# Commandant Royal Observer Corps

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Commandant_Royal_Observer_Corps
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Commandant_Royal_Observer_Corps.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commandant_Royal_Observer_Corps
> Source revision: 1356238030
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2018}}
thumb|right|170px|ROC Badge
The '''Commandant of the Royal Observer Corps''' ('''CROC''') was the [Royal Air Force](/source/Royal_Air_Force) commander of the [Royal Observer Corps](/source/Royal_Observer_Corps).  All the holders of the post were RAF officers in the rank of [Air Commodore](/source/Air_Commodore), initially retired reserve officers then Auxiliary officers and, since the end of World War II, serving officers. The ROC was a uniformed civilian branch initially under the control of the [Air Defence of Great Britain](/source/Air_Defence_of_Great_Britain) organization, then [Fighter Command](/source/RAF_Fighter_Command) and latterly [Strike Command](/source/RAF_Strike_Command).  The Royal Observer Corps existed from 1925 until it was stood down in 1995. Most of the commandants, with only three exceptions, were qualified RAF [pilot](/source/aviator)s, two being [air navigator](/source/navigator)s and the other a General Duties (Ground) Supply Branch officer. If a Royal Observer Corps officer had ever held the appointment, they would have held the rank of ''Observer Commodore''.

The origins of the ROC go back to Metropolitan Observation Service of [World War I](/source/World_War_I) which was founded by [Air Vice Marshal Edward Ashmore](/source/Edward_Ashmore_(British_Army_officer)).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rafweb.org/Biographies/Ashmore.htm |title=Maj Gen Ashmore |first=M. B. |last=Barrass |website=Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation}}</ref> However, Ashmore never held the post of ROC Commandant. The first two commandants were recently retired RAF Air Commodores, the next two were Auxiliary Air Force officers and the remainder were serving RAF officers. The last three commandants held the appointment in addition to their primary appointment as Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) at Headquarters [No. 11/18 Group RAF](/source/No._11%2F18_Group_RAF), which was colocated with HQROC at [RAF Bentley Priory](/source/RAF_Bentley_Priory).

The organisation had started as the volunteer civilian Observer Corps in 1925 and became the uniformed Royal Observer Corps in 1941 as part of the RAF in recognition of their invaluable services during the Battle of Britain. Despite several attempts by the [Home Office](/source/Home_Office) in the 1950s, 1960s and the 1980s to take over the organisation and dispense with the RAF uniform the ROC remained part of [RAF Fighter Command](/source/RAF_Fighter_Command) and later [RAF Strike Command](/source/RAF_Strike_Command) until they were stood down in 1995 as a result of the [Communist Bloc](/source/Communist_Bloc) breaking up and the [Cold War](/source/Cold_War) nuclear threat on the UK being removed.

