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 Michael John Armitage 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...

 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...

 (born 25 August 1930) is a former 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.

RAF career

Educated at Newport Grammar School on the Isle of Wight

Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...

, Armitage joined the Royal Air Force as an apprentice at RAF Halton

RAF Halton

RAF Halton is one of the largest Royal Air Force stations in the United Kingdom, located near the village of Halton near Wendover, Buckinghamshire.HRH The Duchess of Cornwall is the Honorary Air Commodore of RAF Halton.-History:...

 in 1947. He was appointed Officer Commanding No. 17 Squadron in 1967 and Station Commander at RAF Luqa

RAF Luqa

Royal Air Force Luqa was a flying station and location of RAF Mediterranean Command headquarters of the Royal Air Force on the island of Malta during World War II...

 in 1972. He was then Director of Forward Policy in 1976, Deputy Commander of 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 1978 and Senior RAF Representative on the Directing Staff at the Royal College of Defence Studies

Royal College of Defence Studies

The Royal College of Defence Studies is an internationally-renowned institution and component of the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom...

 in 1980. He went on to be Director of Service Intelligence in 1982, Deputy Chief of Defence Staff (Intelligence) in 1983 and Chief of Defence Intelligence in 1984. Finally he became Air Member for Supply and Organisation

Air Member for Supply and Organisation

The Air Member for Supply and Organisation was the senior Royal Air Force officer responsible for procurement matters: he was a member of the Air Force Board...

 in 1985, Commandant of the Royal College of Defence Studies

Commandant Royal College of Defence Studies

The Commandant of the Royal College of Defence Studies was a UK senior serving military officer between 1972 and 2001. The post rotated through the three branches of the armed forces in turn. In 1971 the old Imperial Defence College became the Royal College of Defence Studies...

in 1988 before retiring in 1990.