RNZAF Chiefs of Air Staff

[Dave Homewood]

Though this topic covers prewar, wartime and postwar, most were in the postwar era so it's on this board.

Of all the RNZAF Chiefs of Air Staff, who do you think were the most influential in developing the Royal New Zealand Air Force during their tenure?

Obviously the first CAS, Gp Capt Sir Ralph Cochrane has to be on the list as he started the mass build up that turned a tiny service into a fighting force.

Who else though?

Also, out of interest, before Cochrane was appointed CAS, who was in charge of the RNZAF?

If you have any interesting stories about Chiefs of Air Staffs it'd be nice to read them too.

[phil]

These days we no longer have a Chief of Air Staff, it was changed about 5 years ago to Chief of Air Force (CAF) along with the CA and CN getting matching new titles as well. I'm not sure who would have been the last CAS, Don Hamilton probably, I can't recall exactly when the change came in, it may even have been at the end of Cary Adamson's tenure.

[Dave Homewood]

Yes, I was aware of the change in the role's name, but lets face it, recent Chiefs have not been influentional in developing the RNZAF, have they?

A list of the CAS's are:
Gp Capt Ralph Cochrane (Apr 1937-March 39)
Air Comm Hugh "Ding" Saunders (March 39 - Dec 1941)
AVM R.V. Goddard (Dec 1941 - July 1943)
AVM Len Isitt (Jul 43 - May 46)
AVM Arthur Nevill (May 46 - Jan 1951)
AVM D. Carnegie (Jan 51 - Feb 54)
AVM W. Merton (Feb 54 - June 56)
AVM Cyril Kay (June 56 - July 58)
AVM M. Calder (July 58 - July 62)
AVM Ian Morrison (July 62 - July 1966)
AVM C. Turner (July 66 - July 69)
AVM W. Stratton (July 69 - July 71)
AVM D.F. St. George (July 71 - Sept 74)
AVM Sir Richard Bolt (Sept 74 - Oct 76)
AVM Larry Siegert (Oct 76 - Oct 79)
AVM D. Jameison (Oct 79 - April 83)
AVM David Crooks (Apr 83 - Oct 86)
AVM Pat Neville (Oct 1986 - ?)
AVM Paul Adamson
AVM Don Hamilton
AVM Carey Adamson
AVM Bruce Ferguson
AVM John Hamilton

Is that right? I'm not sure of dates of the post-1987 ones.

[phil]

Swap Carey Adamson and and Don Hamilton around, and Bruce Ferguson was never an AVM nor CAF. He went straight from AIRCDR to AM and CDF.

Latest one is of course AVM Graham Lintott.

[phil82]

My time!
AVM Ian Morrison (July 62 - July 1966)
AVM C. Turner (July 66 - July 69)
AVM W. Stratton (July 69 - July 71)
AVM D.F. St. George (July 71 - Sept 74)
AVM Sir Richard Bolt (Sept 74 - Oct 76)
AVM Larry Siegert (Oct 76 - Oct 79)
AVM D. Jameison (Oct 79 - April 83)
Morrison was probably the most influential as we aquired the C130 and Orion, {but not the F111] in his term .Sir Richard Bolt and Larry Siegert still live in Lower Hutt, as does Don Hamilton who is the Arms Officer for the Lower Hutt Police District, David Crooks is still around, and my only claim to fame with Carey Adamson is we were both Flt Lt at the same time! I think I would be correct in saying that Carey was one of our first C130 Captains, and trained in the US. I worked a bit with Pat Neville, who was my boss when I was commissioned, and in Anzuk when he took the boss job of NZ Force . He now lives in Taupo . Pat was unusual in becoming CAS as he was a Navigator. He also spent some time on Sunderlands in the RAF. Dick Bolt is one of nature's gentlemen as anyone who knows him will tell you. Actually, CAS/CAF don't have time to have a lot of influence because the term is too short, and new projects take much longer to formulate and come to fruition than the average length of his term of office. If anything hugely significant happens, it's usually a coincidence. There would be very few major aquisitions that start and finish in three years; Treasury having a built-in ability to stuff up the best laid plans. There's an old military adage that says "No plan survives contact with the enemy", and the same could be said of Treasury.St George probably had a hand in the Andover buy. A nice guy also, who saved me a considerable amount of money when I was an LAC at Ohakea and he the CO! I recall a night in the O Mess at Shelly Bay in the days before 10 'o clock closing, when the party theme was a 'roman night', and everyone, including a visiting Aussie Canberra crew were wandering around in sheets, and then Wg Cdr Dick Bolt turned up. We'd removed all the furniture but offered to get him a bar stool, [we were all very junior officers]which he declined and joined the rest of us on the floor! I guess as a former Lancaster pilot, nothing much surprised him. Personally, I've always found him a bit shy on the occasions I've met him since he retired,, though he is very kind in saying he remembers everyone!

