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Wing Commander

Willie Read

MC DFC AFC**
Birth nameWilliam Ronald Read
Born(1885-05-17)17 May 1885
Died1972
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service / branchBritish Army (1906–18)
Royal Air Force (1918–32)
Years of service1906–1932
RankWing Commander
CommandsRAF Boscombe Down
RAF Upavon
No. 216 Squadron RAF
No. 104 Squadron RFC
Battles / warsFirst World War
AwardsMilitary Cross
Distinguished Flying Cross
Air Force Cross & Two Bars

Wing Commander William Ronald Read, MC, DFC, AFC** (17 May 1885[1] − 1972[2]) was a highly decorated Royal Air Force (RAF) officer of the First World War and the inter-war period. A pre-war member of the Royal Flying Corps (which became the RAF in 1918), he is one of only twelve officers to have so far received a second Bar to the Air Force Cross, signifying three awards of the medal.

Early life and career

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Read came from a wealthy family[2] and was the eldest son of W. T. Read of Hampstead.[3] Both his parents died when he was twelve and he and his siblings were raised by guardians.[2] He was educated at Jesus College, Cambridge.[1][2]

Read was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Hampshire Carabiniers, a yeomanry (part-time volunteer cavalry) regiment, on 23 September 1906.[4] On 6 March 1907, after leaving Cambridge, he transferred to the 1st (King's) Dragoon Guards, a regular regiment.[5] After obtaining his pilot's licence in April 1913,[1][6] Read was seconded to the Royal Flying Corps as a pilot on 28 April 1914[7] and joined No. 3 Squadron RFC.[6] He was promoted lieutenant on 14 June 1914.[8]

First World War

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Read accompanied his squadron to France in August 1914.[6] He was wounded in December 1914. On 8 February 1915, he was appointed a flight commander in the Royal Flying Corps with the temporary rank of captain.[9][10][11] In December 1915 he was sent home to organise No. 45 Squadron RFC, returning to France in command in April 1916.[2] He was awarded the Military Cross on 1 January 1916,[12] and promoted to the substantive rank of captain on 19 August 1917.[13] In April 1917, disillusioned with heavy losses and with his superiors, he requested and received a transfer back to his regiment.[2] He did not much enjoy it, however, and returned to the RFC as the first commanding officer of No. 104 Squadron RFC, a bomber unit, in September 1917 with the acting rank of major.[14]

Read was awarded the Air Force Cross (AFC) on 1 January 1919,[15] and the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) on 3 June 1919 for services in France.[16]

Post-war

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After the war Read remained in the Royal Air Force (RAF) with the rank of flight lieutenant, although technically still on attachment from his regiment.[17] He served in Palestine with No. 216 Squadron from 1919 to 1921,[6] and received a Bar to his AFC on 12 July 1920.[18] By October 1921, he had been promoted to squadron leader in the RAF, although still holding the rank of captain in the army,[19] and was in command of No. 216 Squadron.[1]

On 17 November 1921, Read finally transferred from the army to a permanent commission in the RAF.[20] He was awarded a second bar to his AFC in the 1922 New Year Honours.[21] He was promoted wing commander on 1 January 1924.[22][23] Having previously been commander of an apprentices' wing at RAF Halton,[1] in January 1928 he became station commander of RAF Upavon,[24][25] and he was appointed first commander of RAF Boscombe Down in September 1930.[6][25][26] In March 1931, he was appointed Inspector of Recruiting for the RAF.[6] He retired on 17 May 1932, his 47th birthday.[1][27]

Personal life

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In December 1915, Read became engaged to Marjory Masters, daughter of an army chaplain.[3] However, he seems to have never actually married.[2] He was an amateur steeplechase rider, riding in many races,[28] and tennis player.[29]

Read's wartime diaries and papers are held by the Imperial War Museum.

Footnotes

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "Wing Commander Read Retires", The Times, 21 May 1932
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Linda R. Robertson, The Dream of Civilized Warfare: World War I Flying Ages and the American Imagination, University of Minnesota Press, 2003
  3. ^ a b "Forthcoming Marriages", The Times, 7 December 1915
  4. ^ "No. 27967". The London Gazette. 13 November 1906. p. 7630.
  5. ^ "No. 28001". The London Gazette. 5 March 1907. p. 1575.
  6. ^ a b c d e f "RAF Recruiting", The Times, 4 April 1931
  7. ^ "No. 28831". The London Gazette. 15 May 1914. p. 3927.
  8. ^ "No. 28840". The London Gazette. 16 June 1914. p. 4702.
  9. ^ "No. 29075". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 February 1915. p. 1711.
  10. ^ "No. 30307". The London Gazette (Supplement). 25 September 1917. p. 9950.
  11. ^ "No. 30394". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 November 1917. p. 12104.
  12. ^ "No. 29438". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 January 1916. p. 585.
  13. ^ "No. 30322". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 October 1917. p. 10252.
  14. ^ "No. 104 Squadron", The Times, 16 December 1935
  15. ^ "No. 31098". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1918. p. 97.
  16. ^ "No. 31378". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 May 1919. p. 7032.
  17. ^ "No. 31879". The London Gazette. 27 April 1920. p. 4850.
  18. ^ "No. 31974". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 July 1920. p. 7422.
  19. ^ "No. 32487". The London Gazette. 14 October 1921. p. 8103.
  20. ^ "No. 32719". The London Gazette. 13 June 1922. p. 4478.
  21. ^ "No. 32563". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1921. p. 10719.
  22. ^ "No. 32893". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1924. p. 2.
  23. ^ Flight, 3 January 1924
  24. ^ "Two Flying Officers Killed", The Times, 6 June 1928
  25. ^ a b "New Air Station", The Times, 26 September 1930
  26. ^ "RAF Command at Upavon", The Times, 16 September 1930
  27. ^ "No. 33826". The London Gazette. 17 May 1932. p. 3223.
  28. ^ "Racing", The Times, 10 February 1925
  29. ^ "The Army and RAF Championships", The Times, 14 July 1925
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