Eric Nelson

Eric Douglas McKinley Nelson CB DL ( January 2, 1912 - December 1996 ) was a British Air Force officer in the Royal Air Force , who was last in the rank of Air Commodore between 1961 and 1963 in command of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell , the officers' school of the British Air Force.

Life

Pilot training and World War II

Nelson began his aviation training in 1931 as a flight cadet in the C-Squadron of RAF College and was part of the college boxing team during his training . After his promotion to lieutenant (pilot officer) on December 17, 1932, he was accepted as a career officer (permanent commission) in the RAF and initially found use as a pilot of the No. 12 Squadron RAF at the military airfield . He was then Personal Adjutant to the Air Officer Commanding of the RAF Coastal Area between February 8 and September 6, 1934 , during which time he was promoted to First Lieutenant (Flying Officer) on June 17, 1934 promoted. He subsequently moved on January 6, 1934 as pilot to the naval aviation associations ( Fleet Air Arm ) of the Royal Navy belonging to 821 Naval Air Squadron and then completed from January 6 to December 21, 1936 training at the Armor School of the RAF ( Air Armament School) .

During this time Nelson was promoted to captain (Flight Lieutenant) on October 1, 1936 , and on December 21, 1936, he took up a position as an armaments officer at the No. 10 Flying Training School RAF on. On April 1, 1939 his promotion took place on Major (Squadron Leader) and assumed in this rank in October 1943 until the end of World War II, the function as commander ( Commanding Officer ) of No. 103 Squadron RAF .

Post-war period and promotion to Air Commodore

After the end of the war, Nelson became the commander of the RAF Waddington Air Force Base in April 1945 , where he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel (Wing Commander) on October 1, 1946 and to Colonel (Group Captain) on July 1, 1950 . In July 1951 he became commander of the RAF Benson Air Force Base and then in June 1952 deputy commander of the RAF College. On January 1, 1952, he became Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB).

Then Nelson served between 1 January 1953 to 18 June 1957 as aide-de-camp of Queen Elizabeth II. And was on July 1, 1956 to the Air Commodore promoted. As such, he was also the successor to Air Commodore Geoffrey Tindal-Carill-Worsley from 1956 until his replacement by Air Commodore Norman Coslett on April 21, 1958, commander of the Technical Training School (No. 1 School of Technical Training RAF) at the RAF base Halton. He then succeeded Air Commodore David William Lane on April 21, 1958 as Commander of the RAF Staff College at RAF Andover base and remained in this role until he was replaced by Air Commodore Noel Hyde on October 30, 1960 .

Nelson was last on April 16, 1961 as the successor to Air Commodore Denis Spotswood Commander of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell, the officers' school of the British Air Force. On August 21, 1963, he was replaced by Air Commodore Michael Lyne and retired on October 5, 1963.

After retiring from active military service, Nelson became Deputy Lieutenant of Lincolnshire on April 4, 1966 and in 1974 also held the honorary position as Honorary Clerk of the Lord Lieutenant of that county .

Web links

• Biography on Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organization

Individual evidence

1. ↑ London Gazette . No. 35102, HMSO, London, March 11, 1941, p. 1450 ( PDF , accessed February 8, 2016, English).