Richard Peirse (officer, 1931)

Sir Richard Charles Fairfax Peirse KCVO CB (* 16th March 1931 in Blackheath , London , † 8. February 2014 ) was a British Major General (Air Vice Marshal) of the Royal Air Force , the pilot of fighter aircraft , bombers and reconnaissance aircraft was and later offices in the royal household of Queen Elizabeth II . As Defense Services Secretary in the Royal Household between March 1985 and June 1988 he was responsible for relations between the Queen and the United Kingdom's armed forces . He was thus also the liaison officer to the defense minister and the chief of the defense staff.

Life

Family background and training as an officer

Peirse came from a family that had produced several distinguished military figures. His grandfather was Admiral Richard Peirse , who was among other things commander in chief of the East Indies station from 1913 to 1915 and in December 1915 commander in chief of the Mediterranean fleet . His father was General (Air Chief Marshal) Richard Peirse , who later became George VI on his first flight in March 1918 . had flown and during the Second World War was among other things Commander in Chief of the RAF Bomber Command from 1940 to 1942 and Commander in Chief of the Allied Air Forces in Southeast Asia between 1943 and 1944.

After attending Bradfield College , he joined the Royal Air Force College Cranwell (RAFC) as a cadet and was trained as a pilot there. A few years earlier he completed his first own flight with a friend of his father's, Air Vice Marshal Edward "Mouse" Fielden , who was at the time Captain of the King's Flight . On April 9, 1952, he was a Lieutenant (Pilot Officer) included in the RAF and flew in the aftermath single beam warplanes types de Havilland Vampire DH.100 and de Havilland Venom DH.112 in in Wunstorf stationed squadron RAF No. 266 Squadron . After training as a flight instructor at the Central Flight School, he returned to England, where he himself trained flight cadets on de Havilland vampire fighter planes at the RAFC in Cranwell. In 1953 he was promoted to first lieutenant (flying officer) and in 1954 to captain (flight lieutenant) .

Staff officer

After one year of training at the RAF Staff College, he completed additional training on the twin-engine combat aircraft English Electric Canberra and then flight training commander on was Malta stationed RAF No. 39 Squadron . The squadron flew the Canberra for strategic and tactical purposes for aerial reconnaissance and belonged to the southern flank of NATO , so that the Peirse flight units completed numerous aerial reconnaissance missions over Italy , Greece and Turkey .

After his promotion to Major (Squadron Leader) in 1959, he was commander of the RAF Operational Squadron in Luqa , before he returned to Great Britain in September 1965 and, after being promoted to Lieutenant Colonel (Wing Commander) on the staff of the Air Force Secretary, was responsible for career promotion and pilot appointments. In 1968 he returned to air reconnaissance and was appointed commodore of the RAF No. 51 Squadron . The squadron equipped with English Electric Canberra and De Havilland DH.106 Comet flew reconnaissance flights along the borders of the Soviet Union and the member states of the Warsaw Pact in order to collect electronic signals and information.

However, this use ended a year later when he was promoted to Colonel (Group Captain) on July 1, 1969 and was appointed Deputy Captain of the Queen's Flight in October 1969 . In the following years he directed overseas flights to destinations visited by employees of the royal family. During this time, a twin-engine Bassett aircraft was also added to the royal fleet to allow Charles, Prince of Wales to continue his pilot training.

Promotion to Air Vice Marshal and functions in the Royal Household

After attending the Royal College of Defense Studies (RCDS), Peirse completed further pilot training on the four-engine long - range bomber Avro Vulcan before he became commander of RAF Waddington in Waddington in 1973 , in which three Vulcan squadrons are stationed for low-threshold nuclear and conventional bombing missions . He then found some uses in the Ministry of Defense and was first deputy director for operational requirements from 1976 to 1977 and then director for air force personnel between 1977 and 1980.

In this role, Peirse was promoted to Air Commodore on January 1, 1978 , and in 1980 took over the post of Director of Operations in the Ministry of Defense. In January 1982 he was promoted to Air Vice Marshal and named Air Officer Commanding in command of Royal Air Force College Cranwell. In 1983 he was named Companion of the Order of the Bath for his services .

In March 1985, Peirse was appointed Defense Services Secretary responsible for relations between the Queen and the United Kingdom's armed forces. He was thus also the liaison officer to the defense minister and the chief of the defense staff. He held this position until his retirement on June 16, 1988. In 1988 he was knighted as Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) and from then on carried the suffix "Sir".

On July 18, 1990 he succeeded Rear Admiral David Edward Macey Gentleman Usher of the Scarlet Rod and took over as such in the Royal Household the office of servant of the Order of the Bath. After twelve years in office he was replaced on March 15, 2002 by Rear Admiral Iain Henderson and instead took over the functions of registrar and secretary of the Order of the Bath until 2006.

Web links

• Obituary - AVM Sir Richard Charles Fairfax Peirse KCVO, CB RAF (Ret'd) . In: The Queen's Flight Association of February 22, 2014
• Air Vice-Marshal Sir Richard Peirse - obituary. Air Vice-Marshal Sir Richard Peirse was a debonair RAF officer who flew fighters and bombers before filling appointments with the Royal Household . In: The Daily Telegraph, May 11, 2014