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{{Short description|Senior commander in the Royal Air Force}} | |||
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}} | {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}} | ||
{{Infobox military person | {{Infobox military person | ||
|name= Sir Thomas Elmhirst | |name= Sir Thomas Elmhirst | ||
|image= | |image= Royal_Air_Force-_Operations_in_the_Middle_East_and_North_Africa,_1939-1943._CM4259.jpg | ||
|caption= | |image_size= | ||
|alt= | |||
|caption= Elmhirst (second from right) with other senior officers of the Desert Air Force | |||
|nickname= | |nickname= | ||
|birth_date= {{birth date|1895|12|15|df=yes}} | |birth_date= {{birth date|1895|12|15|df=yes}} | ||
| Line 9: | Line 12: | ||
|death_date= {{death date and age|1982|11|06|1895|12|15|df=yes}} | |death_date= {{death date and age|1982|11|06|1895|12|15|df=yes}} | ||
|death_place= [[Dummer, Hampshire]], England | |death_place= [[Dummer, Hampshire]], England | ||
|allegiance= | |placeofburial= | ||
|branch= | |allegiance= United Kingdom | ||
|serviceyears= | |branch= [[Royal Navy]] (1908–18)<br/>[[Royal Air Force]] (1918–1950) | ||
|serviceyears= 1908–1950 | |||
|rank= [[Air Marshal]] | |rank= [[Air Marshal]] | ||
|servicenumber= | |||
|unit= | |unit= | ||
|commands= [[Chief of Air Staff (India)| | |commands= [[Chief of Air Staff (India)|Royal Indian Air Force]] (1947–50)<br/>[[AHQ Egypt]] (1942–43)<br/>[[No. 202 Group RAF|No. 202 Group]] (1941–42)<br/>[[RAF Abingdon]] (1935–37, 1939–40)<br/>[[RAF Leconfield]] (1939)<br/>[[No. 14 Squadron RAF|No. 14 Squadron]] (1934–35) | ||
|battles= [[First World War]]<br/>[[Second World War]] | |battles= [[First World War]]<br/>[[Second World War]] | ||
|awards= [[Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire]]<br/>[[Companion of the Order of the Bath]]<br/>[[Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)|Air Force Cross]]<br/>[[Order of Saint John (chartered 1888)|Knight of the Order of St John]]<br/>[[Mentioned in Despatches]] (4)<br/>[[Order of the Crown (Belgium)|Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown]] (Belgium)<br/> | |awards= [[Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire]]<br/>[[Companion of the Order of the Bath]]<br/>[[Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)|Air Force Cross]]<br/>[[Order of Saint John (chartered 1888)|Knight of the Order of St John]]<br/>[[Mentioned in Despatches]] (4)<br/>[[Order of the Crown (Belgium)|Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown]] (Belgium)<br/>[[Croix de Guerre (Belgium)|Croix de Guerre]] (Belgium)<br/>[[Commander of the Legion of Merit]] (United States)<br/>[[Legion of Honour|Commander of the Legion of Honour]] (France)<br/>[[Croix de guerre 1939–1945 (France)|Croix de Guerre]] (France) | ||
|spouse= Katherine Gordon Black (m. 1930–65; her death)<br/>[[Marian Montagu Douglas Scott|Marian Ferguson]] (m. 1968–82; his death) | |spouse= Katherine Gordon Black (m. 1930–65; her death)<br/>[[Marian Montagu Douglas Scott|Marian Ferguson]] (m. 1968–82; his death) | ||
|relations= [[Leonard Knight Elmhirst]] (brother) | |relations= [[Leonard Knight Elmhirst]] (brother) | ||
|laterwork= | |laterwork= | ||
}} | }} | ||
[[Air Marshal]] '''Sir Thomas Walker Elmhirst''', {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|KBE|CB|AFC|DL}} (15 December 1895 – 6 November 1982) | [[Air Marshal]] '''Sir Thomas Walker Elmhirst''', {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|KBE|CB|AFC|DL}} (15 December 1895 – 6 November 1982) was a senior commander in the [[Royal Air Force]] in the first half of the 20th century and the first commander-in-chief of the [[Royal Indian Air Force]] upon Indian independence in August 1947, in which post he organised the funeral of [[Mahatma Gandhi]] following his assassination in 1948. He later became the Lieutenant-Governor and Commander-in-Chief of [[Guernsey]] from 1953 to 1958. | ||
==Family== | ==Family== | ||
Thomas Elmhirst was born on 15 December 1895 to Reverend William Heaton Elmhirst (b. 1856) and Mary Elmhirst ([[née]] Knight | Thomas Elmhirst was born on 15 December 1895 to Reverend William Heaton Elmhirst (b. 1856) and Mary Elmhirst ([[née]] Knight; b. 1863),{{CN|date=December 2024}} a [[landed gentry]] family in [[Yorkshire]], where the family seat is [[Houndhill]]. He was the fourth of eight boys and had one younger sister. The children were: | ||
