF’s Home Aircraft Depot RAF Henlow
at the same time as Flight Lieutenant Frank Whittle
, passing out as a qualified engineer and granted a permanent commission in the rank of Flight Lieutenant
in September 1933. He was posted to the Royal Air Force College Cranwell
on the college’s engineering staff.
In 1935 he was posted overseas for three years as the Engineering Officer at the RAF Depot, India. On 1 August 1937 he returned to flying duties and was promoted to Squadron Leader
, receiving his first command as Officer Commanding No. 60 Squadron RAF
operating in the North West Frontier conflicts with Afghan tribesmen
and flying Airco DH.9A
and Westland Wapiti
aircraft. Only nine months later he was posted as Engineering Officer at No. 3 Flying Training School at RAF Ternhill
. In June 1940 he was promoted to Temporary Wing Commander
and in November 1941 he was posted as a Staff Officer at HQ No. 205 (Bomber) Group in the North African Campaign
. Further promotion came in June 1942 when he became an Acting Group Captain
. On 26 April 1942, he was piloting a Vickers Wellington IC
(Z1045) of No 70 Squadron, which was shot down as a result of enemy action. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order
.
In July 1943 he was promoted to Acting Air Commodore
and appointed as Air Officer Commanding No. 205 (Bomber) Group, a position he retained until the end of the Second World War. With the cessation of hostilities Simpson returned to the UK, reverting to the rank of Group Captain
, where he took up the position of Station Commander at RAF Cottesmore
. Between late 1945 and 1951 Simpson served in HQ Staff appointments at Bomber Command and latterly as Deputy Director of RAF Operations. On 18 Jun 1947, he was flying Spitfire
No. SL563 of the Central Bomber Establishment on a practice flight when, on approaching to land, he discovered he could not select the undercarriage down and was forced to carry out an emergency wheels up belly skid landing at RAF Marham
, which he managed successfully. For his actions he received the Air Force Cross
.
In 1951 he returned to the rank of Air Commodore
and after a brief spell as Senior Officer (Administration) at Headquarters No. 61 Group RAF he became Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) at Headquarters No. 22 (Training) Group.
taking over from the retiring Air Commodore G H Vasse. By the mid-1950s the greater speed of the newly introduced jet aircraft and the improved performance of radar
was increasingly leading to a reduced need by the RAF for the ROC's traditional services in tracking aircraft. Air Commodore Simpson was immediately involved in a desperate race to save the ROC from imminent disbandment.
The Cold War
was in full swing and the growing fear was over a potential nuclear attack on the UK. Simpson became embroiled in lengthy negotiations with the Home Office
, the department responsible for civil defence in the United Kingdom. Simpson was convinced that the ROC, with its already established posts all over the UK was ideally placed to take on a new and additional responsibility in a modern warning role against nuclear weapon
s. The new role was publicly announced in June 1955 much to the relief of the observers.
The first significant exercise involving the ROC in handling nuclear data took place the following year in 1956. In 1957 the British government's policy became clear and reliance would be placed on the nuclear weapons and improved radar, within a few years any pretence that there was a continuing aircraft recognition and reporting role for the ROC had evaporated. In 1957 the United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation
(UKWMO), a new Home Office department was set up. It was intended that UKWMO, using the manpower of the ROC, would provide civil and military authorities in Britain with information during a nuclear attack. The ROC would provide the initial data on the positions and extent of the attack. This data would be used by UKWMO, in conjunction with weather information from the Meteorological Office
, to produce a forecast of radioactive
fallout
. As this fallout occurred its strength and position would be mapped using data from posts, enabling further fallout forecasts to be given.
The UKWMO immediately proposed taking full control of the ROC, severing its RAF links and making the observers non-uniformed Home Office volunteers. Air Commodore Simpson fought to prevent this move in the strongest possible terms and at the highest levels of government. After a two year battle he won his case and the ROC would remain administratively part of RAF Fighter Command
and still in uniform, although now operationally under the control of the UKWMO.
Air Commodore Simpson retired on 1 June 1959 and took with him the grateful thanks of the Royal Observer Corps for ensuring their continued existence for many years to come.
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Air Commodore
Air commodore is an air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
John Herbert Thomas Simpson DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
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"...
RAF R’td
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...
(born 26 March 1907 – died 26 August 1967 [aged 60])was a bomber pilot during the Second World War and a senior RAF staff officer during the 1950s.
In his final appointment before retirement in 1959 Simpson was the eighth Commandant of the Royal Observer Corps
Royal Observer Corps
The Royal Observer Corps was a civil defence organisation operating in the United Kingdom between 29 October 1925 and 31 December 1995, when the Corps' civilian volunteers were stood down....
.
Royal Air Force
Simpson joined the Royal Air ForceRoyal 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...
on 30 December 1927 and completed his basic induction training at the RAF Central Depot
RAF Uxbridge
RAF Uxbridge was a Royal Air Force station in Uxbridge within the London Borough of Hillingdon. Its grounds covered originally belonging to the Hillingdon House estate, which was purchased by the British Government in 1915, three years before the founding of the RAF...
