{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}} {{Infobox military person |name= Stephen Charles Strafford |image= Stephen Strafford in 1948.jpg |caption= Strafford in 1948 |nickname= |birth_date= {{birth date|1898|11|21|df=yes}} |death_date= {{death date and age|1966|05|18|1898|11|21|df=yes}} |birth_place= Cirencester, Gloucestershire |death_place= Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire |allegiance= United Kingdom |branch= Royal Navy (1917–18)<br/>Royal Air Force (1918–54) |service_years= 1917–54 |rank= Air Marshal |commands= Inspector-General of the RAF (1952–54)<br/>RAF Regiment (1950–52)<br/>Air HQ Iraq and Persia (1945–47) |unit= |battles= First World War<br/>Second World War |awards= Companion of the Order of the Bath<br/>Commander of the Order of the British Empire<br/>Distinguished Flying Cross<br/>Mentioned in Despatches (3)<br/>Bronze Medal of Military Valor (Italy)<br/>Legion of Honour (France)<br/>Croix de guerre (France) |relations= |other_work= }} Air Marshal '''Stephen Charles Strafford''', {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|CB|CBE|DFC}} (21 November 1898 – 18 May 1966) was a pilot in the Royal Naval Air Service during the First World War and a senior officer in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War and the following years.
==RAF career== Strafford was commissioned into the Royal Naval Air Service in 1917 during the First World War.<ref name=air>[http://www.rafweb.org/Biographies/Strafford.htm Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Marshal Stephen Strafford]</ref> He was promoted to flight lieutenant in 1924.<ref>[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1924/1924%20-%200013.html Royal Air Force Intelligence] Flight International, 3 January 1924</ref> In 1930 he became a Flight Commander with No. 6 Squadron.<ref name=air/> He served in the Second World War as Officer Commanding the Advanced Headquarters (North) of the British Air Forces in France before becoming deputy director of Plans at the Air Ministry in 1940.<ref name=air/> He was made Head British Air Planner for the Combined Chiefs of Staff in Washington D. C. in 1941, before joining the staff of the Chief of Staff to the Supreme Allied Commander (COSSAC) in 1943 and becoming Chief of Plans and Operations for Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force in 1944.<ref name=air/> After serving as the Air Officer Administration at Middle East Command, Strafford was appointed Air Officer Commanding Air HQ Iraq and Persia in July 1945.<ref name=air/>
After the War he became Senior Air Staff Officer at Headquarters RAF Bomber Command before becoming Commandant-General of the RAF Regiment in 1950 and Inspector-General of the RAF in 1952.<ref name=air/> Strafford was one of the representatives of the RAF at the funeral of King George VI.<ref name=air/> He retired in 1954.<ref name=air/>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{s-start}} {{s-mil}} |- {{s-bef|before=Robert George}} {{s-ttl|title=Air Officer Commanding Air HQ Iraq and Persia<br><small>Air HQ Iraq from 1946</small>|years=1945–1947}} {{s-aft|after=Alexander Gray}} |- {{s-bef|before=Harold Lydford}} {{s-ttl|title=Commandant-General of the RAF Regiment|years=1950–1952}} {{s-aft|after=Sir Francis Mellersh}} |- {{s-bef|before=Sir Thomas Williams}} {{s-ttl|title=Inspector-General of the RAF|years=1952–1954}} {{s-aft|after=Sir Charles Guest}} {{s-end}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Strafford, Stephen Charles}} Category:1898 births Category:1966 deaths Category:Recipients of the Bronze Medal of Military Valor Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Category:Companions of the Order of the Bath Category:English aviators Category:Recipients of the Legion of Honour Category:Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Category:Royal Air Force air marshals Category:Military personnel from Gloucestershire Category:Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Category:Royal Naval Air Service aviators Category:Royal Naval Air Service personnel of World War I
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