John Mortimer Warfield
John Mortimer Warfield | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | "Johnnie" |
| Born | 26 September 1912 CBE April 1949 January 1946OBE |
Service history
RAF service
Warfield joined the
Promoted to flying officer in August 1932 and flight lieutenant in April 1936, Warfield was appointed as a flight commander with 13 Squadron, before being posted to as a supernumerary officer at the Air Armaments School just three months later. Following his course on 3 July 1937 he was posted as Armament Officer at No. 5 Armament Training Establishment at RAF Penrhos. The following year he was posted overseas to RAF Kalafrana seaplane base on Malta where he was promoted to squadron leader.[1]
In February 1939, just before the Second World War started, Warfield was appointed as Command Armament Staff Officer at HQ Mediterranean Command at RAF Luqa serving under Air Vice Marshal Hugh Lloyd, a post he held until the spring of 1941 when he was promoted to wing commander and appointed as Officer Commanding of the Malta airbase RAF Ta' Qali.[1]
In December 1942 Warfield returned to the UK and was appointed as Officer Commanding No. 226 Squadron RAF flying Douglas Boston III twin-engined bombers from RAF Wattisham in support of the United States Air Force during daylight raids over Germany. In April 1943 Warfield was promoted to temporary rank of group captain and served as the station commander of RAF Wattisham, where he remained until near the end of the war, when he was reverted to the rank of wing commander briefly. When the war finished, he was serving as Senior Officer Administration at Headquarters No 12 Group RAF.[1]
Immediately after the war, Warfield was involved in the conflict with communist guerrilla forces on the Malayan Peninsula that created the Malayan Union. He was posted as Command Armament Officer at Headquarters Far Eastern Air Command. The following year he was promoted to a substantive group captain and appointed as Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) at Air Headquarters Malaya, later moving to Advance AHQ Malaya. In 1950 Warfield returned to the UK as Officer Commanding RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire.[1]
In September 1955 Warfield was promoted to acting air commodore as Air Officer Commanding No. 66 (Scottish) Group RAF. In January 1957 the air commodore rank was made substantive and he was appointed as Air Officer Administration at Headquarters British Forces Arabian Peninsula.[1]
Royal Observer Corps
On 29 June 1959 Warfield took over as Commandant Royal Observer Corps from Air Commodore J. H. T. Simpson.[2] This was Warfield's final service appointment. He retired on 26 June 1961, handing over command to Air Commodore C. M. Wight-Boycott.
Honours and awards
- 28 December 1945 - Officer of the Order of the British Empire.[3]
- 26 April 1949 - Commander of the Order of the British Empire to Acting Group Captain John Mortimer Warfield OBE RAF for distinguished service in Malaya.[4]
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Air Commodore J M Warfield". Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
- ^ "Units directly responsible to Ministry level". rafweb.org. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
- ^ "No. 37407". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1946. p. 34.
- ^ "No. 38593". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 April 1949. p. 2033.