, RAF Uxbridge and two months later transferred to the No. 2 Flying Training School as a pilot under instruction. In December 1928 he qualified as a pilot in the rank of Pilot Officer
Pilot Officer
Pilot officer is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. It ranks immediately below flying officer...
on a short service commission and was posted to the newly reformed No. 101 Squadron RAF
No. 101 Squadron RAF
No. 101 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Vickers VC10 C1K, K3 and K4 from RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire. Since 10 Squadron disbanded in 2005, the squadron is the only operator of the VC10.-Formation and early years:...
at RAF Bircham Newton
RAF Bircham Newton
RAF Bircham Newton was a Royal Air Force airfield in the west of the county of Norfolk in the United Kingdom, eight miles west of Fakenham.-History:...
flying Boulton Paul Sidestrand
Boulton Paul Sidestrand
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Brew, Alec. Boulton Paul Aircraft since 1915. London: Putnam, 1993. ISBN 0-85177-860-7.* Jarrett, Philip. "By Day and By Night: Sidestrand and Overstrand, Part 1." Aeroplane Monthly, Vol. 22, No. 11, Issue 259, November 1994, pp. 18—23. London: IPC. ISSN...
bombers in a day-bombing role. In June 1929 he was promoted to the rank of Flying Officer
Flying Officer
Flying officer is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence...
.
In April 1930 he was posted to a directing staff appointment at the RAF training base at RAF Leuchars
RAF Leuchars
RAF Leuchars is the most northerly air defence station in the United Kingdom. It is located in Leuchars, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland, near to the university town of St Andrews.-Operations:...
. In December 1931, he had sat the first exam taken by Short Service Commission holders to undertake specialisation training, successful completion of which would lead to the award of a Permanent Commission. He attended the extended Officer's Engineering Course at the RAF’s Home Aircraft Depot RAF Henlow
RAF Henlow
RAF Henlow is a Royal Air Force station in Bedfordshire, England, equidistant from Bedford, Luton and Stevenage. It houses the RAF Centre of Aviation Medicine, the RAF Signals Museum and 616 Volunteer Gliding Squadron.- History :...
at the same time as Flight Lieutenant Frank Whittle
Frank Whittle
Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, OM, KBE, CB, FRS, Hon FRAeS was a British Royal Air Force engineer officer. He is credited with independently inventing the turbojet engine Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, OM, KBE, CB, FRS, Hon FRAeS (1 June 1907 – 9 August 1996) was a British Royal Air...
, passing out as a qualified engineer and granted a permanent commission in the rank of Flight Lieutenant
Flight Lieutenant
Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries. It ranks above flying officer and immediately below squadron leader. The name of the rank is the complete phrase; it is never shortened to "lieutenant"...
in September 1933. He was posted to the Royal Air Force College Cranwell
Royal Air Force College Cranwell
The Royal Air Force College is the Royal Air Force training and education academy which provides initial training to all RAF personnel who are preparing to be commissioned officers. The College also provides initial training to aircrew cadets and is responsible for all RAF recruiting along with...
on the college’s engineering staff.
In 1935 he was posted overseas for three years as the Engineering Officer at the RAF Depot, India. On 1 August 1937 he returned to flying duties and was promoted to Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. In these...
, receiving his first command as Officer Commanding No. 60 Squadron RAF
No. 60 Squadron RAF
No. 60 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was formed in 1916 at Gosport. It is currently part of the Defence Helicopter Flying School based at RAF Shawbury in Shropshire....
operating in the North West Frontier conflicts with Afghan tribesmen
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
and flying Airco DH.9A
Airco DH.9A
The Airco DH.9A was a British light bomber designed and first used shortly before the end of the First World War. Colloquially known as the "Ninak" , it served on in large numbers for the Royal Air Force following the end of the war, both at home and overseas, where it was used for colonial...
and Westland Wapiti
Westland Wapiti
The Westland Wapiti was a British two-seat general purpose military single-engined biplane of the 1920s. It was designed and built by Westland Aircraft Works to replace the Airco DH.9A in Royal Air Force service....
aircraft. Only nine months later he was posted as Engineering Officer at No. 3 Flying Training School at RAF Ternhill
RAF Ternhill
RAF Ternhill is a small Royal Air Force station at Ternhill in Shropshire, near the towns of Newport and Market Drayton. The station, home of Volunteer Gliding Squadron 632, was a helicopter base but is now principally used as an outpost for the tri-service helicopter training establishment at RAF...
. In June 1940 he was promoted to Temporary Wing Commander
Wing Commander (rank)
Wing commander is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries...
and in November 1941 he was posted as a Staff Officer at HQ No. 205 (Bomber) Group in the North African Campaign
North African campaign
During the Second World War, the North African Campaign took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts and in Morocco and Algeria and Tunisia .The campaign was fought between the Allies and Axis powers, many of whom had...
. Further promotion came in June 1942 when he became an Acting Group Captain
Group Captain
Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. It ranks above wing commander and immediately below air commodore...
. On 26 April 1942, he was piloting a Vickers Wellington IC
Vickers Wellington
The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engine, long range medium bomber designed in the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey, by Vickers-Armstrongs' Chief Designer, R. K. Pierson. It was widely used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War, before being displaced as a...
