Marshal of the Royal Air ForceSir John Maitland Salmond,GCB, CMG, CVO, DSO &Bar (17 July 1881 – 16 April 1968) was a British military officer who rose to high rank in theRoyal Flying Corps and then theRoyal Air Force. During theFirst World War he served as a squadron commander, a wing commander and then as General Officer Commanding the RAF on theWestern Front towards the end of the war. He went on to be Air Officer CommandingBritish Forces in Iraq in the early 1920s when he halted a Turkish invasion and sought to put down aKurdish uprising againstKing Faisal, the British-sponsored ruler of Iraq. He wasChief of the Air Staff in the early 1930s and bitterly opposed the position taken by British politicians at theWorld Disarmament Conference inGeneva, which would have led to the UK's complete aerial disarmament. In the event the talks broke down whenAdolf Hitler withdrew from the Conference in October 1933.
John Salmond was born the son of Major GeneralSir William Salmond and Emma Mary Salmond (née Hoyle).[1] His siblings included a brother,Geoffrey,[1] and sister,Gwen.[2][3] After first being taught by a series of governesses he then attended Miss Dixon's School inThurloe Square, London.[4] At the age of nine Salmond was sent toAysgarth Preparatory School inYorkshire.[4] In 1894, he went up toWellington College and in 1900 he attended theRoyal Military College, Sandhurst.[1]
After Salmond graduated from Sandhurst with a commission as asecond lieutenant on 8 January 1901,[5] he was transferred to theKing's Own Royal Lancaster Regiment on 9 March 1901.[6] He sailed for South Africa to join his unit, which was engaged in the latter part of theSecond Boer War.[5] In 1902 he applied for a secondment to theWest African Frontier Force but was turned down on the grounds that he was too young: he re-applied the following year and was accepted on 14 November 1903.[7] He was immediately seconded to thecolonial service[8] and then promoted tolieutenant on 5 April 1904.[9] Salmond's time in Africa was cut short as he was pronounced medically unfit and returned to England in November 1906.[10] He was promoted tocaptain on 26 June 1910.[11]
Salmond learned to fly at theCentral Flying School in 1912 and was awardedRoyal Aero Clubcertificate No. 272 on 13 August 1912.[12] Having been seconded to theRoyal Flying Corps, he became a flight commander at the Central Flying School on 12 November 1912[13] and then a squadron commander there on 31 May 1913.[14] In December 1913 he set the solo British altitude record at 13,140 feet.[15] He became Officer CommandingNo. 7 Squadron flyingSopwith Tabloids and theRE8s fromRAF Farnborough[5] with the temporary rank ofmajor on 1 May 1914.[16] He continued in that role during the early weeks of theFirst World War until August 1914, when he became Officer CommandingNo. 3 Squadron on theWestern Front.[5] He wasmentioned in despatches on 8 October 1914[17] and awarded theDistinguished Service Order on 24 March 1915.[18]
Salmond went on to be Officer Commanding the Administrative Wing at RAF Farnborough in April 1915,[19] and having been promoted to the substantive rank of major on 8 January 1916,[20] he became Commander of II Brigade RFC in February 1916,[21] Commander of V Brigade RFC later that month and of VI Brigade RFC in March 1916.[5] He was promoted to brevetlieutenant colonel on 3 June 1916[22] and was appointed aCompanion of the Order of St Michael and St George on 4 June 1917.[23]
Salmond became Commander of the Training Brigade in July 1916 and then, as General Officer Commanding Training Division from August 1917,[5] shortly after being promoted to temporary major general in June,[24] he opened many more flying schools, laid down minimum training standards and introduced new modern teaching methods.[15] He was appointed Director-General of Military Aeronautics at theWar Office on 18 October 1917.[25] Promoted to brevetcolonel on 7 December 1917,[26] Salmond became General Officer Commanding the Royal Flying Corps in the Field (formation subsequently redesignated Royal Air Force in the Field) on 18 January 1918[27] and managed to secure complete air superiority over the German forces.[28] He was appointed aCommander of the Royal Victorian Order on 13 August 1918.[29]
Salmond was appointed an Officer of the FrenchLegion of Honour on 10 October 1918[30] and a Commander of the BelgianOrder of Leopold on 8 November 1918 and was awarded the BelgianCroix de guerre on the same date.[31] He was also appointed aKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath on 1 January 1919[32] and awarded the AmericanDistinguished Service Medal on 15 July 1919[33] and the FrenchCroix de Guerre on 21 August 1919.[34]
