Hugh Saunders
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Sir Hugh Saunders
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Hugh Saunders as Air Officer Commanding No. 11 Group during the Second World War
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| Born | 24 August 1894 Germiston, South Africa |
| Died | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. Ringwood and Fordingbridge, England |
| Allegiance | South Africa United Kingdom |
| Service/ |
South African Army (1914–17) Royal Air Force (1917–53) |
| Years of service | 1914–1953 |
| Rank | Air Chief Marshal |
| Commands held | Air Forces Western Europe Inspector-General of the RAF Air Member for Personnel Bomber Command RAF Burma No. 11 Group Chief of the Air Staff (RNZAF) No. 45 Squadron |
| Battles/wars | First World War Second World War |
| Awards | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Military Cross Distinguished Flying Cross & Bar Military Medal Mentioned in Despatches |
Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh William Lumsden Saunders GCB, KBE, MC, DFC, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , & Bar, MM (24 August 1894 – 8 May 1987) was a South African who rose through the ranks to become a senior Royal Air Force commander.
RAF career
Saunders enlisted with the Witwatersrand Rifles Regiment in 1914 at the start of the First World War and then served in the South African Rifles before becoming a pilot in No. 84 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps.[1] He became a triple ace, with 15 victories credited to him.[2] He was promoted to squadron leader on 29 May 1929.[3] He was appointed Officer Commanding No. 45 Squadron in 1932.[1]
Saunders served in the Second World War, initially as Chief of Staff for the Royal New Zealand Air Force before becoming Air Officer Administration at Headquarters Fighter Command in February 1942 and then being made Air Officer Commanding No. 11 Group in November 1942.[1] He was made Director-General of Personnel at the Air Ministry in November 1944.[1]
At the end of the war, he was made Air Officer Commanding RAF Burma before becoming Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Bomber Command in January 1947.[1] He went on to be Air Member for Personnel in October 1947, Inspector-General of the RAF in October 1949 and Commander-in-Chief at Headquarters Air Forces Western Europe in February 1951.[1] He was appointed Air Deputy to Supreme Allied Commander Europe and retired in September 1953.[1]
Honours and awards
- Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath – 1 June 1953 (KCB – 2 January 1950, CB – 2 June 1943)
- Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire – 14 June 1945 (CBE – 1 July 1941)
- Military Cross – 16 September 1918
- Distinguished Flying Cross – 2 Nov 1918, Bar – 28 October 1921
- Military Medal – 12 Mar 1917
- Mentioned in Despatches – 1 January 1945
- Polonia Restituta, 2nd Class (Poland) – 12 June 1945
- Commander of the Legion of Merit (United States) on 20 April 1948, "in recognition of valuable services rendered in connection with the war".[4]
- Officer of the Legion of Honour (France) – 194?
- Grand Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog (Denmark) – 20 November 1956, "in recognition of valuable services rendered by him as adviser to the Danish Government on the reorganisation of the Royal Danish Air Force".[5]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Saunders
- ↑ Hugh Saunders The Aerodrome
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 33499. p. 3520. 28 May 1929. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 38264. p. 2467. 16 April 1948. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 40930. p. 6577. 20 November 1956. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hugh Saunders. |
| Military offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Chief of the Air Staff (RNZAF) 1939–1941 |
Succeeded by Victor Goddard |
| Preceded by | Air Officer Commanding No. 11 Group 1942–1944 |
Succeeded by John Cole-Hamilton |
| Preceded by | Commander-in-Chief Bomber Command January – October 1947 |
Succeeded by Sir Aubrey Ellwood |
| Preceded by | Air Member for Personnel 1947–1949 |
Succeeded by Sir Leslie Hollinghurst |
| Preceded by | Inspector-General of the RAF 1949–1951 |
Succeeded by Sir James Robb |
| New title Command formed
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Air Deputy to SACEUR 1951–1953 |
Succeeded by Lauris Norstad |
- Use dmy dates from April 2012
- Pages with broken file links
- Commons category link is defined as the pagename
- 1894 births
- 1987 deaths
- Royal Flying Corps officers
- Royal Air Force air marshals
- British World War I flying aces
- Royal Air Force personnel of World War II
- Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
- Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire
- Recipients of the Military Cross
- Recipients of the Military Medal
- Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross and Bar (United Kingdom)
- Commanders with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta
- Commanders of the Legion of Merit
- Officiers of the Légion d'honneur
- Grand Crosses of the Order of the Dannebrog
