Nickname(s) Mitch Rank Air chief marshal Education Central Flying School | Role RAF officer Name William Mitchell Allegiance United Kingdom | |
Commands held No. 10 Squadron
12th (Corps) Wing
No. 20 Group
No. 52 (Corps) Wing
No. 3 (Indian) Wing (subsequently redesignated No. 1 (Indian) Wing)
No. 1 Flying Training School
Aden Command
RAF Cranwell
British Forces in Iraq
RAF Middle East Battles/wars World War I
Battle of Loos
Battle of Arras (1917)
Waziristan Awards Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Distinguished Service Order
Military Cross
Air Force Cross
Mention in Despatches (6) Other work Commandant London Air Training Command
Black Rod Died August 15, 1944, City of Westminster, United Kingdom Service/branch British Army, Royal Air Force | ||
Air Chief Marshal Sir William Gore Sutherland Mitchell, (8 March 1888 – 15 August 1944) was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the first RAF officer to hold the post of Black Rod.
RAF career
Commissioned into the Devonshire Regiment in 1906, Mitchell spent his early military years as an infantry subaltern. He attended the Central Flying School in 1913, being awarded his Royal Aero Club Aviator's Certificate no. 483 on 17 May 1913, before becoming a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps. During the First World War he saw rapid advancement, serving as Officer Commanding No. 10 Squadron, Officer Commanding 12th (Corps) Wing and Officer Commanding No. 20 Group.
After the war he moved to India and commanded No. 52 (Corps) Wing and No. 3 (Indian) Wing (subsequently redesignated No. 1 (Indian) Wing). He was appointed Officer Commanding, No. 1 Flying Training School in 1924, Group Captain – Administration at RAF Halton in 1925 and Officer Commanding Aden Command in 1928. He went on to be Director of Training at the Air Ministry in 1929 before being made Air Officer Commanding RAF Cranwell in 1933, Air Officer Commanding British Forces in Iraq in 1934 and Air Member for Personnel in 1937.
Mitchell served in the Second World War as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief RAF Middle East from March 1939, and then Inspector-General of the RAF before retiring in 1941.
In retirement he served as Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod. He held the post of Commandant of London Air Training Command from 1942 until his death in 1944 from a heart attack.