Air Chief Marshal Sir Edmund Cuthbert Hudleston, GCB, CBE, ADC (30 December 1908 – 14 December 1994) was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force.[1]
Sir Edmund Hudleston | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Phoenix |
| Born | 30 December 1908 Kalgoorlie, Western Australia |
| Died | 14 December 1994 (aged 85) East Sussex |
| Buried | Greystoke, Cumbria |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service | Royal Air Force |
| Years of service | 1927–67 |
| Rank | Air Chief Marshal |
| Commands | Allied Air Forces Central Europe (1963–64) Transport Command (1962–63) Vice-Chief of the Air Staff (1957–62) No. 3 Group (1953–56) No. 1 Group (1950–51) No. 84 Group (1944–46) |
| Battles / wars | North-West Frontier Second World War Suez Crisis |
| Awards | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Order of the British Empire Mentioned in Despatches (5) Commander of the Legion of Merit (United States) Commander of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Croix de guerre (Belgium) Grand Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau (Netherlands) Officer of the Legion of Honour (France) Croix de Guerre (France) |
RAF career
editThe son of the Rev Cuthbert Hudleston, sometime Archdeacon of Perth, Western Australia[2] Hudleston was born in Kalgoorlie and educated at Guildford Grammar School in Western Australia, Hudleston joined the Royal Air Force in 1927.[3] He served as an armament officer in India before attending the RAF Staff College, Andover in 1938.[3] During World War II he served in various senior staff officer positions at RAF Middle East Command and Desert Air Force before being appointed Air Officer Commanding No. 84 Group in 1944.[3]
After the war, Hudleston attended the Imperial Defence College before becoming Head of the UK Military Delegation to the Western European Union Military Staff's Committee in 1948 and Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans & Policy at Headquarters SHAPE in 1951.[3] He was made Air Officer Commanding No. 3 Group in 1953 and then became an instructor at the Imperial Defence College in 1956 before being appointed Chief of Staff (Air) for Operation Musketeer, the operation to recover the Suez Canal.[3] He went on to be Vice-Chief of the Air Staff in 1957, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at RAF Transport Command in 1962 and Commander of Allied Air Forces Central Europe in 1963.[3] He is last appointment was as Deputy Commander-in-Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe in 1964 before retiring in 1967.[3]
In retirement he became a Director at the Optical Division of Pilkington Brothers.[3]
Family
editIn 1936 he married Nancye Davis; they had one son, Anthony, from whom three grandchildren, Marina, Nicholas & Valerie and one daughter, Sally from whom two grandchildren, Cecilia & Lucinda.[4] Following the death of Nancye in 1980, he married Brenda Withrington.[4] She died in 2020.[5]
References
edit- ^ "Hudleston, Edmund Cuthbert". Who's Who & Who Was Who. Vol. 1920–2016 (February 2018 online ed.). A & C Black. Retrieved 10 February 2018. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ Air Chief Marshal Sir Edmund Hudleston. The Times (London, England), Monday, 2 January 1995; pg. 15; Issue 65153
- ^ a b c d e f g h Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Chief Marshal Sir Edmund Hudleston
- ^ a b Obituary: Air Chief Marshal Sir Edmund Hudleston The Independent, 11 January 1995
- ^ Hudleston
Further reading
edit- Grounds, Eric. The Quiet Australian: The Story of Teddy Hudleston, the RAF's Troubleshooter for 20 Years. Memoirs Publishing. ISBN 9781861514783.