John Ebenezer Samuel de Graft-Hayford
John Ebenezer Samuel de Graft-Hayford (* 1912 in Great Britain ; † 2002 ; also: JES de Graft-Hayford, Johnnie de Graft-Hayford or DeGraft-Hayford or de Graft Hayford) was a boxer (known as the Chocolate Kid ) and the first Ghanaian Chief of Air Staff in Ghana . De Graft-Hayford was the first black man in a managerial position of a national Air Force south of the Sahara . In later years he was politically and socially engaged.
De Graft-Hayford was born in Great Britain in 1912 to a Ghanaian father of the Fanti people . In 1914 the parents returned to Ghana and de Graft-Hayford received his school education in Ghana.
boxer
His boxer career began in the welterweight division in the 1930s. De Graft-Hayford later became a Ghanaian middleweight boxing champion and West African champion. In 1941 he withdrew from professional boxing undefeated. In later years he became Vice President of the African Boxing Union (ABU) and a member of the World Boxing Council (WBC).
Military career
De Graft-Hayford became the third black man to be raised to the rank of lieutenant in the British armed forces in 1946 . He remained in the service of the British Army until 1948 . With this military training he was invited to Ghana by President Kwame Nkrumah in 1960 to become commander of the first infantry battalion . De Graft-Hayford accepted this post and organized the establishment of the Ghanaian Air Force. He succeeded John Nicholas Haworth Whitworth , who served in the British Army as Chief of Defense Staff in the British Colony of Gold Coast , in office and became Chief of Air Staff of the Ghanian Air Force .
In 1962, at the instigation of President Kwame Nkrumah, the National Aviation School was founded under the command of de Graft-Hayford. Hanna Reitsch was successfully recruited as a flight instructor . In the same year de Gaft-Hayford was raised to the rank of Air Commodore comparable to that of an Army Brigadier General . In 1965 he resigned from active military service. His successor in office was Michael Otu .
See also
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Graft-Hayford, John Ebenezer Samuel de |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | The Chocolate Kid, De Graft Hayward, De Graft Hayford |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Ghanaian military, boxer and Chief of Air Staff of the Ghanaian Air Force |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1912 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Great Britain |
| DATE OF DEATH | 2002 |