It's a misconception by the way that working in Wellington means rubbing shoulders with the Chief on a daily basis. Unless you actually worked in Air Staff itself it would be a rare and unusual event!

[Dave Homewood]

I guess you're quite right that any plans for development may never come to fruition before they retired. Some of them had fairly short periods at the top.

I think in terms of developing the RNZAF, expansion and addition of roles, it has to be during Goddard's period really. It was then for the first time that we became a modern fighting force. Of course it was through necessity.

My only brush ever with a CAS was while on recruit course, and then-CAS AVM Paul Adamson arrived for an inspection of Woodbourne. Our flight were out on the grass at GSTS having weapons training, and were made to sit cross-legged, arms folded like children when he arrived. We were supposed to look 're;axed' yet 'at attention'.

He wandered around, and I kept think "Please don't talk to me, please don't talk to me..." He stopped, and talked to me! One thing he asked was "Are you getting plenty of spare time to relax?" My answer was "A fair amount Sir." He said good, and walked on.

Afterwards I was bailed up by a hoarde of recruits saying "Why did you tell him we get loads of spare time? He'll be making us do more..." I denied saying we got loads and repeated my statement that we got a 'fair' amount. They then realised that it's actually a damned diplomatic answer, and didn't imply we had lots of spare time on our hands.

After that, no matter which base I wason, I never saw another CAS as far as I recall. Not even on parades. Lots of AOC's and CO,s no CAS's.

[Dave Homewood]

I never realised Bruce Ferguson skipped a rank, I didn't know you could do that.

Has NZ never had an Air Chief Marshal? I know the next rank up from the is Marshal of the RAF, and for the RNZAF in my time that was filled by Prince Phillip, but I think Prince Charles may be the RNZAF's Marshal of the RAF now, isn't he? I'm fairly sure in WWII King George VI was the RNZAF's Marshal of the RAF.

[phil]

Prince Charles holds the rank of Aircdre in the RNZAF, he is our Commodore in Chief.

Here's a few bits of info, some I diddn't know, taken from: www.geocities.com/cox_nz/factsheet6.htm

'The Sovereign and members of the Royal Family are also traditionally given various air force appointments and ranks. Her Majesty The Queen is Air Commodore-in-Chief New Zealand Territorial Air Force.

His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh is the first ever Marshal of the Royal New Zealand Air Force.

His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales holds the appointment of Air Commodore in Chief of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. He had received flying lessons from 1968. He served in the Royal Air Force in 1971, retiring with the rank of flight lieutenant. '

So assuming it is all accurate info, our one and only Marshal of the RNZAF is Prince Philip.


I was impressed with John Hamilton, he came to visit us in the hoist bay, and had taken the time to learn about what we did and had relevent questions relating to the issues at the time regarding cable flat spots. Of course he might have been briefed just before walking in the door, I'm not sure!

[phil82]

There has been at least one post-war Kiwi Marshal of the RAF,Samuel Charles Elworthy, Baron Elworthy of Timaru (1 April 1967), who was so ranked because he was CDS of the UK. I met him once, in uniform!

[RobinK]

The two most profoundly influential were the first, Cochrane; and Morrison (Judy Bailey's father).

In 1937 Cochrane advised the government "All attack on New Zealand must be seaborne, while the risk of air attack is slight......In any case, fighter and gun defence would be out of the question with the money available. It therefore appeared that we should concentrate on providing an efficient force of bombers capable of attacking enemy vessels wherever located......The money available was limited and it was therefore necessary to provide a Force which would be suitable both for reconnaissance and as a striking force, and which would also have a sufficient range to reach Australia and the islands to the north of New Zealand."

That resulted in the purchase of Wellingtons as bombers/reconnaissance, which were left in the UK in 1939 and became 75 Sqn. But the combination of bombers and maritime reconnaissance in various forms remained in place as the basic building-blocks for the next 60+ years, until the strike wing was lost in 2001.

The Strike Wing apart, the shape of the Air Force we now have was put in place by Morrison in the 1960s, so his legacy has lasted a mere 40 years.

No other Chiefs could or would claim such lasting influence as these two have had.

Other snippets.

His Royal Highness the Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, KG, KT, OM, GBE, AC, QSO, psc(n) used to be Marshal of the Royal New Zealand Air Force and, as far as I know, still is.

