Michael Beetham

Sir Michael James Beetham
Beetham as a Flight Lieutenant during WWII
Born	17 May 1923 (1923-05-17) (age 88) London, England
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Air Force
Years of service	1941–1982
Rank	Marshal of the Royal Air Force
Commands held	Chief of the Air Staff Second Tactical Air Force RAF Staff College RAF Khormaksar No. 214 Squadron
Battles/wars	World War II Battle of Berlin Aden Emergency Falklands War
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Order of the British Empire Distinguished Flying Cross Air Force Cross

Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Michael James Beetham GCB, CBE, DFC, AFC, DL (b. 17 May 1923) is a former World War II bomber pilot and a high-ranking commander in the Royal Air Force from the 1960s to the 1980s.

At present, Beetham is one of only four people holding his Service's most senior rank and excluding Prince Philip's honorary rank, Beetham has the longest time in rank, making him the senior Marshal of the Royal Air Force.^[1]

Early life

Beetham was born in London and educated at St Marylebone Grammar School.^[2]

World War II

As a young man he witnessed the Battle of Britain from the ground which prompted him to join the RAF in May 1941. He was promoted to Leading Aircraftman on 19 June 1942,^[3] and promoted from Pilot Officer to Flying Officer in the RAFVR on 13 June 1943.^[4]

Following flying training in the United States and Great Britain, he was assigned flying duties with 50 Squadron just prior to the Battle of Berlin. During the Battle, Beetham flew his Lancaster on bombing missions over Berlin 10 times. In a raid over Augsburg he lost an engine and he survived the Nuremberg Raid in which many Bomber Command aircraft were destroyed. In February 1944, whilst Beetham was on a training flight, one of his aircraft's engines caught fire. Beetham and his crew bailed out, landing by parachute near East Kirkby; Beetham then joined the Caterpillar Club.^[2]

In May 1944 Beetham was posted to a flying instruction role. Beetham returned to operation duties with 57 Squadron just as the war in Europe was coming to an end. He was involved in dropping supplies to the Dutch and in the repatriation of prisoners-of-war. As an Acting Flight Lieutenant in the RAFVR, Beetham was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross on 6 June 1944,^[5] and was promoted to Flight Lieutenant on 13 December 1944.^[6]

Post-war career

In November 1945, just after the end of World War II, Beetham was posted to No. 35 Squadron which was then selected to carry out the victory fly-past and conduct a good-will tour of the United States.^[2] He was granted a permanent commission in the RAF on 1 September 1945 in the rank of Flying Officer,^[7] and was promoted to Flight Lieutenant on 1 July 1946^[8] with seniority from 13 June 1945.^[9] He was promoted to Squadron Leader on 1 January 1952.^[10]

In 1953, Beetham was posted to the Air Ministry's Operational Requirements Branch. Much of his time was taken up with the problems of bringing the V-bombers into service. Notably, Beetham also drafted the first specification for the TSR 2. Beetham's next appointment was as the Personal Staff Officer to Task Force Commander of Operation Buffalo. The open-air nuclear test explosions witnessed by Beetham led him to the view that it would never be possible to limit the extent of a nuclear war.^[11]

Beetham was promoted to Wing Commander on 1 January 1958^[12] and he then took up the post of Officer Commanding No. 214 Squadron. In July 1959 Wing Commander Beetham captained the first aircraft, a Valiant bomber, to fly non-stop from the United Kingdom to Cape Town.^[13] He was awarded the Air Force Cross in the 1960 New Year Honours.^[14]

Khormaksar

After several staff tours during which time he was promoted to group captain, Beetham was appointed Station Commander RAF Khormaksar (in Aden) in November 1963. At the time of his arrival, Khormaksar was the RAF's largest overseas base and markedly overcrowded. That December saw the start of a major terrorist campaign against British forces in Aden (the Aden Emergency) and over the next two years Beetham spent considerable time dealing with the security of his overcrowded station. However the security problems did not prevent the aircraft based at Khormaksar being used on operations in the neighbouring region of Radfan.^[15]

Air officer appointments

He left Khormaksar in 1967 as an air officer and more senior appointments followed. These included Director of Strike Operations in 1969, Commandant of the RAF Staff College at Bracknell in 1970, Assistant Chief of Staff (Plans and Policy) at SHAPE in 1972, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Strike Command in 1975 and Commander-in-Chief RAF Germany and the Second Tactical Air Force in 1976.^[16]

