Erik Bennett (Royal Air Force officer)

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Sir Erik Bennett
Companions of the Order of the Bath

CVO (3 September 1928 – 28 January 2022) was a Royal Air Force officer who subsequently became Commander of the Sultan of Oman's Air Force and an adviser to Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said
.

Early life

Bennett was born on 3 September 1928,[1] and educated at The King's Hospital school in Dublin.[2] Late of Glebe House, Donaghmore, Co. Laois.

Royal Air Force

Bennett was commissioned as a

Flight Lieutenant on 13 June 1953.[5] On 1 January 1954 he was awarded the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air.[6]

He became a

King Hussein of Jordan in the early 1970s.[10] Alan Duncan says Bennett was picked for this role by Conservative minister Julian Amery.[11]

Sultan of Oman's Air Force

In May 1973, as officer in command of

Dhofar Rebellion, and held this position until 1990.[13]
He appears to have remained in the British RAF throughout this assignment.

By December 1975, Bennett was ranked as an

Air Commodore and had apologised in November that year for "disobeying orders" when he wrongly authorised a British military pilot on loan to Oman to fly a sortie 100 km over the border into South Yemen. The pilot, Squadron leader Robin Renton, had undertaken photographic reconnaissance of Al Ghaydah Airport in an Omani Hawker Hunter jet which developed "engine seizure" on the return journey, forcing him to eject and sustain spinal injury.[14] Other sources say Renton was shot down by anti-aircraft guns.[15]

The incident caused some tension between Bennett and Kenneth Perkins, Commander Sultan of Oman's Armed Force. Perkins claimed Bennett was "too close" to Sultan Qaboos. Britain's ambassador to Oman, Charles James Treadwell, said removing Bennett from Oman ahead of schedule would "certainly meet with the Sultan's resistance and in the end do us more harm than good. It should not be forgotten that it is extremely difficult for Perkins to have as Commander of his air wing an officer who is as much a political animal, using his access to and influence with the Sultan, as an experienced technical administrative officer."[16]

Bennett stayed in Oman and was made a

Air Marshal, although subsequent listings in official records described him as an Air Vice-Marshal.[19]

Adviser to Sultan Qaboos

Bennett continued working in Oman after retiring from military service and became the principal adviser to Sultan Qaboos in 1992.

Qais al-Zawawi, was killed in the accident, but Bennett recovered in hospital.[21]
Journalist Marie Colvin described Bennett as "one of Oman's (and Britain's) best-kept secrets: the key figure in a group of elderly former military and intelligence officers who help the Sultan to run his rich, strategically vital country at the mouth of the Gulf." Bennett attended the funeral of former British Conservative minister Julian Amery in December 1996.[22]

Bennett organised the annual meeting of the Sultan's Privy Council, where British dignitaries would advise Qaboos on policy issues such as economic reform, security and foreign policy.[23]

On 16 May 2007, Bennett had lunch with Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, who was Chief of the Defence Staff at the UK's Ministry of Defence.[24] On 22 February 2010, Bennett attended a service of thanksgiving for the life of Major General Kenneth Perkins on behalf of The Sultan of Oman, at St Luke's Church in Chelsea. The King of Jordan was also represented at the service.[25]

In November 2010, while on a Royal visit to Muscat, the Queen awarded Bennett the Insignia of a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order and later that same day "invested The Sultan of Oman with the Royal Victorian Chain."[26] On 15 June 2012, Bennett was listed an "adviser to The Sultan" when he attended a lunch with Sultan Qaboos and the Queen at Buckingham Palace, together with Foreign Secretary William Hague MP.[27] Bennett was one of more than 800 guests approved by Margaret Thatcher to attend her funeral in 2013.[28]

On 12 January 2016, Bennett was visited in Oman by Sir

Christopher Geidt, the Queen's Private Secretary. On 12 April 2016, Bennett had lunch with Sir Alan Duncan in London. On 7 January 2017, Bennett attended the Sultan's Privy Council. On 22 September 2017, Bennett had lunch with Sir Alan Duncan
in Rutland. Bennett attended the Sultan's Privy Council on 6 January 2018 and 5 January 2019.

Personal life and death

Bennett suffered from a fall in 2019 and recovered by late April.[29] He died on 28 January 2022, at the age of 93.[30][31]

References

  1. ^ Alan Duncan, In The Thick Of It, William Collins, 2021
  2. ^ Sunday Times, Marie Colvin, Oman draws a veil over mystery car crash Briton, 17 September 1995
  3. ^ Issue 38209 Page 1118, London Gazette, 13 February 1948.
  4. ^ Issue 38935, page 2828, London Gazette, 6 June 1950.
  5. ^ Issue 39966, page 5051, London Gazette, 18 September 1953.
  6. ^ Issue 40053, page 34, London Gazette, 29 December 1953.
  7. ^ Issue 41586, page 7950, London Gazette, 26 December 1958.
  8. ^ Issue 43701, page 6297, London Gazette, 29 June 1965.
  9. ^ Issue 45417, page 7208, London Gazette, 5 July 1971.
  10. ^ Telegraph Sultan Qaboos bin Said, long-serving ruler of Oman and ally of the West – obituary, 11 January 2020.
  11. ^ Alan Duncan, In The Thick Of It, William Collins, 2021
  12. ^ FCO 8/2025, Proposed air defence system for Oman, UK National Archives, 1973.
  13. ^ Telegraph Sultan Qaboos bin Said, long-serving ruler of Oman and ally of the West – obituary, 11 January 2020.
  14. ^ FCO 8/2474, Military operations in Oman, UK National Archives, 1975-76.
  15. ^ Aviation Safety Netowrk
  16. ^ FCO 8/2474, Military operations in Oman, UK National Archives, 1975-76.
  17. ^ Issue 49768, page 2, London Gazette, 16 June 1984.
  18. ^ Issue 52173, page 7, London Gazette, 15 June 1990.
  19. ^ Issue 52629, page 12337, London Gazette, 12 August 1991.
  20. ^ Alan Duncan, In The Thick Of It, William Collins, 2021
  21. ^ Sunday Times, Marie Colvin, Oman draws a veil over mystery car crash Briton, 17 September 1995
  22. ^ The Times, Lord Amery of Lustleigh, 4 December 1996
  23. ^ Declassified UK Phil Miller, ‘Colonialism never ended’: The elite British cabal propping up a Gulf dictatorship, 20 April 2021.
  24. ^ Cabinet Office, List of hospitality received by board members of government departments, 1 January-31 December 2007.
  25. ^ The Times, Memorial service: Major General Kenneth Perkins, 23 February 2010.
  26. ^ Court Circular, November 2010.
  27. ^ The Times, Court Circular, 16 June 2012.
  28. ^ Sunday Times, Friends and foes gather for the final hustings, David Leppard, James Gillespie and Georgia Graham, 14 April 2013.
  29. ^ Alan Duncan, In The Thick Of It, William Collins, 2021
  30. ^ "Air Vice Marshal Sir Erik Bennett death notice". The Times. 9 February 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  31. ^ "Air Vice-Marshal Sir Erik Bennett obituary". The Times. 17 February 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
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