Willie Read
William Ronald Read | |
---|---|
Born | 17 May 1885 |
Died | 1972 |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/branch |
British Army (1906–18) Royal Air Force (1918–32) |
Years of service | 1906–1932 |
Rank | Wing Commander |
Commands held |
RAF Boscombe Down RAF Upavon No. 216 Squadron RAF No. 104 Squadron RFC |
Battles/wars | First World War |
Awards |
Military Cross Distinguished Flying Cross Air Force Cross & Two Bars |
Wing Commander William Ronald Read, MC, DFC, AFC & Two Bars (17 May 1885[1] – 1972[2]) was a highly decorated Royal Air Force officer of World War I and the inter-war period. A pre-war member of the Royal Flying Corps (which became the RAF in 1918), he was one of only a handful of officers to ever receive a second bar to the Air Force Cross (i.e. he was awarded the AFC three times).
Early life and career
Read came from a wealthy family[2] and was the eldest son of W. T. Read of Hampstead.[3] Both his parents died when he was twelve and he and his siblings were raised by guardians.[2] He was educated at Jesus College, Cambridge.[1][2]
Read was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Hampshire Carabiniers, a yeomanry (part-time volunteer cavalry) regiment, on 23 September 1906.[4] On 6 March 1907, after leaving Cambridge, he transferred to the 1st (King's) Dragoon Guards, a regular regiment.[5]
After obtaining his pilot's licence in April 1913,[1][6] Read was seconded to the Royal Flying Corps as a pilot on 28 April 1914[7] and joined 3 Squadron.[6] He was promoted lieutenant on 14 June 1914.[8]
First World War
Read accompanied his squadron to France in August 1914.[6] He was wounded in December 1914. On 8 February 1915, he was appointed a flight commander in the Royal Flying Corps with the temporary rank of captain.[9][10][11] In December 1915 he was sent home to organise 45 Squadron, returning to France in command in April 1916.[2] He was awarded the Military Cross on 1 January 1916[12] and promoted to the substantive rank of captain on 19 August 1917.[13] In April 1917, disillusioned with heavy losses and with his superiors, he requested and received a transfer back to his regiment.[2] He did not much enjoy it, however, and returned to the RFC as the first commanding officer of 104 Squadron, a bomber unit, in September 1917 with the acting rank of major.[14]
He was awarded the Air Force Cross (AFC) on 1 January 1919,[15] and the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) on 3 June 1919 for services in France.[16]
Post-war
After the war he remained in the Royal Air Force with the rank of flight lieutenant, although technically still on attachment from his regiment.[17] He served in Palestine with No. 216 Squadron from 1919 to 1921,[6] and received a bar to his AFC on 12 July 1920.[18] By October 1921, he had been promoted to squadron leader in the RAF, although still holding the rank of captain in the Army,[19] and was in command of 216 Squadron.[1]
On 17 November 1921, he finally transferred from the Army to a permanent commission in the Royal Air Force.[20] He was awarded a second bar to his AFC in the 1922 New Year Honours.[21]
He was promoted wing commander on 1 January 1924.[22][23] Having previously been commander of an apprentices' wing at RAF Halton,[1] in January 1928 he became station commander of RAF Upavon,[24][25] and he was appointed first commander of RAF Boscombe Down in September 1930.[6][25][26]
In March 1931, he was appointed Inspector of Recruiting for the RAF.[6] He retired on 17 May 1932, his 47th birthday.[1][27]
Personal life
In December 1915, Read became engaged to Marjory Masters, daughter of an army chaplain.[3] However, he seems to have never actually married.[2] He was an amateur steeplechase rider, riding in many races,[28] and tennis player.[29]
Read's wartime diaries and papers are held by the Imperial War Museum.
Footnotes
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Wing Commander Read Retires", The Times, 21 May 1932
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Linda R. Robertson, The Dream of Civilized Warfare: World War I Flying Ages and the American Imagination, University of Minnesota Press, 2003
- 1 2 "Forthcoming Marriages", The Times, 7 December 1915
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 27967. p. 7630. 13 November 1906.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 28001. p. 1575. 5 March 1907.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "RAF Recruiting", The Times, 4 April 1931
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 28831. p. 3927. 15 May 1914.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 28840. p. 4702. 16 June 1914.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 29075. p. 1711. 16 February 1915.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 30307. p. 9950. 25 September 1917.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 30394. p. 12104. 20 November 1917.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 29438. p. 585. 11 January 1916.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 30322. p. 10252. 2 October 1917.
- ↑ "No. 104 Squadron", The Times, 16 December 1935
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 31098. p. 97. 31 December 1918.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 31378. p. 7032. 30 May 1919.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 31879. p. 4850. 27 April 1920.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 31974. p. 7422. 9 July 1920.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 32487. p. 8103. 14 October 1921.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 32719. p. 4478. 13 June 1922.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 32563. p. 10719. 30 December 1921.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 32893. p. 2. 1 January 1924.
- ↑ Flight, 3 January 1924
- ↑ "Two Flying Officers Killed", The Times, 6 June 1928
- 1 2 "New Air Station", The Times, 26 September 1930
- ↑ "RAF Command at Upavon", The Times, 16 September 1930
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 33826. p. 3223. 17 May 1932.
- ↑ "Racing", The Times, 10 February 1925
- ↑ "The Army and RAF Championships", The Times, 14 July 1925