Alasdair Steedman

Air Chief Marshal Sir Alasdair McKay Sinclair Steedman, GCB, CBE, DFC, FRAeS (29 January 1922 – 2 January 1992) was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force.

Sir Alasdair Steedman
Born(1922-01-29)29 January 1922
Died2 January 1992(1992-01-02) (aged 69)
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchRoyal Air Force
Years of service1942–1981
RankAir Chief Marshal
Commands heldAir Member for Supply and Organisation (1976–77)
RAF Staff College, Bracknell (1972–75)
Chief of the Malaysian Air Staff (1965–67)
RAF Lyneham (1962–64)
Royal Ceylon Air Force Base Katanayake (1957–59)
No. 8 Squadron (1949–51)
No. 39 Squadron (1948–49)
Battles/warsSecond World War
AwardsKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Distinguished Flying Cross
Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air
Companion of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (Malaya)
Commander of the Order of Polonia Restituta (Poland)

RAF career

Steedman joined the Royal Air Force in 1942 and served as a pilot during the Second World War.[1] He was appointed Officer Commanding No. 39 Squadron in 1948 and Officer Commanding No. 8 Squadron in 1949.[1] He went on to be Station Commander at Royal Ceylon Air Force Base Katanayake in 1957 and after a tour on the Directing Staff at the Joint Services Staff College from 1960 he became Station Commander at RAF Lyneham in 1962.[1] From 1965 to 1967 he was Chief of the Air Staff of the Royal Malaysian Air Force.[1] He was made Director of Defence Plans (Air) in 1967, Director of the Defence Operations Staff in 1968 and Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Policy) in 1969.[1] He went on to be Senior Air Staff Officer at Headquarters RAF Strike Command in 1971, Commandant of the RAF Staff College, Bracknell, in 1972 and Air Member for Supply and Organisation in 1976.[1] In October 1977, on promotion to air chief marshal, Steedman took up his last appointment as the UK Military Representative to NATO.[1]

Retirement and later life

After retiring in 1981, Steedman took up position as the Controller of the RAF Benevolent Fund until 1988.[1] He was also Chairman of the Royal International Air Tattoo between 1981 and 1988.[2]

References

Military offices
Preceded by
Cyril West
Chief of the Air Staff of the Royal Malaysian Air Force
1965–1967
Succeeded by
Sulaiman Sujak
Preceded by
Michael Beetham
Commandant of the RAF Staff College, Bracknell
1972–1975
Succeeded by
Keith Williamson
Preceded by
Sir Anthony Heward
Air Member for Supply and Organisation
1976–1977
Succeeded by
Sir John Nicholls
Preceded by
Sir David Fraser
UK Military Representative to NATO
1977–1980
Succeeded by
Sir Anthony Morton
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.