Salmond was awarded a permanent commission in the Royal Air Force as a major-general in August 1919 (shortly afterwards redesignated as anair vice marshal).[35] He was made Air Officer Commanding Southern Area in September 1919 and then Air Officer Commanding Inland Area in April 1920.[5] In October 1922 he became Air Officer CommandingIraq Command,[5] in which role, as officer commanding all British forces inIraq,[36] he halted aTurkish invasion[1] and sought to put down aKurdish uprising againstKing Faisal, the British-sponsored ruler of Iraq.[37] Promoted toair marshal on 2 June 1923,[38] he became Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief,Air Defence of Great Britain in January 1925.[5] He was placed on loan to Australian Government in May 1928, where he made an extensive aerial tour of northern Australia.[5][39] before being promoted toair chief marshal[40] and appointedAir Member for Personnel on 1 January 1929.[41]
Salmond was appointedChief of the Air Staff on 1 January 1930.[42] In that role he bitterly opposed the position taken by British politicians at theWorld Disarmament Conference inGeneva which would have led to the UK's complete aerial disarmament.[43] In the event the talks broke down whenHitler withdrew from the Conference in October 1933.[43] Salmond was advanced toKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in the 1931Birthday Honours.[44] Salmond was promoted toMarshal of the Royal Air Force on 1 January 1933[45] and he relinquished the post of Chief of the Air Staff on 1 April 1933.[46] Salmond was succeeded by his older brother, Air Chief MarshalSir Geoffrey Salmond.[46] However, only 27 days later, Geoffrey Salmond died and John Salmond was temporarily re-appointed as Chief of the Air Staff.[47] He stood down for the second and final time on 22 May 1933.[48]
Salmond attended the funeral ofKing George V in January 1936.[49] During theSecond World War, Salmond was Director of Armament Production at theMinistry of Aircraft Production.[5] In the autumn of 1940, he chaired a committee of enquiry into Britain's night air defences; his report was one factor in the removal ofHugh Dowding fromFighter Command.[50] Salmond resigned his post as Director of Armament Production in 1941 after clashing withLord Beaverbrook, theMinister of Aircraft Production immediately acted the post of Director-General of Flying Control and Air Sea Rescue.[5] Ill health forced Salmond to retire in 1943;[5] however he remained President of theRoyal Air Force Club for 23 years and regularly appeared at major RAF events.[1] He became Honorary Air Commodore of No. 3618 (County of Sussex) Fighter Control Unit of theRoyal Auxiliary Air Force on 5 January 1950[51] and attended thecoronation ofQueen Elizabeth II in June 1953.[52] He died atEastbourne inSussex on 16 April 1968.[1]
In 1913, Salmond married Helen Amy Joy Lumsden.[1] Less than three years later, in 1916, Helen Salmond died giving birth to their first child.[1] In 1924, Salmond married for the second time, this time to Hon. Monica Margaret Grenfell; they had a son and a daughter:[1]
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Officer CommandingNo. 3 Squadron 1914–1915 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Officer Commanding the Administrative Wing,RFC 1915 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Officer Commanding2nd Wing 1915–1916 | Succeeded by |
| Vacant Title last held by John Higgins on 15 January 1916 | Officer Commanding theII Brigade RFC 10–16 February 1916 | Succeeded by |
| New title Brigade formed | Officer Commanding theV Brigade RFC February – March 1916 | None Absorbed into VI Brigade |
| Unknown | Officer Commanding theVI Brigade RFC Command retitled Officer Commanding the Training Brigade in July 1916 1916–1917 | Enlarged to Training Division in June 1917 |
| New title Division formed from Training Brigade | General Officer Commanding theTraining Division, RFC June – October 1917 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Director-General of Military Aeronautics 1917–1918 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | General Officer Commanding theRoyal Flying Corps in the Field Post retitledGOC theRAF in the Field on 1 April 1918 1918–1919 | Post disestablished |
| Preceded by Amyas Borton As Officer Commanding Iraq Group | Air Officer CommandingIraq Command 1922–1924 | Succeeded by |
| New title | Commander-in-ChiefAir Defence of Great Britain 1925–1928 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Air Member for Personnel 1929–1930 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chief of the Air Staff 1930–1933 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Sir Geoffrey Salmond | Chief of the Air Staff 1933 | Succeeded by |
| Notes and references | ||
| 1. A list of Salmond's military appointments can be found in Probert, Henry (1991).High Commanders of the Royal Air Force. London: HMSO. p. 103.ISBN 0-11-772635-4. | ||
