Peter Harding (RAF officer, born 1933)
Sir Peter Harding | |
---|---|
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath |
Early life and education
Harding was born on 2 December 1933 in
RAF career
Harding was commissioned into the Royal Air Force as an acting pilot officer on national service on 3 September 1952[3] and given a permanent commission in the same rank on 15 October 1952.[4] He was promoted to the substantive rank of pilot officer on 12 August 1953[5] and posted to No. 12 Squadron flying Canberra bombers in 1954.[1]
Promoted to flying officer on 10 September 1954,[6] Harding became a qualified flying instructor and flight commander at the Royal Air Force College Cranwell in 1957,[1] before being promoted to flight lieutenant on 10 March 1958.[7] In 1960, he was sent to Australia to serve as a pilot with No. 1 Squadron RAAF flying Canberra bombers again.[1] He attended RAF Staff College in 1963 and was promoted to squadron leader on 1 July 1963.[8]
In 1964, he started a tour in the
After attending the National Defence College at Latimer in 1969,[1] Harding became Director of Air Staff Briefing in 1971.[1] Promoted to group captain on 1 July 1972,[11] he became Station Commander at RAF Bruggen in July 1974.[1] He was appointed aide-de-camp to The Queen on 1 January 1975.[12] Promoted to air commodore on 1 January 1976,[13] he was then made Director of Defence Policy at the Ministry of Defence in 1976 and Assistant Chief of Staff (Plans and Policy) at SHAPE on 18 July 1978.[14] He was promoted to air vice-marshal on 1 January 1979[15] and appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 1980 Birthday Honours.[16]
Harding became Air Officer Commanding
Promoted to Marshal of the Royal Air Force on 6 November 1992,[26] Harding became Chief of Defence Staff on 31 December 1992[27] but he resigned in March 1994 after it was revealed by Max Clifford and the News of the World that, aged 58, he had had an affair with the 32-year-old Bienvenida Pérez, the Spanish wife of Conservative MP Antony Buck.[28][29]
In addition to security concerns, and although Harding was a serving officer rather than a politician, the story was embarrassing to the government as it coincided with a string of "Back to Basics" scandals.[30] Unlike other Marshals of the Royal Air Force who only relinquished their appointments, Harding resigned his commission on 14 June 1994[31] and consequently ceased to be listed in the Air Force List;[32] however, he was subsequently returned to the list.[33]
Later career
After leaving the RAF, Harding was deputy chairman of GEC-Marconi from 1995 to 1998.[1] He was also chairman and chief executive of Merlyn International Associates from 1997 to 2006 and chairman of Thorlock International from 1999 to 2000.[1]
He became a vice-patron of the United Kingdom National Defence Association.[34]
He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science from Cranfield University in 1990.[1]
Personal life
In 1955, Harding married Sheila Rosemary May; they had three sons and one daughter.[1]
Harding died on 19 August 2021.[33]
References
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4081-1414-8
- ^ "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
- ^ "No. 39658". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 September 1952. p. 5190.
- ^ "No. 39707". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 November 1952. p. 6339.
- ^ "No. 39972". The London Gazette (Supplement). 25 September 1953. p. 5168.
- ^ "No. 40276". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 September 1954. p. 5252.
- ^ "No. 41332". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 March 1958. p. 1592.
- ^ "No. 43044". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 June 1963. p. 5638.
- ^ "Sqn Histories 16-20_P". rafweb.org. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
- ^ "No. 44625". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 June 1968. p. 7352.
- ^ "No. 45718". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 July 1972. p. 7981.
- ^ "No. 46469". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 January 1975. p. 874.
- ^ "No. 46786". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 January 1976. p. 208.
- ^ "No. 47593". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 July 1978. p. 8626.
- ^ "No. 47745". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 January 1979. p. 667.
- ^ "No. 48212". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 June 1980. p. 3.
- ^ "No. 48498". The London Gazette (Supplement). 19 January 1981. p. 824.
- ^ "No. 49122". The London Gazette (Supplement). 27 September 1982. p. 12545.
- ^ "No. 49212". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1982. p. 3.
- ^ "No. 50006". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 January 1985. p. 508.
- ^ "No. 50258". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 September 1985. p. 12794.
- ^ "No. 51171". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1987. p. 2.
- ^ "No. 51524". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 November 1988. p. 12504.
- ^ "No. 51543". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 November 1988. p. 13394.
- ^ "London Journal; For 20%, He Sells Scandal, Keeping Britain Agog". New York Times. 21 March 1994.
- ^ "No. 53103". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 November 1992. p. 18862.
- ^ "No. 53184". The London Gazette (Supplement). 25 January 1993. p. 1376.
- S2CID 144781197. Archived from the originalon 29 July 2012.
- ^ "Caretaker defence chief likely to be appointed as successor". The Independent. 15 March 1994. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022.
- ^ "The Major Scandal Sheet". BBC. 27 October 1998.
- ^ "No. 53814". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 October 1994. p. 14206.
- ISBN 0-11-773038-6
- ^ a b "Obituary: Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Peter Harding". The Daily Telegraph. 22 August 2021.
- ^ "UKNDA – Patrons & Vice Presidents" (PDF). UK National Defence Association. 11 September 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 February 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2012.