The Prince of Wales was (and is as far as I know) Air Commodore-in-Chief.

There was one other Royal, in the rank of Honorary Air Commodore, at least as late as 1994 - His Royal Highness Bernhard Leopold Frederick Everhard Julius Coert Karel Gottfried Pieter, the Prince of the Netherlands, Prince of Lippe-Biesterfeld, GCB, GCVO, GBE.

[Peter Lewis]

Of the postwar CAS I'd say Morrison, as he promoted the sea change from the British orientation to the American emphasis.

[steve]

I agree AVM Morrisom for the above reasons and from what i know had to argue the case very srongly. The AVM at the time of of strike wing demise shoud ihave resigned out of principle.

[phil82]

There are, possibly, reasons for someone in that position resigning to show ultimate dissent with a decision disagreed with, but it's never happened, and won't, because it's a futile gesture. They'd simply promote the next senior officer to the job, and carry on. Resigning on principle is rather pointless for the military.It may also sound a bit hackneyed these days, but an Officer's Commission still requires: "you to follow and observe such Orders and Instructions as from time to time you shall receive".

The RNZAF, indeed, all of the armed services, are servants of their political masters, the current Government, and not the other way around.

I was apalled at the decision made by Helen, as was everyone I knew, and that included the CAS at the time., but there was nothing that could be done to stop it. When a PM with an agenda shouts "jump" we all have to say "how high". That's the way it works!

[phil]

Resign? He was too busy playing golf somewhere in the Pacific on DJ2 day.

[phil82]

Well Phil, I thought about the lack of senior officers on the day at Ohakea, but on reflection, and given the atmosphere of the event, I think it was probably wise to stay away.Given the circumstances , I think I might have taken myself off to a golf course! It wouldn't have helped to get into a heated discussion with some of the people I saw there!

I know one guy, retired, who did corner Bruce Fergusson at a Command and Staff Course reunion dinner at Auckland and, very unfairly and inappropriately in my view, took him to task for decisions he hadn't made and were beyond his control. Those attending those dinners have their names drawn out of a hat, balloted in fact, and my guess is one name will never get back into the hat! When I got the story I was amazed that someone hadn't taken him to one side and told him to shut up. Pat Neville was there and, he would have been just the man to do it. Smiling all the time! I think I might have taken him outside and left him there, but that's just me.

[Dave Homewood]

Thanks to those who cleared up the senior (Royal) ranks, it has been a long, long time since my 1989 recruit course, so I was a little muddled.

How much Territorial Air Force is left these days? Just the Central Band of the RNZAF? Or are there bands at the bases still too?

As for most influential CAS's, I agree and it was very interesting to read Cochrane's own words, thanks Robin.

I have interviewed a few WWII veterans who served under Ian Morrison when he was a squadron commander. He was not well liked at all it seems, very unpopular, including for making unwarranted personal attacks on his pilots. I found it quite surprising when hes generally well thought of for his later work in the RNZAF.

[phil]

Some (all??) of the doctors are territorials, as are the Air force ATC staff (that's air traffic control, not the cadets).

[Dave Homewood]

I never knew the doctors were territorials - I guess it makes a heck of a lot of sense as they are not on base all the time. I recall being in hospital at Ohakea and the hospital didn't even have a doctor, they just got in a local GP. I think that was a temporary measure.

As for ATC, I thought they were civvies. I met one who was ATC at Ohakea and she was a civvie, but had a brother in the RNZAF. Interesting as their's would be a full time job, surely?

Are the Air Training Corps officers Territorials too? I know they get a real Commision as I have been rent-a-crowd on one passing out parade for Officer Cadets that had an ATC officer in his 50's getting his stripes.

[phil82]

Doctors used to be on short-service commissions, but I guess the difficulty in recruiting them would have been a problem. I've always wondered why a qualified MD would join the air force anyway; to adminster a bunch of essentially fit and healthy people! It's hardly career or knowlege enhancing practice! You do need one for aircrew I guess, because aviation medicine presents its own particular set of problems, but the rest of us could have got by with your average GP, as I believe Ohakea does these days. I knew one of the very best of RNZAF MOs, Kelvin Bremner. He was the Doctor injured in a landmine accident in Vietnam which killed his medic. Still has a pronounced limp.

[steve]

You are right re the CAS resigning...however something similiar happened in the 1930s within the NZ Army when four full cols, resignhed over lack of funding for the army and caused a hugh stink in the papers. Fat chance of tht happening today and loosing your super etc..