John Willis (RAF officer)

Sir John Willis
Sir John Willis
Born	27 October 1937; London, England
Died	9 January 2008 (aged 70)
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Air Force
Years of service	1955–1997
Rank	Air Chief Marshal
Commands held	Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff (1995–97); Support Command (1992–94); RAF Akrotiri (1982–84); No. 27 Squadron (1975–77)
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire; Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath

Air Chief Marshal Sir John Frederick Willis GBE, KCB, FRAeS (27 October 1937 – 9 January 2008) was a senior Royal Air Force officer.

Flying career[edit]

John Frederick Willis was born in London and educated at Dulwich College and the RAF College Cranwell.^[1] Willis gained his RAF commission in 1958 and went on to fly Vulcan bombers.^[1] He went on to be Commanding Officer of No. 27 Squadron at RAF Scampton.^[1] He was appointed deputy director of Air Staff Plans at the Ministry of Defence in 1979, Station Commander at RAF Akrotiri on Cyprus in 1982 and Director of Air Staff Briefing & Co-ordination at the Ministry of Defence in 1985.^[2] Later that year he was made Chief of the Special Weapons Branch at Headquarters SHAPE.^[2]

In 1989 he was appointed Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Policy & Nuclear).^[1] He went on to be one of the RAF's most senior commanders, becoming Director-General of Training in 1991, Air Officer Commanding-in Chief of Support Command in 1992 and the Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff at the Ministry of Defence in 1995.^[1] He retired from the Royal Air Force in 1997.^[1]

In retirement he was a member of the council of the University of Newcastle upon Tyne and a patron of the Second World War Experience Centre. He was also actively involved in his local Royal Air Forces Association.^[3]

Personal life[edit]

In 1959, while living in London, Sir John met his wife Merrill, who was a nurse. They married in 1960. They had five children together, Jonathan, David, Kate, Rachel, and Rob. Sir John had fourteen grandchildren: Rebecca, Michael, Gregory, William, Joe, Ben, Finn, Ella, Myles, George, Sarah, Daisy, Pip and Heidi.^[3]

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Telegraph.co.uk – Obituary of Air Chief Marshal Sir John Willis^{[dead link]}
^ ^a ^b Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Chief Marshal Sir John Willis
^ ^a ^b "Sudden death of outstanding military ace". Northumberland Gazette. 10 January 2008. Archived from the original on 12 January 2008. Retrieved 18 March 2009.

External links[edit]

Military offices
Preceded by Sir John Thomson	Commander-in-Chief, Support Command 1992–1994	Command split up into Logistics Command under Sir Michael Alcock Personnel and Training Command under Sir Andrew Wilson
Preceded by Sir Jock Slater	Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff 1995–1997	Succeeded by Sir Peter Abbott

[tele-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Telegraph.co.uk – Obituary of Air Chief Marshal Sir John Willis^{[dead link]}

[air-2] Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Chief Marshal Sir John Willis

[Northumberland_Gazette_Sudden_death-3] "Sudden death of outstanding military ace". Northumberland Gazette. 10 January 2008. Archived from the original on 12 January 2008. Retrieved 18 March 2009.

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