# Lewis Hodges > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Lewis_Hodges > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Lewis_Hodges.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Hodges > Source revision: 1352236440 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Royal Air Force Air Chief Marshal (1918–2007)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}} {{Infobox military person |honorific_prefix = [Sir](/source/Sir) |name= Lewis Hodges |image= LewisHodgesImage.jpg |caption= |nickname= "Bob" |birth_date= {{birth date|1918|3|1|df=y}} |birth_place= [Richmond](/source/Richmond%2C_London), England |death_date= {{Death date and age|2007|1|4|1918|3|1|df=y}} |burial_place= |allegiance= United Kingdom |branch= [Royal Air Force](/source/Royal_Air_Force) |service_years= 1937–1976 |rank= [Air Chief Marshal](/source/Air_Chief_Marshal) |commands= [Air Member for Personnel](/source/Air_Member_for_Personnel) (1970–1973)
[Air Support Command](/source/RAF_Air_Support_Command) (1968–1970)
[RAF Marham](/source/RAF_Marham) (1956–1959)
[No. 357 (Special Duties) Squadron](/source/No._357_Squadron_RAF) (1944–1945)
[No. 161 (Special Duties) Squadron](/source/No._161_Squadron_RAF) (1943–1944) |battles= Second World War * [European theatre](/source/European_Theatre_of_World_War_II) * [South-East Asian theatre](/source/South-East_Asian_theatre_of_World_War_II) |awards= [Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath](/source/Knight_Commander_of_the_Order_of_the_Bath)
[Commander of the Order of the British Empire](/source/Commander_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire)
[Distinguished Service Order](/source/Distinguished_Service_Order) & [Bar](/source/Medal_bar)
[Distinguished Flying Cross](/source/Distinguished_Flying_Cross_(United_Kingdom)) & Bar
[Mentioned in Despatches](/source/Mentioned_in_Despatches)
[Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour](/source/Legion_of_Honour) (France)
[Croix de guerre](/source/Croix_de_guerre_1939%E2%80%931945_(France)) (France) | |other_work= }} [Air Chief Marshal](/source/Air_Chief_Marshal) '''Sir Lewis Macdonald Hodges''', {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|KCB|CBE|DSO1|DFC1|DL}} (1 March 1918 – 4 January 2007) was a pilot for [Special Operations Executive](/source/Special_Operations_Executive) (SOE) in the Second World War, and later achieved high command in the [Royal Air Force](/source/Royal_Air_Force) and [NATO](/source/NATO). ==Early life== Hodges was born in [Richmond](/source/Richmond%2C_London) in [Surrey](/source/Surrey), England. He was educated at [St Paul's School](/source/St_Paul's_School%2C_London) in [Barnes](/source/Barnes%2C_London) and joined the [Royal Air Force College Cranwell](/source/Royal_Air_Force_College_Cranwell) in 1937. ==War service== Known as "Bob" Hodges, he was commissioned into the RAF as a [pilot officer](/source/pilot_officer) in December 1938, joining [Bomber Command](/source/RAF_Bomber_Command) and flying [Vickers Wellesley](/source/Vickers_Wellesley)s with [No. 78 Squadron](/source/No._78_Squadron_RAF) at [RAF Finningley](/source/RAF_Finningley), and then moving to fly [Handley Page Hampden](/source/Handley_Page_Hampden)s with [No. 49 Squadron](/source/No._49_Squadron_RAF) in 1940.[http://www.rafweb.org/Biographies/Hodges.htm Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Chief Marshal Sir Lewis Hodges] On 4 September 1940, his aircraft was damaged in an air raid on [Stettin](/source/Stettin), and he crash-landed in [Brittany](/source/Brittany). He and a gunner named John Hugh Wyatt who had not bailed out attempted to escape to Spain, but were arrested by the [Vichy](/source/Vichy) police near [Marseille](/source/Marseille). He escaped from custody at [Saint-Hippolyte-du-Fort](/source/Saint-Hippolyte-du-Fort), near [Nîmes](/source/N%C3%AEmes), and crossed the [Pyrenees](/source/Pyrenees) into Spain, only to be arrested and imprisoned at [Miranda del Ebro](/source/Miranda_del_Ebro). He was eventually released some weeks later, reaching [Gibraltar](/source/Gibraltar) and then returning to England in June 1941. He was awarded the [Distinguished Flying Cross](/source/Distinguished_Flying_Cross_(United_Kingdom)) (DFC) in May 1942, while commanding a [flight](/source/Flight_(military_unit)) of No. 49 Squadron, for operations including attacks on the German small [battleship](/source/battleship)s [''Scharnhorst''](/source/German_battleship_Scharnhorst) and [''Gneisenau''](/source/German_battleship_Gneisenau) in February 1942. He was [mentioned in despatches](/source/mentioned_in_despatches) in June 1942. Wing Commander [Charles Pickard](/source/Charles_Pickard) invited him to join [No. 161 (Special Duties) Squadron](/source/No._161_Squadron_RAF) at [RAF Tempsford](/source/RAF_Tempsford) later in 1942, commanding a flight of [Armstrong Whitworth Whitley](/source/Armstrong_Whitworth_Whitley)s and [Handley Page Halifax](/source/Handley_Page_Halifax)es on SOE operations. He became the commander of No. 161 Squadron in May 1943, and was promoted to [squadron leader](/source/squadron_leader). In addition to other operations, such as parachute drops, he landed [Westland Lysander](/source/Westland_Lysander)s and [Lockheed Hudson](/source/Lockheed_Hudson)s in [occupied France](/source/occupied_France) several times, bringing [Vincent Auriol](/source/Vincent_Auriol) and [François Mitterrand](/source/Fran%C3%A7ois_Mitterrand) back to England. Unaware of their identities at the time, the former made him a Commandeur of the [Légion d'Honneur](/source/L%C3%A9gion_d'Honneur) in 1950, and the latter a Grand Officier of the Légion d'Honneur in 1988. For his actions with SOE, he received a [Bar](/source/Medal_bar) to his DFC in May 1943, and the [Distinguished Service Order](/source/Distinguished_Service_Order) in October 1943.{{London Gazette|issue=36215|date=15 October 1943|page=2|supp=y}} He was also awarded the French [Croix de guerre](/source/Croix_de_guerre_1939%E2%80%931945_(France)). He attended the [RAF Staff College](/source/RAF_Staff_College%2C_Bulstrode_Park) in 1944, and served with the Bomber Command operations staff. He was selected to serve in the Far East as a staff officer to Air Chief Marshal Sir [Trafford Leigh-Mallory](/source/Trafford_Leigh-Mallory). However, he requested a return to active service after his younger brother was killed, and took command of [No. 357 (Special Duties) Squadron](/source/No._357_Squadron_RAF) at [RAF Jessore](/source/RAF_Jessore) near [Calcutta](/source/Calcutta) in December 1944, flying [Liberators](/source/B-24_Liberator), [Dakotas](/source/C-47_Skytrain) and Lysanders in support of SOE's [Force 136](/source/Force_136) in Burma and other resistance groups in Thailand and Malaya. Fortunately for Hodges, this meant that he did not fly to India with Leigh-Mallory: the aircraft crashed in the [Alps](/source/Alps), killing all on board. Hodges received a Bar to his DSO in October 1945{{London Gazette|issue=37313|date=16 October 1945|page=1|supp=y}} for his services in the Far East. ==Post-war== After the war, he joined the [RAF Staff College](/source/RAF_Staff_College_(Overseas)) in [Haifa](/source/Haifa) in 1945, and then the [Joint Services Staff College](/source/Joint_Services_Staff_College_(UK)) at [Latimer](/source/Latimer%2C_Buckinghamshire) in 1947, before a stint at the [Air Ministry](/source/Air_Ministry) from 1949 to 1952, and then at Bomber Command. He was promoted to [wing commander](/source/Wing_Commander_(rank)) in 1950. He commanded the RAF team of three [Canberra](/source/English_Electric_Canberra)s in the London to New Zealand Air Race in October 1953. He was in the lead until he suffered from engine problems, and ended fourth. He commanded [RAF Marham](/source/RAF_Marham) from 1956, while the RAF was converted to [V bomber](/source/V_bomber)s. He received an [Officer of the Order of the British Empire](/source/Officer_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire) in 1953,{{London Gazette|issue=40053|date=29 December 1953|page=9|supp=y}} became a [group captain](/source/group_captain) in 1957, and advanced to [Commander of the Order of the British Empire](/source/Commander_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire) in 1958.{{London Gazette|issue=41404|date=3 June 1958|page=9|supp=y}} He was Assistant Commandant of the RAF College in Cranwell from 1959 to 1961, and became an air commodore in 1961. He attended the [Imperial Defence College](/source/Imperial_Defence_College) in 1963, was promoted to [air vice marshal](/source/air_vice_marshal), and appointed a [Companion of the Order of the Bath](/source/Companion_of_the_Order_of_the_Bath), and then served at [SHAPE](/source/Supreme_Headquarters_Allied_Powers_Europe) headquarters. He was promoted to [air marshal](/source/air_marshal) in 1968, and advanced to [Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath](/source/Knight_Commander_of_the_Order_of_the_Bath).