Richard Peirse
Encyclopedia
Air Chief Marshal
Sir Richard Edmund Charles Peirse KCB
DSO
AFC
(30 September 1892 - 5 August 1970), was a senior Royal Air Force
commander.
and educated at Monkton Combe School
and at King's College London
, Peirse became a Midshipman in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve and was commissioned in 1912. He was awarded the DSO
for his contribution to the aerial attack on Dunkirk on 23 January 1915. He served as a pilot with the Royal Naval Air Service
until 1 April 1918 when it became part of the Royal Air Force
. With the formation of the RAF, Peirse became Officer Commanding
No. 222 Squadron
. In 1923 he became Station Commander at RAF Gosport and in 1929 he was made Station Commander at RAF Heliopolis. He went on to be Deputy Director of Operations and Intelligence at the Air Ministry
in 1930 and, having been promoted to Air Commodore
in 1933, was appointed Air Officer Commanding Palestine Transjordan Command. Promoted again, this time to Air Vice-Marshal
in 1936, he was appointed Deputy Chief of the Air Staff
and Director of Operations and Intelligence in January 1937.
He served in World War II
as Vice-Chief of the Air Staff
from April 1940 and as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Bomber Command
from October 1940. He presided over a large expanion in the bomber force but was removed in January 1942 by the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal
Charles Portal
, when he became increasingly concerned about the mounting losses. In March 1943 Peirse was appointed Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief RAF India
and in November 1943 he was made Commander in Chief, Allied Air Command South-East Asia. However his career came to an abrupt halt in 1944, when he eloped with the wife of General Sir Claude Auchinleck
.
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 Richard Edmund Charles Peirse 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...
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"...
(30 September 1892 - 5 August 1970), 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.
RAF career
Born the son of Admiral Sir Richard PeirseRichard Peirse (Royal Navy officer)
Vice Admiral Sir Richard Henry Peirse KCB MVO was a senior Royal Navy officer during World War I.-Naval career:Peirse joined the Royal Navy and, in 1885, developed a new naval director which was to become the fire-control system used in all ships with large guns...
and educated at Monkton Combe School
Monkton Combe School
Monkton Combe School is an independent boarding and day school of the British public school tradition, near Bath, England. The Senior School is located in the village of Monkton Combe, while the Prep School, Pre-Prep and Nursery are in Combe Down on the southern outskirts of Bath...
and at King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
, Peirse became a Midshipman in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve and was commissioned in 1912. He was awarded the 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...
for his contribution to the aerial attack on Dunkirk on 23 January 1915. He served as a pilot with the Royal Naval Air Service
Royal Naval Air Service
The Royal Naval Air Service or RNAS was the air arm of the Royal Navy until near the end of the First World War, when it merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps to form a new service , the Royal Air Force...
until 1 April 1918 when it became part of the 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...
. With the formation of the RAF, Peirse became 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. 222 Squadron
No. 222 Squadron RAF
-In World War I:The Squadron was formally formed at Thasos on 1 April 1918 from A squadron of the former No. 2 Wing, RNAS when the Royal Air Force was formed. Later, 6 April 1918 former Z Squadron of No. 2 Wing, RNAS was added to the strength. Renumbered No. 62 Wing and consisting of Nos...
. In 1923 he became Station Commander at RAF Gosport and in 1929 he was made Station Commander at RAF Heliopolis. He went on to be Deputy Director of Operations and Intelligence 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...
in 1930 and, having been promoted to Air Commodore
Air Commodore
Air commodore is an air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
in 1933, was appointed Air Officer Commanding Palestine Transjordan Command. Promoted again, this time to 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...
in 1936, he was appointed Deputy Chief of the Air Staff
Deputy Chief of the Air Staff
The Deputy Chief of the Air Staff was a senior appointment in the Royal Air Force. The incumbent was the deputy to the Chief of the Air Staff. The post existed from 1918 to 1968 or 1969...
and Director of Operations and Intelligence in January 1937.
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...
as Vice-Chief of the Air Staff
Vice-Chief of the Air Staff (United Kingdom)
The British Vice-Chief of the Air Staff was the post occupied by the senior Royal Air Force officer who served as a senior assistant to the Chief of the Air Staff. The post was created during World War II on 22 April 1940 and its incumbement sat on the Air Council...
from April 1940 and as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental...
from October 1940. He presided over a large expanion in the bomber force but was removed in January 1942 by the Chief of the Air Staff, 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...
Charles Portal
Charles Portal, 1st Viscount Portal of Hungerford
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Charles Frederick Algernon Portal, 1st Viscount Portal of Hungerford KG GCB OM DSO & Bar MC was a senior Royal Air Force officer and an advocate of strategic bombing...
, when he became increasingly concerned about the mounting losses. In March 1943 Peirse was appointed Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief RAF India
Indian Air Force
The Indian Air Force is the air arm of the Indian armed forces. Its primary responsibility is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during a conflict...
and in November 1943 he was made Commander in Chief, Allied Air Command South-East Asia. However his career came to an abrupt halt in 1944, when he eloped with the wife of General Sir Claude Auchinleck
Claude Auchinleck
Field Marshal Sir Claude John Eyre Auchinleck, GCB, GCIE, CSI, DSO, OBE , nicknamed "The Auk", was a British army commander during World War II. He was a career soldier who spent much of his military career in India, where he developed a love of the country and a lasting affinity for the soldiers...
.
Awards and decorations
- Distinguished Service OrderDistinguished Service OrderThe 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...
- 10 April 1915 - Air Force CrossAir 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"...
- 1 January 1919. - Croce di GuerraCroce di GuerraThe Croce di Guerra al Valor Militare is an Italian decoration for military valour.- Past recipients :* Edouard Izac, Lieutenant, United States Navy* Douglas MacArthur, General, United States Army...
by the King of Italy for services rendered in the Mediterranean area - 1 April 1919 - Companion of the Order of the Bath - 6 November 1936
- Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath - 11 July 1940
- Order of Polonia Restituta, 2nd Class (Poland) - 29 May 1942
- Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-NassauOrder of Orange-NassauThe Order of Orange-Nassau is a military and civil order of the Netherlands which was created on 4 April 1892 by the Queen regent Emma of the Netherlands, acting on behalf of her under-age daughter Queen Wilhelmina. The Order is a chivalry order open to "everyone who have earned special merits for...
(Netherlands) - 12 Jan 1943. - Commander of the Legion of MeritLegion of MeritThe Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements...
(USA) - 15 March 1946 - Cloud and Banner Decoration (Third Grade) (China) - 29 July 1947
- Mentioned in Despatches (3) - 17 February 1915, 3 June 1918 and 3 December 1942.