==Commandants in chronological order==
thumb|right|Edward Masterman, first Commandant ROC
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="text-align: center; background: #B0C4DE" 
| Order
| Date of appointment 
| Name of Commandant
| Final rank at RAF retirement
|- style="text-align: center"
| 1st
| 1 March 1929 
| [E A D Masterman](/source/Edward_Masterman)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rafweb.org/Biographies/Masterman.htm |title=E A D Masterman |first=M. B. |last=Barrass |website=Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation}}</ref>
| Air Commodore 
|- style="text-align: center"
| 2nd
| 1 March 1936 
| [A D Warrington-Morris](/source/Alfred_Warrington-Morris)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rafweb.org/Biographies/Warrington-Morris.htm |title=A Warrington-Morris |first=M. B. |last=Barrass |website=Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation}}</ref>
| Air Commodore
|- style="text-align: center"
| 3rd
| 1 June 1942 
| [G H Ambler](/source/Geoffrey_Ambler)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rafweb.org/Biographies/Ambler.htm |title=G A Ambler |first=M. B. |last=Barrass |website=Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation}}</ref>
| [Air Vice-Marshal](/source/Air_Vice-Marshal)
|- style="text-align: center"
| 4th
| 23 June 1943 
| [F Crerar](/source/Finlay_Crerar)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rafweb.org/Biographies/Crerar_F.htm |title=F Crerar |first=M. B. |last=Barrass |website=Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation}}</ref>
| Air Commodore
|- style="text-align: center"
| 5th
| 7 October 1945 
| [Percy Bernard, 5th Earl of Bandon](/source/Percy_Bernard%2C_5th_Earl_of_Bandon)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rafweb.org/Biographies/Bandon.htm |title=5th Earl Bandon |first=M. B. |last=Barrass |website=Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation}}</ref>
| [Air Chief Marshal](/source/Air_Chief_Marshal)
|- style="text-align: center"
| 6th
| 1 February 1949 
| [R B Jordan](/source/Richard_Jordan_(RAF_officer))<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rafweb.org/Biographies/Jordan.htm |title=R Jordan |first=M. B. |last=Barrass |website=Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation}}</ref>
| [Air Marshal](/source/Air_Marshal)
|- style="text-align: center"
| 7th
| 20 March 1951 
| [G H Vasse](/source/Gordon_Vasse)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rafweb.org/Biographies/Vasse.htm |title=G H Vasse |first=M. B. |last=Barrass |website=Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation}}</ref>
| Air Commodore
|- style="text-align: center"
| 8th
| 29 March 1954 
| [J H T Simpson](/source/John_Herbert_Thomas_Simpson)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rafweb.org/Biographies/Simpson_JHT.htm |title=J H T Simpson |first=M. B. |last=Barrass |website=Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation}}</ref>
| Air Commodore
|- style="text-align: center"
| 9th
| 29 June 1959 
| [J M Warfield](/source/John_Mortimer_Warfield)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rafweb.org/Biographies/Warfield.htm |title=J M Warfield |first=M. B. |last=Barrass |website=Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation}}</ref>
| Air Commodore
|- style="text-align: center"
| 10th
| 29 May 1961 
| [C M Wight-Boycott](/source/Cathcart_Wight-Boycott)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rafweb.org/Biographies/Wight-Boycott.htm |title=C Wight-Boycott |first=M. B. |last=Barrass |website=Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation}}</ref>
| Air Commodore
|- style="text-align: center"
| 11th
| 3 June 1964 
| [J H Greswell](/source/Jeaffreson_Greswell)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rafweb.org/Biographies/Greswell_JH.htm |title=J H Greswell |first=M. B. |last=Barrass |website=Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation}}</ref>
| Air Commodore
|- style="text-align: center"
| 12th
| 28 June 1968 
| [D F Rixson](/source/Denis_Rixson)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rafweb.org/Biographies/Rixson.htm |title=D F Rixson |first=M. B. |last=Barrass |website=Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation}}</ref>
| Air Commodore
|- style="text-align: center"
| 13th
| 4 January 1971 
| [E B Sismore](/source/Edward_Sismore)
| Air Commodore
|- style="text-align: center"
| 14th
| 24 May 1973 
| [R K Orrock](/source/Roy_Orrock)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rafweb.org/Biographies/Orrock.htm |title=R K Orrock |first=M. B. |last=Barrass |website=Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation}}</ref>
| Air Commodore
|- style="text-align: center"
| 15th
| 8 November 1975 
| [M H Miller](/source/Michael_Horace_Miller)
| Air Commodore
|- style="text-align: center"
| 16th
| 23 April 1977 
| [J F G Howe](/source/John_F._G._Howe)
| [Air Vice-Marshal](/source/Air_Vice-Marshal)
|- style="text-align: center"
| 17th
| 12 April 1981 
| [R J Offord](/source/Raymond_Offord)
| Air Commodore
|- style="text-align: center"
| 18th
| 19 February 1983 
| [G P Black](/source/George_Black_(RAF_officer))
| [Air Vice-Marshal](/source/Air_Vice-Marshal)
|- style="text-align: center"
| 19th
| 28 September 1984 
| [J Broughton](/source/Jack_Broughton_(RAF_officer))
| Air Commodore
|- style="text-align: center"
| 20th
| 5 December 1986 
| [I Horrocks](/source/Ian_Horrocks_(RAF_officer))
| Air Commodore
|- style="text-align: center"
| 21st
| 22 December 1989 
| [G M Boddy](/source/George_Boddy)
| Air Commodore
|- style="text-align: center"
| 22nd
| 1 Apr 1992 
| [M P Donaldson](/source/Michael_Donaldson_(RAF_officer))
| [Air Vice Marshal](/source/Air_Vice_Marshal)
|- style="text-align: center"
| 23rd
| 1 Feb 1993 
| [C R Spink](/source/Cliff_Spink)
| [Air Marshal](/source/Air_Marshal)
|- style="text-align: center"
| 24th<br>and last
| 16 June 1995 
| [M K Widdowson](/source/Martin_Widdowson)
| Air Commodore
|- style="text-align: center"
| -
| 31 March 1996 
| '''''ROC Stood Down'''''
| -
|}

==Commandant's insignia==
<gallery>
Image:UK-Air-OF6.svg|Air Commodore rank braid
Image:UK-Air-OF6-Flag.svg|Commandant's Pennant, flown on staff car's front wing when on RAF Stations and in ROC compounds
Image:RAF star plate OF-6.svg|Commandant's star plate displayed on the staff car's front bumper
</gallery>

==See also==
*[Royal Observer Corps](/source/Royal_Observer_Corps)
*[United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation](/source/United_Kingdom_Warning_and_Monitoring_Organisation)

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*{{cite web |url=https://www.rafweb.org/Organsation/Grp09.htm |title=Units directly responsible to Ministry level: Royal Observer Corps |website=Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation}}

Category:Royal Air Force appointments
Category:Royal Observer Corps
Category:People of the Royal Observer Corps

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Commandant Royal Observer Corps](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commandant_Royal_Observer_Corps) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commandant_Royal_Observer_Corps?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.