(Z1045) of No 70 Squadron, which was shot down as a result of enemy action. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
.
In July 1943 he was promoted to Acting Air Commodore
Air Commodore
Air commodore is an air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
and appointed as Air Officer Commanding No. 205 (Bomber) Group, a position he retained until the end of the Second World War. With the cessation of hostilities Simpson returned to the UK, reverting to the rank of Group Captain
Group Captain
Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. It ranks above wing commander and immediately below air commodore...
, where he took up the position of Station Commander at RAF Cottesmore
RAF Cottesmore
RAF Cottesmore was a Royal Air Force station in Rutland, England, situated between Cottesmore and Market Overton. The station housed all the operational Harrier GR9 squadrons in the Royal Air Force, and No 122 Expeditionary Air Wing...
. Between late 1945 and 1951 Simpson served in HQ Staff appointments at Bomber Command and latterly as Deputy Director of RAF Operations. On 18 Jun 1947, he was flying Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
No. SL563 of the Central Bomber Establishment on a practice flight when, on approaching to land, he discovered he could not select the undercarriage down and was forced to carry out an emergency wheels up belly skid landing at RAF Marham
RAF Marham
Royal Air Force Station Marham, more commonly known as RAF Marham, is a Royal Air Force station; a military airbase, near the village of Marham in the English county of Norfolk, East Anglia....
, which he managed successfully. For his actions he received the Air Force Cross
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"...
.
In 1951 he returned to the rank of Air Commodore
Air Commodore
Air commodore is an air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
and after a brief spell as Senior Officer (Administration) at Headquarters No. 61 Group RAF he became Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) at Headquarters No. 22 (Training) Group.
Royal Observer Corps
Approaching his retirement from the RAF, on 29 March 1954 Simpson was appointed Commandant of the Royal Observer CorpsRoyal Observer Corps
The Royal Observer Corps was a civil defence organisation operating in the United Kingdom between 29 October 1925 and 31 December 1995, when the Corps' civilian volunteers were stood down....
taking over from the retiring Air Commodore G H Vasse. By the mid-1950s the greater speed of the newly introduced jet aircraft and the improved performance of radar
History of radar
The history of radar starts with experiments by Heinrich Hertz in the late 19th century that showed that radio waves were reflected by metallic objects. This possibility was suggested in James Clerk Maxwell's seminal work on electromagnetism...
was increasingly leading to a reduced need by the RAF for the ROC's traditional services in tracking aircraft. Air Commodore Simpson was immediately involved in a desperate race to save the ROC from imminent disbandment.
The Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
was in full swing and the growing fear was over a potential nuclear attack on the UK. Simpson became embroiled in lengthy negotiations with the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
, the department responsible for civil defence in the United Kingdom. Simpson was convinced that the ROC, with its already established posts all over the UK was ideally placed to take on a new and additional responsibility in a modern warning role against nuclear weapon
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
s. The new role was publicly announced in June 1955 much to the relief of the observers.
The first significant exercise involving the ROC in handling nuclear data took place the following year in 1956. In 1957 the British government's policy became clear and reliance would be placed on the nuclear weapons and improved radar, within a few years any pretence that there was a continuing aircraft recognition and reporting role for the ROC had evaporated. In 1957 the United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation
United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation
The United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation was a British civilian organisation operating between 1957 and 1992 to provide the authorities with data about nuclear explosions and forecasts of likely fallout profiles across the country in the event of war.The UKWMO was established and...
(UKWMO), a new Home Office department was set up. It was intended that UKWMO, using the manpower of the ROC, would provide civil and military authorities in Britain with information during a nuclear attack. The ROC would provide the initial data on the positions and extent of the attack. This data would be used by UKWMO, in conjunction with weather information from the Meteorological Office
Met Office
The Met Office , is the United Kingdom's national weather service, and a trading fund of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills...
, to produce a forecast of radioactive
Radioactive contamination
Radioactive contamination, also called radiological contamination, is radioactive substances on surfaces, or within solids, liquids or gases , where their presence is unintended or undesirable, or the process giving rise to their presence in such places...
fallout
Nuclear fallout
Fallout is the residual radioactive material propelled into the upper atmosphere following a nuclear blast, so called because it "falls out" of the sky after the explosion and shock wave have passed. It commonly refers to the radioactive dust and ash created when a nuclear weapon explodes...
. As this fallout occurred its strength and position would be mapped using data from posts, enabling further fallout forecasts to be given.
The UKWMO immediately proposed taking full control of the ROC, severing its RAF links and making the observers non-uniformed Home Office volunteers. Air Commodore Simpson fought to prevent this move in the strongest possible terms and at the highest levels of government. After a two year battle he won his case and the ROC would remain administratively part of RAF Fighter Command
RAF Fighter Command
RAF Fighter Command was one of three functional commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War, gaining recognition in the Battle of Britain. The Command continued until 17 November 1943, when...
and still in uniform, although now operationally under the control of the UKWMO.
Air Commodore Simpson retired on 1 June 1959 and took with him the grateful thanks of the Royal Observer Corps for ensuring their continued existence for many years to come.
Main reference
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