Laurence Jones (officer)

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Sir Laurence Alfred Jones KCB AFC KStJ ( January 18, 1933 - September 27, 1995 ) was a British Air Force officer in the Royal Air Force , who last served in the rank of Lieutenant General ( Air Marshal ) between 1987 and 1990 Air Member for Personnel on the Air Force Staff and thus also a member of the Air Force Board of the Department of Defense . He then served as Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man from 1990 until his death in 1995 .

Life

Pilot training and uses as an Air Force officer

Jones completed his education at the Trinity School of John Whitgift, founded in 1596, in the London borough of Shirley, and then began his aviation training as a flight cadet of the A-Squadron at the Royal Air Force College Cranwell , the officers' school of the RAF in May 1951 . During his training he was one of the college teams in rugby and athletics and was awarded the Queen's Medal , the John Anthony Chance Memorial Prize, the Abdy Gerrard Fellows Memorial Prize, Robert Marsland Groves Memorial Prize, the Dickson Trophy and the Michael for his outstanding educational achievements Hill Memorial Prize. After completing his training, he was taken on as a professional soldier ( Permanent Commission ) in the RAF on December 15, 1953 and promoted to First Lieutenant ( Flying Officer ).

Afterwards, Jones was the end of 1953 the pilot with Gloster Meteor - fighters equipped and on the military airfield stationed RAF Abu Suwayr No. 208 Squadron RAF . There he was promoted to captain ( flight lieutenant ) on June 15, 1956 . After tensions between Great Britain and Egypt increased in the course of the Suez Crisis from October 1956 , the squadron was relocated to Malta and in the following period mainly took on tasks as an interceptor unit. After it was finally dissolved in December 1957, No. 208 Squadron RAF came, he returned to Great Britain and completed training at the FWS ( Fighter Weapons School ). He then became a pilot and finally aviation commander of the Hawker Hunter fighter aircraft equipped No. 74 Squadron RAF , which was relocated to the RAF Coltishall air force base in June 1959 and equipped there with twin- engine English Electric Lightning interceptors from the summer of 1960 .

Uses as a staff officer

After his promotion to Major ( Squadron Leader ) on July 1, 1961, Jones took over his first command post, as the Commanding Officer of the Hawker Hunter fighter aircraft, No. 8 Squadron RAF in Aden . Subsequently, he took over on July 22, 1963 the function as a staff officer with Air Secretary ( Air Secretary ) Air Chief Marshal William MacDonald or from August 11, 1966 with his successor Air Chief Marshal Donald Randell Evans .

On July 1, 1967, Jones was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel ( Wing Commander ) and then took over on August 11, 1967 the post of commander of No. 92 Squadron RAF . This squadron, which belongs to the Air Forces in the Federal Republic of Germany ( RAF Germany ), was initially stationed at the RAF Geilenkirchen military airfield and from January 1968 at the RAF Gütersloh air base . On June 13, 1970, he was awarded the Air Force Cross (AFC) for his flying services .

After a brief assignment from January 29 to August 22, 1971 as a staff officer in the Department of Defense, Jones became group leader for defense operations and military operations at the headquarters of RAF Germany on August 22, 1971 . In this use he was promoted to Colonel ( Group Captain ) on January 1, 1972 . He then took over the post of commander of the RAF Wittering air base on March 28, 1975 and remained there until December 3, 1976.

After his promotion to the Air Commodore on January 1, 1977 Jones completed a course at the Royal College of Defense Studies (RCDS) in London and was after its graduation on December 24, 1977 head of the operations department for air support in the Air Force Staff.

Promotion to Air Marshal and Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man

On March 27, 1982 Jones was named Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) Chief of Staff of the Air Strike Command ( RAF Strike Command ). At this post took place on January 1, 1983, his promotion to major general ( Air Vice Marshal ). On December 31, 1983, he became Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB). He then became Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Operations) in June 1984 and remained in this position until the post in August 1985. After a subsequent temporary assignment as Assistant Chief of the Defense Staff for Programs ( Assistant Chief of the Defense Staff (Programs) ) he became the first Deputy Chief of the Air Force Staff (Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Operations) ) on February 13, 1986 . This function was achieved by merging the previous functions of the Vice Chief of the Air Staff with those of the previous Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Policy ) as well as the previous Assistant Chief of the Air Force Operations Staff ( Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Operations) ) were merged. On March 2, 1987, Air Vice Marshal Michael Simmons succeeded him in this post .

Jones himself was promoted to Lieutenant General ( Air Marshal ) on March 20, 1987 and also took over on March 20, 1987 from Air Marshal Anthony Skingsley as Air Member for Personnel . Until his replacement by Air Vice Marshal David Parry-Evans on October 25, 1989, he was responsible for personnel matters in the Air Force Staff. On June 13, 1987 he was beaten Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB), so that from then on he carried the suffix "Sir". As an Air Member for Personnel, he was also a member of the Air Force Board of the Ministry of Defense. On January 18, 1990, he retired from active military service.

On August 16, 1990, Jones succeeded Laurence New as Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man . He held this post until his death. His successor was then Timothy Daunt . On July 1, 1991 he was also Knight of Justice of the Order of Saint John (KStJ). He was also a Fellow of the British Institute of Management (FBIM)

Web links

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

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ No 8 Squadron Commanding Officers on Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organization
  2. ↑ No. 92 Squadron RAF on Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organization
  3. ↑ Note: Between the biographical information on Air Marshal Sir Laurence Jones and the information on the commanders of No. 92 Squadron RAF on Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organization, there is a contradiction, since in the commanders list from November 22, 1967 Wing Commander RR Robinson AFC and from November 24, 1969 Wing Commander Ronald I. Stuart-Paul MBE as commanders are recorded
  4. ^ London Gazette  (Supplement). No. 45117, HMSO, London, June 5, 1970, p. 6393 ( PDF , accessed March 8, 2016, English).
  5. ^ RAF Wittering Station Commanders on Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organization
  6. ^ London Gazette  (Supplement). No. 49583, HMSO, London, December 30, 1983, p. 3 ( PDF , accessed March 8, 2016, English).
  7. ^ London Gazette  (Supplement). No. 50948, HMSO, London, June 13, 1987, p. 2 ( PDF , accessed March 8, 2016, English).
  8. ^ Air Member for Personnel on Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organization
  9. ^ Isle of Man in rulers.org
personal data
SURNAME Jones, Laurence
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Jones, Sir Laurence Alfred (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British Air Force Officer and Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man
DATE OF BIRTH January 18, 1933
DATE OF DEATH September 27, 1995