Roderic Hill

Roderic Maxwell Hill
Born	1 March 1894
Died	6 October 1954 (aged 60)
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Air Force
Years of service	1914 – 1 July 1948
Rank	Air Chief Marshal
Commands held	No. 45 Squadron<br<No. 12 Group Fighter Command
Battles/wars	World War I Arab revolt in Palestine World War II
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Military Cross Air Force Cross & Bar Mention in Despatches (4 times)
Other work	Rector of Imperial College

Air Chief Marshal Sir Roderic Maxwell Hill KCB, MC, AFC & Bar, RAF (1 March 1894 – 6 October 1954) was a senior Royal Air Force commander during World War II, and a past Rector of Imperial College. The Department of Aeronautics of Imperial College is situated in a building named after him.

RAF career

Educated at University College, London, Hill joined the 18th Bn Royal Fusiliers as a private soldier in 1914 during World War I and transferred to the Royal Flying Corps as a commissioned officer in 1916. He took an interest in aircraft design and in 1917 became Officer Commanding the Experimental Section at the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough Airfield. He was made Officer Commanding No. 45 Squadron in 1924 and flew Vernon transport aircraft on the Air Mail Route carrying British Government air-mail between Cairo and Baghdad, and made other air journeys in Iraq. He wrote and illustrated a memoir of his time in Iraq and the Middle East: it gives a lively account of flying the large biplanes of the period over difficult desert terrain, and also provides a sharply focussed, and sometimes lyrical description of the landscpe and people of the region.

He joined the Directing Staff at the RAF Staff College in 1927 and then went on to be the Officer Commanding the Oxford University Air Squadron in 1930, Deputy Director of Repair and Maintenance at the Air Ministry in 1932 and Air Officer Commanding Palestine & Transjordan Command in 1936.

During World War II he was Director-General of Research and Development at the Air Ministry and then Commandant of the RAF Staff College from 1942. He was appointed Air Officer Commanding No. 12 Group in 1943 and then served as Commander-in-Chief of Fighter Command (also briefly called the Air Defence of Great Britain during his command) from 1943 to 1945.

After the War he was Air Member for Training and then Air Member for Technical Services before retiring in 1948. In retirement he became Rector of Imperial College.

Honours and awards

• Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath - 1 January 1944 (CB - 1 July 1941)
• Military Cross - 14 November 1916
• Air Force Cross - 3 August 1918, Bar - 2 January 1922 [31 December 1921]
• Mention in Despatches - 1 January 1916, 31 October 1938, 23 December 1938, 25 April 1939
• Commander of the Legion of Merit (United States) - 9 October 1945
• Grand Cross of the Order of the White Lion (Czechoslovakia) - 15 March 1946
• Commander of the Order of Leopold (Belgium) with Palms, (Belgium) - 25 June 1948
• Croix de Guerre with Palms (France) - 25 June 1948
• Master of Arts (Oxford) - 1931
• Hon LL.D (Glasgow)
• Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society
• 'RM Groves Aeronautical Research Prize' - August 1922

External links

• Imperial College London - Sir Roderic M. Hill

Military offices
Preceded by J O Andrews	Air Officer Commanding No. 12 Group 1943	Succeeded by M Henderson
Preceded by Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory	Commander-in-Chief Fighter Command 1943–1945	Succeeded by Sir James Robb
Preceded by Sir Peter Drummond	Air Member for Training 1945–1946	Post abolished Duties transferred to the Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Training)
Academic offices
Preceded by Richard Southwell	Rector of Imperial College London 1948–1954	Succeeded by Patrick Linstead