{{London Gazette|issue=44600|date=31 May 1968|page=3|supp=y}} After serving as Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Operations) from 1965, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at [Air Support Command](/source/RAF_Air_Support_Command) from 1968 and [Air Member for Personnel](/source/Air_Member_for_Personnel) from 1970, he was promoted to [air chief marshal](/source/air_chief_marshal) in 1971. He served as NATO Deputy Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces Central Europe and as Air [Aide-de-Camp](/source/Aide-de-Camp) to the [Queen](/source/Elizabeth_II_of_the_United_Kingdom) from 1973 to 1976. He retired from the RAF in 1976. He was a director of [Pilkington Brothers](/source/Pilkington_Brothers) (optical division) from 1979 to 1983, and a governor of [Bupa](/source/Bupa) from 1987. He served as chairman of the governors of the [Duke of Kent School](/source/Duke_of_Kent_School) and of the education committee of the [RAF Benevolent Fund](/source/RAF_Benevolent_Fund) from 1979 to 1986. He was also as president of the [Royal Air Forces Escaping Society](/source/Royal_Air_Forces_Escaping_Society) from 1979 to 1995, of the [Royal Air Force Association](/source/Royal_Air_Force_Association) from 1981 to 1984, and also of the [Special Forces Club](/source/Special_Forces_Club) and the [RAF Club](/source/RAF_Club). An account of his wartime service for SOE was published in ''Royal Air Force at War'' in 1983. He lived near [Sevenoaks](/source/Sevenoaks) in [Kent](/source/Kent), and became a [Deputy Lieutenant](/source/Deputy_Lieutenant) of Kent in 1992.{{London Gazette|issue=52835|date=14 February 1992|page=2}} He was survived by his wife, Elisabeth Blackett. They were married in 1950, and had two sons together. ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070108073023/http://news.independent.co.uk/people/obituaries/article2129992.ece Obituary], ''[The Independent](/source/The_Independent)'', 6 January 2007 * [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=4S514OZ3NFS4XQFIQMGSFFWAVCBQWIV0?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/news/2007/01/05/db0501.xml Obituary]{{dead link|date=January 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, ''[The Daily Telegraph](/source/The_Daily_Telegraph)'', 5 January 2007 * [https://archive.today/20110604120249/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,60-2536007,00.html Obituary], ''[The Times](/source/The_Times)'', 8 January 2007 {{s-start}} {{s-mil}} {{s-bef|before=[Sir Thomas Prickett](/source/Thomas_Prickett)}} {{s-ttl|title=Air Officer Commander-in-Chief [Air Support Command](/source/RAF_Air_Support_Command)|years=1968–1970}} {{s-aft|after=[Sir Harry Burton](/source/Harry_Burton_(RAF_officer))}} |- {{s-bef|before=[Sir Andrew Humphrey](/source/Andrew_Humphrey)}} {{s-ttl|title=[Air Member for Personnel](/source/Air_Member_for_Personnel)|years=1970–1973}} {{s-aft|after=[Sir Harold Martin](/source/Harold_Martin_(RAF_officer))}} |- {{s-bef|before=[Sir Frederick Rosier](/source/Frederick_Rosier)}} {{s-ttl|title=Deputy C-in-C [HQ Allied Forces Central Europe](/source/HQ_Allied_Forces_Central_Europe)|years=1973–1976}} {{s-aft|after=[Sir Peter Le Cheminant](/source/Peter_Le_Cheminant)}} |- {{s-end}} {{authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Hodges, Lewis}} Category:People educated at St Paul's School, London Category:1918 births Category:2007 deaths Category:People from Richmond, London Category:Royal Air Force air chief marshals Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Category:Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Category:Graduates of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell Category:Deputy lieutenants of Kent Category:Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies Category:Military personnel from the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Category:British recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Category:Commanders of the Legion of Honour Category:Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Lewis Hodges](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Hodges) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Hodges?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.