RAF Staff College, Bracknell
Encyclopedia
The RAF Staff College at Bracknell
was a Royal Air Force
staff college
active for most of the second half of the 20th century. Its role was the training of staff officers in the administrative, staff and policy aspects of air force matters. Its motto was Visu et Nisu which is Latin for by vision and effort.
became the home of the new Staff College. Air Vice-Marshal
Ronald Graham
, the then Commandant at Bulstrode Park, became the first commandant at Bracknell.
On 1 May 1946 the Staff College was placed under the control of Reserve Command
. Four years later, on 1 August 1950, that command was renamed Home Command
. It was subsequently transferred to Training Command
on 1 June 1968 and then transferred again to RAF Support Command
on 13 June 1973. The final transfer came on 1 April 1994 when the Staff College was transferred to Personnel and Training Command
but this arrangement was short-lived as the College closed on 1 January 1997 when RAF staff training responsibilities were transferred to the newly established Joint Services Command and Staff College
which was initially located on the same site at Bracknell but later moved to Shrivenham. Defence Estates
disposed of the site in 2004, selling it to English Partnerships
, a regeneration agency.
Bracknell
Bracknell is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Bracknell Forest in Berkshire, England. It lies to the south-east of Reading, southwest of Windsor and west of central London...
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...
staff college
Staff college
Staff colleges train military officers in the administrative, staff and policy aspects of their profession. It is usual for such training to occur at several levels in a career...
active for most of the second half of the 20th century. Its role was the training of staff officers in the administrative, staff and policy aspects of air force matters. Its motto was Visu et Nisu which is Latin for by vision and effort.
History
The Staff College at Bracknell was formed by transferring a major portion of the Staff College at Bulstrode Park to Bracknell in July 1945. The World War II headquarters building of the Second Tactical Air ForceRAF Second Tactical Air Force
The former RAF Second Tactical Air Force was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force during and after the Second World War...
became the home of the new Staff College. Air Vice-Marshal
Air Vice-Marshal
Air vice-marshal is a two-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in...
Ronald Graham
Ronald Graham
Ronald Lewis Graham is a mathematician credited by the American Mathematical Society as being "one of the principal architects of the rapid development worldwide of discrete mathematics in recent years"...
, the then Commandant at Bulstrode Park, became the first commandant at Bracknell.
On 1 May 1946 the Staff College was placed under the control of Reserve Command
RAF Home Command
RAF Home Command was the Royal Air Force command which was responsible for the maintenance and training of reserve organisations from formation on 1 February 1939 as RAF Reserve Command with interruptions until it ceased to exist on 1 April 1959.-History:...
. Four years later, on 1 August 1950, that command was renamed Home Command
RAF Home Command
RAF Home Command was the Royal Air Force command which was responsible for the maintenance and training of reserve organisations from formation on 1 February 1939 as RAF Reserve Command with interruptions until it ceased to exist on 1 April 1959.-History:...
. It was subsequently transferred to Training Command
RAF Training Command
Training Command was the RAF's command responsible for flying and ground training from 1936 to 1940 and again from 1968 to 1977.-History:Training Command was formed from Inland Area on 1 May 1936 and absorbed into RAF Support Command on 13 June 1977...
on 1 June 1968 and then transferred again to 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...
on 13 June 1973. The final transfer came on 1 April 1994 when the Staff College was transferred to Personnel and Training Command
RAF Personnel and Training Command
Personnel and Training Command was one of two commands of the Royal Air Force that were merged to form Air Command on 1 April 2007.- Formation :...
but this arrangement was short-lived as the College closed on 1 January 1997 when RAF staff training responsibilities were transferred to the newly established Joint Services Command and Staff College
Joint Services Command and Staff College
Joint Services Command and Staff College is a British military academic establishment providing training and education to experienced officers of the Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force, Ministry of Defence Civil Service, and serving officers of other states.-History:JSCSC combined the single...
which was initially located on the same site at Bracknell but later moved to Shrivenham. Defence Estates
Defence Estates
Defence Infrastructure Organisation is an operating arm of the Ministry of Defence , in the United Kingdom, which is responsible for the built and rural estate. The organisation formed on 1 April 2011 after a reorganisation of the Ministry of Defence's bodies in charge of infrastructure. It...
disposed of the site in 2004, selling it to English Partnerships
English Partnerships
English Partnerships was the national regeneration agency for England, performing a similar role on a national level to that fulfilled by Regional Development Agencies on a regional level...