*Captain William Elmhirst ( | *Captain William Elmhirst (1892–1916), killed on 13 November 1916 while serving with the 8th Battalion [[East Yorkshire Regiment]] during the [[Battle of the Somme]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/593481/elmhirst,-/|title = Captain W Elmhirst | War Casualty Details}}</ref> | ||
*[[Leonard Knight Elmhirst]] (1893–1974), a noted philanthropist and educational reformer who married [[Dorothy Payne Whitney]] | *[[Leonard Knight Elmhirst]] (1893–1974), a noted philanthropist and educational reformer who married [[Dorothy Payne Whitney]]{{CN|date=December 2024}} | ||
*Second Lieutenant Ernest Christopher "Christie" Elmhirst (1895–1915), killed on 7 August 1915 while serving with the 8th | *Second Lieutenant Ernest Christopher "Christie" Elmhirst (1895–1915), killed on 7 August 1915 while serving with the 8th Battalion [[Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment)]] during the [[Gallipoli campaign]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/695747/elmhirst,-ernest-christopher/|title = Second Lieutenant Ernest Christopher Elmhirst | War Casualty Details}}</ref> | ||
*Thomas Elmhirst (1895–1982) | *Thomas Elmhirst (1895–1982) | ||
*James Victor Elmhirst (1898–1958) | *James Victor Elmhirst (1898–1958){{CN|date=December 2024}} | ||
*Richard Elmhirst ( | *Richard Elmhirst (1900–1978)<ref name="Lewis">{{cite news|last1=Lewis|first1=Stephen|title=Extraordinary account of life in the First World War|url=http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/features/history/10965727.Extraordinary_account_of_life_in_the_First_World_War/|access-date=29 March 2016|work=The Press|publisher=York Press Co.|date=27 January 2014}}</ref> | ||
*Alfred O. Elmhirst ( | *Alfred O. Elmhirst (1901–1995)<ref name="Lewis"/> of [[Houndhill]] | ||
*Irene Rachel Elmhirst (b. 1902)<ref name="Lewis"/> | *Irene Rachel Elmhirst (b. 1902)<ref name="Lewis"/> | ||
==Military career== | ==Military career== | ||
Elmhirst studied at the [[Osborne Stable Block|Royal Naval Colleges]] at Osborne, [[Isle of Wight]] in 1908, and at [[Britannia Royal Naval College|Dartmouth]] in [[Devon]].<ref name="Janus">{{Cite web|title=The Papers of Air Marshal Sir Thomas Elmhirst|url=https://archivesearch.lib.cam.ac.uk/repositories/9/resources/1550 | Elmhirst studied at the [[Osborne Stable Block|Royal Naval Colleges]] at Osborne, [[Isle of Wight]] in 1908, and at [[Britannia Royal Naval College|Dartmouth]] in [[Devon]].<ref name="Janus">{{Cite web|title=The Papers of Air Marshal Sir Thomas Elmhirst|url=https://archivesearch.lib.cam.ac.uk/repositories/9/resources/1550|work=ArchiveSearch|publisher=Churchill Archives Centre Cambridge University}}</ref> | ||
===First World War=== | ===First World War=== | ||
In April 1912, Elmhirst joined his first ship, {{HMS|Cornwall|1902|6}}.<ref name="Papers"/> He was commissioned as a midshipman in the [[Royal Navy]] in 1913 and was posted to {{HMS|Indomitable|1907|6}} in the [[1st Battlecruiser Squadron (United Kingdom)|1st Battlecruiser Squadron]] under [[David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty|David Beatty]].<ref name=air>[http://www.rafweb.org/Biographies/Elmhirst.htm Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Marshal Sir Thomas Elmhirst]</ref> When war came he served on HMS ''Indomitable'' as the ship took part in the initial bombardment of the Turkish [[Dardanelles]] forts and the [[Battle of Dogger Bank (1915)|Battle of Dogger Bank]],<ref name=air/> where he commanded 'X Gun Turret', the last one to fire at the German ship {{SMS|Blücher}} before it sank. In 1915 he was selected to be in the first draft of the [[Royal Naval Air Service]] where he served until the end of the First World War. He celebrated the armistice by flying an airship (SSZ73) under the [[Menai Bridge]] with his friend [[Gordon Campbell (VC)|Gordon Campbell]] as his passenger. By 1917, he was promoted to flight lieutenant and by March 1918 to major, commanding the [[RNAS Anglesey|Naval Airship Patrol Station on Anglesey]] in [[Wales]].<ref name="Papers"/> He then became part of the newly formed [[Royal Air Force]] in 1919.<ref name=air/> | In April 1912, Elmhirst joined his first ship, {{HMS|Cornwall|1902|6}}.<ref name="Papers"/> He was commissioned as a midshipman in the [[Royal Navy]] in 1913 and was posted to {{HMS|Indomitable|1907|6}} in the [[1st Battlecruiser Squadron (United Kingdom)|1st Battlecruiser Squadron]] under [[David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty|David Beatty]].