List of Royal Air Force personnel

This article lists those members of the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom who have become either nationally or internationally famous. This could either be due to commanding squadrons or higher formations in memorable operations, by being awarded high honours or by gaining fame subsequent to their RAF service.

Notable Royal Air Force personnel

Hugh Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard – founding father of the RAF
Arthur Tedder, 1st Baron Tedder – WWII RAF Commander, deputy to Eisenhower who received Germany's surrender at the end of the war in Europe, post-war Chief of Air Staff
Hugh Dowding, 1st Baron Dowding – Commanding officer or RAF Fighter Command before WWII, developer of Dowding system used during Battle of Britain
Sir Arthur "Bomber" Harris – C-in-C RAF Bomber Command during World War II
Sir Douglas Bader – Amputee and fighter pilot & POW during Battle of Britain
Sir Keith Park – New Zealander – AOC No. 11 Group RAF during Battle of Britain
Sir Frank Whittle – Co-inventor of the turbojet
Guy Gibson – Dambusters raid leader and VC holder
Leonard Cheshire – Charity founder and VC holder
Henry Allingham – World War I veteran and last surviving founder member of the RAF
David Henderson – founding father of the Royal Air Force.^[1]

Notable people who previously served in the RAF

Richard Attenborough – Actor and director
Pam Ayres – Poet, TV & Radio presenter
David Bailey (photographer)
Ralph Barker – Writer
Errol Walton Barrow – First Prime Minister of Barbados
Alan Bates – Actor
Raymond Baxter – Television presenter and commentator
Tony Benn – British politician
Frank Bossard – MI6 personnel who spied for the USSR
Richard Burton – Actor, served as a navigator
Brian Blessed – Actor
Arthur C. Clarke – Science fiction author
Alex Coomber – Bronze medalist in the 2002 Winter Olympics.
Roald Dahl – Author. A flying ace who rose to the rank of Wing Commander
Hilary Devey – Dragons Den – WRAF Air Traffic Control Assistant
Denholm Elliott – Actor
Fred Feast – Actor (Coronation Street), served as a Physical Training Instructor (PTI)^[2]
Bruce Forsyth – Entertainer and show host; served between 1947 and 1949 under National Service^[3]
Bruce Barrymore Halpenny-British military historian and Author, served Royal Air Force Police
Tony Hancock – Comic actor (RAF Regiment)
Rex Harrison – Actor, reached the rank of Flight Lieutenant
Rollo Hayman – Rhodesian farmer and politician
Godfrey Hounsfield – Nobel laureate and co-inventor of Computed tomography.
George Hutchinson – Professional footballer
Peter Imbert – Police Officer, served Royal Air Force Police
T. E. Lawrence – 'Lawrence of Arabia'. Enlisted first as Aircraftman J.H Ross, and later as Aircraftman T.E Shaw
Peter Larter – England rugby player
Christopher Lee – Actor, reached the rank of Flight Lieutenant
Laurence Meredith – Survived 1000 foot parachute-less fall in 1942, Louis Mountbatten staff officer, RAF India historian. United Press International reporter.
Warren Mitchell – Actor
Bob Monkhouse – Entertainer, comedian, game show host
Patrick Moore – Astronomer, broadcaster and author
Frank Muir – Comic writer
Alex Murphy (rugby league) Great Britain rugby league player
Peter Sellers – Comedian and actor, gained the NCO rank of Corporal
Josef Singer (1923–2009) – Israeli President of Technion – Israel Institute of Technology
Ian Smith – Rhodesian Prime Minister; reached the rank of Flight Lieutenant during Second World War service
Billy Strachan, pioneer of black civil rights in Britain, anti-colonial activist, leading British communist
Norman Tebbit – Lord Tebbit, Politician. A member of the Conservative Party
Gordon Turnbull – psychiatrist
Rory Underwood – England rugby player
Michael Ventris^[4] – deciphered Linear B script
Tony Walton – set/costume designer, director
Martin Whitcombe – England 'B' rugby player
Bill Wyman- Bass player, Rolling Stones
Jeff Young (rugby player) – Welsh rugby player

References

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