Marshal of the Royal Air Force
Year of promotion Officer Year of birth Year of death Notes
1927 Sir Hugh Trenchard ( later Viscount Trenchard ) 1873 1956 Chief of the Air Staff 1918 and 1919-1930 Promoted 1 January 1927
1933 Sir John Salmond 1881 1968 Chief of the Air Staff 1930-1933 Promoted 1 January 1933
1936 King Edward VIII 1894 1972 Assumed the rank 21 January 1936
1936 King George VI 1895 1952 Assumed the rank 11 December 1936
1937 Sir Edward Ellington 1877 1967 Chief of the Air Staff 1933-1937 Promoted 1 January 1937
1940 Sir Cyril Newall ( later Lord Newall ) 1886 1963 Chief of the Air Staff 1937-1940 Promoted 4 October 1940 . Retired only 20 days later
1944 Sir Charles Portal ( later Viscount Portal of Hungerford ) 1893 1971 Chief of the Air Staff 1940-1946 Promoted 1 January 1944
1945 Sir Arthur Tedder ( later Lord Tedder ) 1890 1967 Chief of the Air Staff 1946-1950 Promoted 12 September 1945
1946 Sir Sholto Douglas ( later Lord Douglas of Kirtleside ) 1893 1969 Promoted 1 January 1946
1946 Sir Arthur Bomber Harris 1892 1984 Promoted 1 January 1946 , several months after retirement
1950 Sir John Slessor 1897 1979 Chief of the Air Staff 1950-1952 Promoted 8 June 1950
1953 The Duke of Edinburgh 1921 - Promoted 15 January 1953
1954 Sir William Dickson 1898 1987 Chief of the Air Staff 1953-1955 Chief of the Defence Staff 1959 Promoted 1 June 1954
1958 Sir Dermot Boyle 1904 1993 Chief of the Air Staff 1956-1959 Promoted 1 January 1958
1958 The Duke of Gloucester 1900 1974 Promoted 12 June 1958
1962 Sir Thomas Pike 1906 1983 Chief of the Air Staff 1960-1963 Promoted 6 April 1962
1967 Sir Charles Elworthy ( later Lord Elworthy ) 1911 1993 Chief of the Air Staff 1963-1967 Chief of the Defence Staff 1967-1971 Promoted 1 April 1967
1971 Sir John Grandy 1913 2004 Chief of the Air Staff 1967-1971 Promoted and retired on the same day ( 1 April 1971 )
1974 Sir Denis Spotswood 1916 2001 Chief of the Air Staff 1971-1974 Promoted and retired on the same day ( 31 March 1974 )
1976 Sir Andrew Humphrey 1921 1977 Chief of the Air Staff 1974-1976 Chief of the Defence Staff 1976-1977 Promoted 6 August 1976
Marshals of the Royal Air Force
King George V in the uniform of a Marshal of the RAF
Marshal of the Royal Air Force (MRAF) is the highest rank in the British Royal Air Force (RAF). In peacetime it was granted to RAF officers in the appointment of Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), and to retired Chiefs of the Air Staff (CAS), who were promoted to it on their last day of service. While surviving marshals of the RAF retain the rank for life, the highest rank to which officers on active service are promoted is now air chief marshal. Although general promotions to Marshal of the Royal Air Force have been discontinued since the British defence cuts of the 1990s, further promotions to the rank may still be made in wartime, for members of the Royal Family and certain very senior RAF air officers in peacetime at the discretion of the monarch; all such promotions in peacetime are only honorary, however. In 2012, Charles, Prince of Wales was promoted to the rank while in 2014 Lord Stirrup, who had served as Chief of the Air Staff and Chief of the Defence Staff for over seven years, was also promoted. Marshal of the Royal Air Force is a five-star rank and unlike the air marshal ranks, can properly be considered a marshal rank. MRAF has a NATO ranking code of OF-10, equivalent to an admiral of the fleet in the Royal Navy or a field marshal in the British Army. The rank was instituted in 1919 and the first officer to be promoted to MRAF was Sir Hugh Trenchard in 1927. Since that time, including Trenchard, there have been 27 men who have held the rank. Of those, 22 have been professional RAF officers and five have been senior members of the British Royal Family. King George V did not formally hold the rank of marshal of the RAF; rather he assumed the title of Chief of the Royal Air Force. In this capacity from time to time he wore RAF uniform with the rank insignia of a marshal of the RAF.