Thomas Pike

Sir Thomas Geoffrey Pike
Sir Thomas Pike with the Luftwaffe General Josef Kammhuber in 1956. (Pike is shown on the right)
Born	29 June 1906(1906-06-29) Lewisham, London, England
Died	1 June 1983(1983-06-01) (aged 76) RAF Halton, Buckinghamshire, England
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Air Force
Years of service	1924–1967
Rank	Marshal of the Royal Air Force
Commands held	No. 219 Squadron RAF North Weald No. 11 Group RAF Fighter Command
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Order of the British Empire Distinguished Flying Cross & Bar Mention in Despatches

Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Thomas Geoffrey Pike GCB CBE DFC & Bar DL RAF (29 June 1906 – 1 June 1983) was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force.

RAF career

Educated at Bedford School, Pike joined the Royal Air Force in 1924. He was appointed Officer Commanding No. 219 Squadron flying Bristol Beaufighters in February 1941 and was given command of the Night Fighters of No. 11 Group in September 1941. He went on to be Officer Commanding RAF North Weald in February 1942, Officer Commanding No. 1 Mobile Operations Room Unit during the Allied Landings in Italy in May 1943 and Senior Air Staff Officer at HQ Desert Air Force in February 1944.

After the war he was appointed Director of Operational Requirements at the Air Ministry in 1946, Air Officer Commanding No. 11 Group in 1950, Deputy Chief of Staff (Operations) at HQ Allied Air Forces Central Europe in 1951 and Deputy Chief of the Air Staff in 1953. He went on to be Commander-in-Chief RAF Fighter Command in 1956. He was Chief of the Air Staff from 1 January 1960 to 31 August 1963 and then Deputy Supreme Commander SHAPE until his retirement in 1967.

Later life

Following his retirement, Pike was made a Deputy Lieutenant of Essex in 1973: he continued in the post until 1981. He died in 1983 and due to his time spent at North Weald, he was buried in the military section of St. Andrew’s churchyard, North Weald.

Family

In 1930 he married Kathleen Althea Elwell; they had a son and two daughters. Sir Thomas's brother was Lieutenant-General Sir William Pike KCB CBE DSO and his nephew (Sir William's son) is Lieutenant-General Sir Hew Pike KCB DSO MBE who was appointed to the DSO having served as commanding officer of 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment in the Falklands War.

Honours and awards

• Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath - 1 Jan 1961 (KCB - 9 Jun 1955, CB - 1 Jan 1946)
• Commander of the Order of the British Empire - 8 Jun 1944
• Distinguished Flying Cross - 13 May 1941, and Bar - 30 May 1941
• Mentioned in Despatches - 2 Jun 1943
• Officer of the Legion of Merit - 16 Oct 1945
• Deputy Lieutenant (Essex) - 7 Feb 1973 - 8 Dec 1981

References

• Probert, H. (1991). High Commanders of the Royal Air Force. HMSO. ISBN 0-11-772635-4

Military offices
Preceded by S F Vincent	Air Officer Commanding No. 11 Group 1950–1951	Succeeded by The Earl of Bandon
Preceded by Sir Ronald Ivelaw-Chapman	Deputy Chief of the Air Staff 1953 – 1956	Succeeded by Sir Geoffrey Tuttle
Preceded by Sir Hubert Patch	Commander-in-Chief Fighter Command 1956–1959	Succeeded by Sir Hector McGregor
Preceded by Sir Dermot Boyle	Chief of the Air Staff 1960–1963	Succeeded by The Lord Elworthy
Preceded by Sir Hugh Stockwell	Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe 1964–1967	Succeeded by Sir Robert Bray