<ref name=air>[http://www.rafweb.org/Biographies/Elmhirst.htm Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Marshal Sir Thomas Elmhirst]</ref> When war came he served on HMS ''Indomitable'' as the ship took part in the initial bombardment of the Turkish [[Dardanelles]] forts and the [[Battle of Dogger Bank (1915)|Battle of Dogger Bank]],<ref name=air/> where he commanded 'X Gun Turret', the last one to fire at the German ship {{SMS|Blücher}} before it sank. In 1915 he was selected to be in the first draft of the [[Royal Naval Air Service]] where he served until the end of the First World War. He celebrated the armistice by flying an airship (SSZ73) under the [[Menai Bridge]] with his friend [[Gordon Campbell (VC)|Gordon Campbell]] as his passenger. By 1917, he was promoted to flight lieutenant and by March 1918 to major, commanding the [[RNAS Anglesey|Naval Airship Patrol Station on Anglesey]] in [[Wales]].<ref name="Papers"/> He then became part of the newly formed [[Royal Air Force]] in 1919.<ref name=air/> | ||
Between the wars | Between the wars Elmhirst trialled the first [[gyroscopic compass]] for aircraft in the RAF and became [[Air Attaché]] to Turkey in the run up to the Second World War.<ref name=air/> In January 1940 returned to the [[Air Ministry]] as [[RAF Intelligence|Deputy Director of Intelligence]].<ref name=air/> | ||
===Second World War=== | ===Second World War=== | ||
During the Second World War | During the Second World War Elmhirst ran the [[operations room]] at [[RAF Uxbridge]] during the [[Battle of Britain]]. He then commanded the Egypt Command Group under Air Marshal Tedder before becoming second-in-command of the [[Desert Air Force]].<ref name=air/> He continued in this role through the battle of Alamein until after the Allied invasion of [[Sicily]]. He was then second-in-command of British Air Forces in North West Europe until the end of the war,<ref name=air/> serving in [[D-Day]], [[Normandy]], the [[Ardennes]] and the advance across the France and Germany. Finally he became [[RAF Intelligence|Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Intelligence)]] in August 1945.<ref name=air/> | ||
===Post war=== | ===Post war=== | ||
In July 1947, as India approached independence, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru invited Air Marshal Elmhirst to become the first Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Indian Air Force. Elmhirst accepted the position on the condition that the RIAF be established as an independent service under the Ministry of Defence, and that he be permitted to select a team of senior RAF officers to assist in the transition. Nehru agreed to these terms, and Elmhirst formally assumed command on 15 August 1947.<ref>{{cite web |last=Gupta |first=Anchit |title=30 Days That Shaped the IAF: Selecting Its Inaugural Chief |url=https://iafhistory.in/2022/12/20/30-days-that-shaped-the-iaf-selecting-its-inaugural-chief/ |website=IAFHistory |date=20 December 2022 |access-date=5 May 2025}}</ref> | |||
In 1953, | In 1953, Elmhirst ran [[Operation Totem]], the first British [[nuclear bomb]] land tests in [[Emu Field]], Australia.<ref name=air/> Later in 1953 he became the [[Lieutenant-Governor of Guernsey]], welcoming [[Queen Elizabeth II]] on her inaugural tour of the island as the new monarch. He held the post for five years, retiring in 1958. | ||
==Personal life== | ==Personal life== | ||
Elmhirst married firstly Katherine Gordon Black, daughter of William Black, on 16 December 1930,<ref>Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 1, page 562.</ref> and had two children before Katherine's death in 1965: | |||
*Roger Elmhirst (1935–1999) | *Roger Elmhirst (1935–1999){{CN|date=December 2024}} | ||
*Caroline Jane Elmhirst (b. 1932), | *Caroline Jane Elmhirst (b. 1932),{{CN|date=December 2024}} who married Michael Frazer Mackie<ref name="Papers">{{cite web|title=The Papers of Air Marshal Sir Thomas Elmhirst|url=https://janus.lib.cam.ac.uk/db/node.xsp?id=EAD%2FGBR%2F0014%2FELMT%205%2F11|website=janus.lib.cam.ac.uk|publisher=Janus|access-date=29 March 2016}}</ref> | ||
