John Cheshire

Air chief marshal Sir John Anthony Cheshire, KBE, CB, KStJ, born (1942-09-04) 4 September 1942, is a retired senior Royal Air Force (RAF) commander.

For other people named John Cheshire, see John Cheshire (disambiguation).

Sir John Cheshire
Sir John Cheshire addresses the public at Government House, Jersey, at the traditional reception to mark the Queen's Birthday, 2005
Born (1942-09-04) 4 September 1942
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchRoyal Air Force
Years of service1961–2000
RankAir chief marshal
Commands heldAllied Forces Northwestern Europe
RAF Lyneham
AwardsKnight Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Companion of the Order of the Bath
RelationsAir Chief Marshal Sir Walter Cheshire (father)

RAF career

Born the son of Group Captain (later Air Chief Marshal Sir) Walter Cheshire, and educated at Ipswich School and Worksop College, Cheshire joined the Royal Air Force as an officer cadet at the RAF College Cranwell in 1961.[1] He was commissioned as a pilot officer on 17 December 1963,[2] and was successively promoted to flying officer (17 December 1964)[3] and to flight lieutenant (17 June 1966).[4] He was promoted to squadron leader on 1 July 1971,[5] and to wing commander on 1 July 1977.[6]

In the late 1970s, Cheshire served as Commander of the Special Forces Flight, and then joined the Air Plans Directorate of the Ministry of Defence.[1] He was appointed Commander of the Air Wing of the Royal Brunei Air Force (RBAirF) in Brunei Darussalam in 1980, for which he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 1982 Birthday Honours.[7] He became the Station Commander at RAF Lyneham in 1982 and, after his promotion to group captain on 1 July,[8] Group Captain Contingency Plans at Headquarters United Kingdom Air Forces.[1] He went on to be air attache in Moscow in 1987, and was promoted to air commodore on 1 January 1988.[9] He became Deputy Commandant of the RAF Staff College, Bracknell in 1990, and was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1991 New Year Honours.[10] He was promoted to air vice marshal on 1 January 1992,[11] and appointed Assistant Chief of Staff Policy and Requirements at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe.[1] As an acting air marshal, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 1994 New Year Honours list.[12] He was knighted a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1995 New Year Honours,[13] and promoted to air marshal on 23 January 1995.[14] Appointed UK Military Representative to NATO in 1995, he was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Allied Forces Northwestern Europe on 11 March 1997, with a promotion to air chief marshal.[1][15][16] Cheshire retired in 2000.

Jersey and later life

In retirement, Cheshire was the Lieutenant Governor of Jersey from 24 January 2001 to 7 April 2006, when his term of office ended. He was appointed chairman of the Royal Air Force Charitable Trust in July 2008.[17]

Cheshire was married until the passing of his wife; he has a son and daughter, and three grandchildren.

On 22 April 2022, Cheshire was recognised with a road being named in his honour at the Royal Brunei Air Force Base, Rimba in Brunei. Appearing at the road naming event by video link, Mohammad Sharif Ibrahim, the head of the Royal Brunei Air Force, named the road Cheshire Lane.[18]

References
  1. NATO Biography
  2. "No. 43224". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 January 1964. p. 567.
  3. "No. 43521". The London Gazette (Supplement). 22 December 1964. p. 10929.
  4. "No. 44026". The London Gazette (Supplement). 21 June 1966. p. 7091.
  5. "No. 45417". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 July 1971. p. 7209.
  6. "No. 47264". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 July 1977. p. 8753.
  7. "No. 49008". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 June 1982. p. 8.
  8. "No. 49055". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 July 1982. p. 9466.
  9. "No. 51188". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 January 1988. p. 38.
  10. "No. 52382". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1990. p. 6.
  11. "No. 52786". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 January 1992. p. 183.
  12. "No. 53527". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1993. p. 2.
  13. "No. 53893". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1994. p. 7.
  14. "No. 53933". The London Gazette (Supplement). 24 February 1995. p. 966.
  15. "CHESHIRE, Air Chief Marshal Sir John (Anthony)". Who's Who 2013. A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  16. "No. 54707". The London Gazette (Supplement). 18 March 1997. p. 3298.
  17. "Who's Who". Royal Air Force Charitable Trust website. The Royal Air Force Charitable Trust Enterprises. Archived from the original on 20 April 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  18. "RBAirF road naming event and Iftar with former commanders of RBAirF". MinDef.gov.bn. Royal Brunei Air Force Base, Rimba: Defence Information Technology Unit, Ministry of Defence, Brunei Darussalam. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
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