, a regeneration agency.
Commandants
- July 1945 Air Vice-Marshal R Graham
- December 1945 Air Vice-Marshal A P M SandersArthur Sanders (RAF officer)Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Penrose Martyn Sanders GCB KBE RAF was a Royal Flying Corps pilot during World War I and a senior Royal Air Force commander during World War II and the immediate post-war years.-RAF career:...
- 1947 Air Vice-Marshal T M WilliamsThomas Williams (RAF officer)Air Marshal Sir Thomas Melling Williams KCB, OBE, MC, DFC & Bar, RAF was an ace pilot in the Royal Flying Corps during World War I, scoring nine aerial victories...
- 1 January 1949 Air Vice-Marshal J D I HardmanDonald HardmanAir Chief Marshal Sir James Donald Innes Hardman GBE, KCB, DFC was a senior Royal Air Force commander. He began his flying career as a fighter pilot in World War I, achieving nine victories to become an ace. During World War II, Hardman held staff and operational posts...
- 18 June 1951 Air Vice-Marshal A D Gillmore
- 1953 Air Vice-Marshal D MacfadyenDouglas MacfadyenAir Marshal Sir Douglas Macfadyen KCB CBE was a Royal Air Force officer who became Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at RAF Home Command.-RAF career:...
- April 1956 Air Vice-Marshal D F BarnettDenis BarnettAir Chief Marshal Sir Denis Hensley Fulton Barnett GCB CBE DFC was a squadron commander and senior officer in the Royal Air Force during World War II...
- 1 August 1956 Air Vice-Marshal R Faville
- 1 January 1957 Air Vice-Marshal S C ElworthyCharles Elworthy, Baron ElworthyMarshal of the Royal Air Force Samuel Charles Elworthy, Baron Elworthy KG, GCB, CBE, DSO, LVO, DFC, AFC was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force...
- 1 December 1959 Air Vice-Marshal M L Heath
- 1 January 1962 Air Vice-Marshal D J P LeeDavid Lee (RAF officer)Air Chief Marshal Sir David John Pryer Lee GBE CB RAF was a senior Royal Air Force officer during World War II and a senior commander in the in the 1950s and early 1960s.-RAF career:...
- 1 January 1965 Air Vice-Marshal T W Piper
- 1 June 1966 Air Vice-Marshal D C Stapleton
- 22 April 1968 Air Vice-Marshal N M MaynardNigel MaynardAir Chief Marshal Sir Nigel Martin Maynard KCB, CBE, DFC, AFC, RAF was a senior Royal Air Force commander.-RAF career:...
- 27 September 1970 Air Vice-Marshal M J BeethamMichael BeethamMarshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Michael James Beetham GCB, CBE, DFC, AFC, DL is a former World War II bomber pilot and a high-ranking commander in the Royal Air Force from the 1960s to the 1980s....
- 2 October 1972 Air Vice-Marshal A McK S Steedman
- 16 August 1975 Air Vice-Marshal K A WilliamsonKeith WilliamsonMarshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Keith Alec Williamson, GCB, AFC , is a retired senior officer in the Royal Air Force. He was Chief of the Air Staff from 1982 to 1985.-RAF career:...
- 23 February 1977 Air Vice-Marshal J B Curtiss
- 27 February 1980 Air Vice-Marshal M Beavis
- 21 April 1981 Air Vice-Marshal D Parry-EvansDavid Parry-EvansAir Marshal Sir David George Parry-Evans GCB CBE RAF is a former senior Royal Air Force commander.-RAF career:Educated at Berkhamsted School, Parry-Evans joined the Royal Air Force in 1956. He became Officer Commanding No. 214 Squadron in 1974 and Station Commander at RAF Marham in 1975...
- 29 January 1983 Air Vice-Marshal A G SkingsleyAnthony SkingsleyAir Chief Marshal Sir Anthony Gerald Skingsley GBE KCB RAF is a former senior Royal Air Force commander.-RAF career:Educated at St Bartholomew's School in Newbury and the University of Cambridge, Skingsley joined the Royal Air Force in 1955...
- 29 September 1984 Air Vice-Marshal G A White
- 9 February 1987 Air Vice-Marshal D T Bryant
- 6 January 1989 Air Vice-Marshal A F C Hunter
- 8 August 1990 Air Vice-Marshal R G Peters
- 5 May 1993 Air Vice-Marshal M P Donaldson
- 15 January 1996 Air Vice-Marshal M Van Der Veen