On 30 October 1968, he married [[Marian Louisa Montagu Douglas Scott|Marian Ferguson]] (née Montagu Douglas Scott), widow of [[Colonel (United Kingdom)|Colonel]] Andrew Henry Ferguson. Marian was the daughter of [[Lord Herbert Montagu Douglas Scott]] and [[Marie Josephine Edwards]], and the granddaughter of [[William Montagu Douglas Scott, 6th Duke of Buccleuch|The 6th Duke of Buccleuch]] and [[Louisa Montagu Douglas Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch|Lady Louisa Hamilton]]. From Marian's first marriage, she was the paternal grandmother of [[Sarah | On 30 October 1968, he married [[Marian Louisa Montagu Douglas Scott|Marian Ferguson]] (née Montagu Douglas Scott), widow of [[Colonel (United Kingdom)|Colonel]] Andrew Henry Ferguson. Marian was the daughter of [[Lord Herbert Montagu Douglas Scott]] and [[Marie Josephine Edwards]], and the granddaughter of [[William Montagu Douglas Scott, 6th Duke of Buccleuch|The 6th Duke of Buccleuch]] and [[Louisa Montagu Douglas Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch|Lady Louisa Hamilton]]. From Marian's first marriage, she was the paternal grandmother of [[Sarah Ferguson]], and maternal great-grandmother of [[Princess Beatrice of York]] and [[Princess Eugenie of York]]. Together they lived at Dummer Down House, at Dummer in [[Basingstoke]], [[Hampshire|Hants]], her [[dower]] estate from her first marriage.{{CN|date=December 2024}} | ||
Thomas Elmhirst died at [[Dummer, Hampshire]], on 6 November 1982, in his 87th year. He was survived by his second wife, and his children and grandchildren from his first marriage.<ref name="Papers"/> | Thomas Elmhirst died at [[Dummer, Hampshire]], on 6 November 1982, in his 87th year. He was survived by his second wife, and his children and grandchildren from his first marriage.<ref name="Papers"/> | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
{{reflist | {{reflist}} | ||
{{s-start}} | {{s-start}} | ||
| Line 79: | Line 84: | ||
{{s-new|reason=Redesignated from Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Air Force}} | {{s-new|reason=Redesignated from Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Air Force}} | ||
{{s-ttl|title=Commander in Chief, [[Indian Air Force]] | {{s-ttl|title=Commander in Chief, [[Indian Air Force]] | ||
|years= | |years=January–February 1950}} | ||
{{s-aft|after=[[Ronald Ivelaw-Chapman|Sir Ronald Ivelaw-Chapman]]}} | {{s-aft|after=[[Ronald Ivelaw-Chapman|Sir Ronald Ivelaw-Chapman]]}} | ||
|- | |- | ||
| Line 100: | Line 105: | ||
[[Category:1982 deaths]] | [[Category:1982 deaths]] | ||
[[Category:Commanders of the Legion of Merit]] | [[Category:Commanders of the Legion of Merit]] | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:Commanders of the Legion of Honour]] | ||
[[Category:Companions of the Order of the Bath]] | [[Category:Companions of the Order of the Bath]] | ||
[[Category:Grand Officers of the Order of the Crown (Belgium)]] | [[Category:Grand Officers of the Order of the Crown (Belgium)]] | ||
| Line 107: | Line 112: | ||
[[Category:People from Barnsley]] | [[Category:People from Barnsley]] | ||
[[Category:Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)]] | [[Category:Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)]] | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:British recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France)]] | ||
[[Category:Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium)]] | [[Category:Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium)]] | ||
[[Category:Royal Air Force air marshals of World War II]] | [[Category:Royal Air Force air marshals of World War II]] | ||
| Line 113: | Line 118: | ||
[[Category:Royal Naval Air Service personnel of World War I]] | [[Category:Royal Naval Air Service personnel of World War I]] | ||
[[Category:Royal Navy officers]] | [[Category:Royal Navy officers]] | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:Air attachés for the United Kingdom]] | ||
[[Category:Graduates of Britannia Royal Naval College]] | [[Category:Graduates of Britannia Royal Naval College]] | ||
[[Category:People educated at the Royal Naval College, Osborne]] | [[Category:People educated at the Royal Naval College, Osborne]] | ||
[[Category:Military personnel from Yorkshire]] | [[Category:Military personnel from South Yorkshire]] | ||
[[Category:People from Dummer, Hampshire]] | [[Category:People from Dummer, Hampshire]] | ||
[[Category:Chiefs of Air Staff (India)]] | [[Category:Chiefs of the Air Staff (India)]] | ||
Latest revision as of 00:33, 19 February 2026
Sir Thomas Elmhirst | |
|---|---|