Chief of the Air Staff

Beetham's final tour saw him appointed as the Chief of the Air Staff. As the professional head of his Service, Beetham defended the decision to introduce the strike version of the Tornado and supported the introduction of the Airborne Early Warning Nimrod which was later cancelled. He also worked to build up the RAF's reserve forces. Towards the end of his tenure as Chief of the Air Staff, the Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands occurred. At the time Beetham was acting Chief of the Defence Staff and as such he was involved in the decision to send the Task Force to the South Atlantic.^[17] When Beetham relinquished his appointment in October 1982 he had served for more than five years, making him the longest serving Chief of the Air Staff since Trenchard.

Later life

The Michael Beetham Conservation Centre at the RAF Museum Cosford.

As a Marshal of the Royal Air Force, Beetham remains on the RAF's Active List,^[1] although for practical purposes he retired in 1982. In the 1980s Beetham was Chairman of GEC Avionics. In 1989 he was made a deputy lieutenant of the County of Norfolk.^[18] Michael Beetham holds the appointment of Honorary Air Commodore of No 2620 Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force Regiment.^[19] He is President of the Society of Friends of the RAF Museum.^[20] The Museum's conservation centre is named the Michael Beetham Conservation Centre in his honour. Beetham is also President of the Bomber Command Association.

In 2005, Beetham took part in his second flypast over London, this time as part of the celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II. He joined the crew of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Lancaster bomber prior to its take off from Duxford.^[21]

Beetham has written the foreword to three books:

• Bombs Gone: Development and Use of British Air-dropped Weapons from 1912 to Present Day - Patrick Stephens Ltd (1990)
• In Cobhams' Company - Published by Cobham Plc (1994)
• The Strategic War Against Germany - Frank Cass Publishers (1998)

In 2010 Beetham spent time working with the author Peter Jacobs on a biography entitled "Stay the Distance: The Life and Times of Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Michael Beetham". The book was published in February 2011.^[22]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} The Air Force List, 2006. HMSO ISBN 0-11-773038-6
2. ^ ^{a b c} Probert, p. 85
3. ^ London Gazette: no. 35940. p. 1249. 19 June 1942.
4. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 36104. p. 3332. 13 June 1943.
5. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 36550. p. 2699. 6 June 1944.
6. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 36862. p. 5949. 13 December 1944.
7. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 37668. p. 3875. 20 April 1989.
8. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 37758. p. 5081. 1 July 1946.
9. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 37892. p. 977. 13 June 1945.
10. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 39429. p. 60. 1 January 1952.
11. ^ Probert, p. 86
12. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 41266. p. 7594. 1 January 1958.
13. ^ Records set by the RAF, Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation. Retrieved on 13 January 2007.
14. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 41909. p. 35. 31 December 1959.
15. ^ Probert, p. 87
16. ^ Probert, p. 137
17. ^ Probert, p. 89
18. ^ London Gazette: no. 51709. p. 4703. 20 April 1989.
19. ^ Sir Michael Beetham, Marshal of the Royal Air Force visited No 2620 Squadron, RAF Marham. Retrieved on 13 January 2007.
20. ^ History, RAF Museum. Retrieved on 13 January 2007.
21. ^ WWII Lancaster veteran to fly over London once more Ministry of Defence, 9 July 2005
22. ^ Stay the Distance: The Life and Times of Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Michael Beetham Amazon Books

• Jacobs, Peter (2011). Stay the Distance: The Life and Times of Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Michael Beetham. Frontline Books. ISBN 978-1848325524
• Probert, H. (1991). High Commanders of the Royal Air Force. HMSO. ISBN 0-11-772635-4

Military offices
Preceded by N M Maynard	Commandant RAF Staff College 1970–1972	Succeeded by A McK S Steedman
Preceded by Sir Peter Horsley	Deputy Commander-in-Chief RAF Strike Command 1975–1976	Succeeded by Sir John Stacey
Preceded by N M Maynard	Commander-in-Chief RAF Germany Also Commander of the Second Tactical Air Force 1976–1977	Succeeded by Sir John Stacey
Preceded by Sir Neil Cameron	Chief of the Air Staff 1977–1982	Succeeded by Sir Keith Williamson

Persondata
Name	Beetham, Michael
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	17 May 1923
Place of birth	London, England
Date of death
Place of death