John Allison

Education

Royal Air Force College Cranwell.

Career

He is currently the Gentleman Usher to the Sword of State. Educated at the Royal Grammar School, Guildford, Allison entered the Royal Air Force College Cranwell as a flight cadet in 1961. On graduation, he was commissioned as a pilot officer in July 1964.

He went on to be Station Commander at Royal Air Force Wildenrath and Secretary to the Chiefs of Staff Committee at the Ministry of Defence.

He returned to the Ministry of Defence as Director of Air Force Plans and Programmes in 1987 and then became Assistant Chief of Defence Staff, Operational Requirements (Air) in 1989. Allison was appointed Air Officer Commanding Number.

11 Group in 1991. He served as Air Officer Commanding Royal Air Force Strike Command from 25 July 1997 to 28 March 1999 when he retired from the Royal Air Force.

Allison was piloting the last airworthy World World War II German Messerschmitt Bf 109 when it crashed at an air show in Duxford in October 1997. The Messerschmitt, known as difficult to land because of its narrow undercarriage and poor visibility, had overshot the runway.

The proximity of the M11 motorway was almost a serious factor as the machine came to rest upside down in a field nearby. He is still a keen pilot, flying his own light aircraft as well as the Shuttleworth Collection of vintage and historic aircraft at Old Warden (United Kingdom).

He flies the Spitfire and other similar aircraft at air displays.

He is a keen restorer of vintage cars and old airplanes, and is president of the Light Aircraft Association. He was Director of Strategy, and subsequently, Operations Director at Jaguar Racing from May 2001 to October 2004. He left as a result of restructuring following the sale of the company to Red Bulletin Racing and went to Rolls-Royce plc as Project Director for the redevelopment of the Bristol Site in February 2005.

Sir John was elected President of Europe Air Sports in April 2004 and took up the position in November 2004, following the retirement of Oliver Burghelle (France).

On 1 December 2005, he was appointed Gentleman Usher to the Sword of State.

Achievements

• He went to become Chief of Staff and Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Royal Air Force Strike Command in 1994 and then Commander-in-Chief of Royal Air Force Logistics Command in 1996.