 Elmhirst (second from right) with other senior officers of the Desert Air Force | |
| Born | 15 December 1895 Yorkshire, England |
| Died | 6 November 1982 (aged 86) Dummer, Hampshire, England |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/ | Royal Navy (1908–18) Royal Air Force (1918–1950) |
| Years of service | 1908–1950 |
| Rank | Air Marshal |
| Commands held | Royal Indian Air Force (1947–50) AHQ Egypt (1942–43) No. 202 Group (1941–42) RAF Abingdon (1935–37, 1939–40) RAF Leconfield (1939) No. 14 Squadron (1934–35) |
| Battles/wars | First World War Second World War |
| Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companion of the Order of the Bath Air Force Cross Knight of the Order of St John Mentioned in Despatches (4) Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Croix de Guerre (Belgium) Commander of the Legion of Merit (United States) Commander of the Legion of Honour (France) Croix de Guerre (France) |
| Spouse(s) | Katherine Gordon Black (m. 1930–65; her death) Marian Ferguson (m. 1968–82; his death) |
| Relations | Leonard Knight Elmhirst (brother) |
Air Marshal Sir Thomas Walker Elmhirst, KBE, CB, AFC, DL (15 December 1895 – 6 November 1982) was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force in the first half of the 20th century and the first commander-in-chief of the Royal Indian Air Force upon Indian independence in August 1947, in which post he organised the funeral of Mahatma Gandhi following his assassination in 1948. He later became the Lieutenant-Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Guernsey from 1953 to 1958.
Family[edit | edit source]
Thomas Elmhirst was born on 15 December 1895 to Reverend William Heaton Elmhirst (b. 1856) and Mary Elmhirst (née Knight; b. 1863),[citation needed] a landed gentry family in Yorkshire, where the family seat is Houndhill. He was the fourth of eight boys and had one younger sister. The children were:
- Captain William Elmhirst (1892–1916), killed on 13 November 1916 while serving with the 8th Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment during the Battle of the Somme[1]
- Leonard Knight Elmhirst (1893–1974), a noted philanthropist and educational reformer who married Dorothy Payne Whitney[citation needed]
- Second Lieutenant Ernest Christopher "Christie" Elmhirst (1895–1915), killed on 7 August 1915 while serving with the 8th Battalion Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment) during the Gallipoli campaign[2]
- Thomas Elmhirst (1895–1982)
- James Victor Elmhirst (1898–1958)[citation needed]
- Richard Elmhirst (1900–1978)[3]
- Alfred O. Elmhirst (1901–1995)[3] of Houndhill
- Irene Rachel Elmhirst (b. 1902)[3]
Military career[edit | edit source]
Elmhirst studied at the Royal Naval Colleges at Osborne, Isle of Wight in 1908, and at Dartmouth in Devon.[4]
First World War[edit | edit source]
In April 1912, Elmhirst joined his first ship, HMS Cornwall.[5] He was commissioned as a midshipman in the Royal Navy in 1913 and was posted to HMS Indomitable in the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron under David Beatty.[6] When war came he served on HMS Indomitable as the ship took part in the initial bombardment of the Turkish Dardanelles forts and the Battle of Dogger Bank,[6] where he commanded 'X Gun Turret', the last one to fire at the German ship Template:SMS before it sank. In 1915 he was selected to be in the first draft of the Royal Naval Air Service where he served until the end of the First World War. He celebrated the armistice by flying an airship (SSZ73) under the Menai Bridge with his friend Gordon Campbell as his passenger. By 1917, he was promoted to flight lieutenant and by March 1918 to major, commanding the Naval Airship Patrol Station on Anglesey in Wales.[5] He then became part of the newly formed Royal Air Force in 1919.[6]
Between the wars Elmhirst trialled the first gyroscopic compass for aircraft in the RAF and became Air Attaché to Turkey in the run up to the Second World War.[6] In January 1940 returned to the Air Ministry as Deputy Director of Intelligence.[6]
Second World War[edit | edit source]
During the Second World War Elmhirst ran the operations room at RAF Uxbridge during the Battle of Britain. He then commanded the Egypt Command Group under Air Marshal Tedder before becoming second-in-command of the Desert Air Force.[6] He continued in this role through the battle of Alamein until after the Allied invasion of Sicily. He was then second-in-command of British Air Forces in North West Europe until the end of the war,[6] serving in D-Day, Normandy, the Ardennes and the advance across the France and Germany. Finally he became Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Intelligence) in August 1945.[6]
Post war[edit | edit source]
In July 1947, as India approached independence, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru invited Air Marshal Elmhirst to become the first Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Indian Air Force. Elmhirst accepted the position on the condition that the RIAF be established as an independent service under the Ministry of Defence, and that he be permitted to select a team of senior RAF officers to assist in the transition. Nehru agreed to these terms, and Elmhirst formally assumed command on 15 August 1947.[7]
In 1953, Elmhirst ran Operation Totem, the first British nuclear bomb land tests in Emu Field, Australia.[6] Later in 1953 he became the Lieutenant-Governor of Guernsey, welcoming Queen Elizabeth II on her inaugural tour of the island as the new monarch. He held the post for five years, retiring in 1958.
Personal life[edit | edit source]
Elmhirst married firstly Katherine Gordon Black, daughter of William Black, on 16 December 1930,[8] and had two children before Katherine's death in 1965:
- Roger Elmhirst (1935–1999)[citation needed]
- Caroline Jane Elmhirst (b. 1932),[citation needed] who married Michael Frazer Mackie[5]
On 30 October 1968, he married Marian Ferguson (née Montagu Douglas Scott), widow of Colonel Andrew Henry Ferguson. Marian was the daughter of Lord Herbert Montagu Douglas Scott and Marie Josephine Edwards, and the granddaughter of The 6th Duke of Buccleuch and Lady Louisa Hamilton. From Marian's first marriage, she was the paternal grandmother of Sarah Ferguson, and maternal great-grandmother of Princess Beatrice of York and Princess Eugenie of York. Together they lived at Dummer Down House, at Dummer in Basingstoke, Hants, her dower estate from her first marriage.[citation needed]
Thomas Elmhirst died at Dummer, Hampshire, on 6 November 1982, in his 87th year. He was survived by his second wife, and his children and grandchildren from his first marriage.[5]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ "Captain W Elmhirst | War Casualty Details".
- ↑ "Second Lieutenant Ernest Christopher Elmhirst | War Casualty Details".
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Lewis, Stephen (27 January 2014). "Extraordinary account of life in the First World War". The Press. York Press Co. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
- ↑ "The Papers of Air Marshal Sir Thomas Elmhirst". ArchiveSearch. Churchill Archives Centre Cambridge University.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "The Papers of Air Marshal Sir Thomas Elmhirst". janus.lib.cam.ac.uk. Janus. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Marshal Sir Thomas Elmhirst
- ↑ Gupta, Anchit (20 December 2022). "30 Days That Shaped the IAF: Selecting Its Inaugural Chief". IAFHistory. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
- ↑ Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 1, page 562.
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Frank Inglis |
Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Intelligence) 1945–1947 |
Succeeded by Lawrence Pendred |
| Preceded by Sir Hugh Walmsley As AOC in C, RAF India |
Air Officer Commander-in-Chief, Air Forces in India 1947–1948 |
Post upgraded |
| New title Indian Air Force became an independent service
|
Commander in Chief, Royal Indian Air Force 1948–1950 |
Succeeded by Himself Redesignated as Commander-in-Chief, Indian Air Force in January 1950, after India became a republic |
| New title Redesignated from Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Air Force
|
Commander in Chief, Indian Air Force January–February 1950 |
Succeeded by Sir Ronald Ivelaw-Chapman |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded by Sir Philip Neame |
Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey 1953–1958 |
Succeeded by Sir Geoffrey Robson |
Template:Heads of RAF Intelligence
.svg)
| Chief of the Air Staff and Commander-in-Chief, Indian Air Force (1950–1955) |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Chief of the Air Staff (1955–present) |
| |
(**Seconded from the Royal Air Force) | ||