Air Marshal Sir Richard Llewellyn Roger Atcherley Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Central Bank, AFC & Bar was a senior Royal Air Force officer
Background
Richard Atcherley and his twin David were born on 12 January 1904, and were the sons of Major General Sir Sir Llewellyn Atcherley, Chief Constable of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and his wife "Nellie", Eleanor Frances (1871–1957), daughter of Richard Mickelthwait, of Ardsley House, in the valley of Deane near Barnsley. Their father was a grandson of David Francis Atcherley of Marton Hall, High Sheriff of Shropshire, Serjeant-at-law, Attorney-General of the County Palatine of Lancaster and County Durham.
Education
Richard Atcherley and his brother, first cousins of William Empson, attended Oundle School in Northamptonshire. In 1922, Atcherley attended the Royal Air Force College Cranwell and was commissioned two years later.
Career
He served as Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Pakistan Air Force from 1949 to 1951. He initially served as a pilot on Number. 29 Squadron, flying Snipes out of Duxford.
In 1925, Atcherley attended the Central Flying School and then returned to his squadron as both a pilot and a qualified flying instructor.
Second World War Atcherley was appointed Officer Commanding Number. 219 Squadron in October 1939 and then became Officer Commanding the Air Element of the British Expeditionary Force in Norway in May 1940.
He was awarded a bar to his on 24 September 1941. In 1942 he served as Station Commander at Royal Air Force Fairwood Common and then at Royal Air Force Kenley.
He was promoted to temporary group captain on 27 March 1942.
In April 1943 Atcherley became Air Officer Commanding of Number. 211 Group at Tripoli in Libya. At the time of the invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky) on 10 July 1943, Number.
211 Group was the primary fighter force of Air Vice Marshal Harry Broadhurst"s Desert Air Force, a sub-command of Air Marshal Sir Arthur Coningham"s Northwest African Tactical Air Force.
Later that year he transferred to Headquarters Royal Air Force Fighter Command and in 1944 he moved to Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Air Force in preparation for Operation Overlord. He spent the closing stages of the War as Commandant of the Fighter Leaders" School and then as Commandant of the Central Fighter Establishment.
Post-war After the War he was appointed Commandant of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell before becoming Chief of the Air Staff for the Royal Pakistani Air Force in 1949 and then Air Officer Commanding Number. 12 Group in 1951. He went on to be Head of the Royal Air Force Staff in Washington Doctorate. C. in 1953 and Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at Flying Training Command in 1955 before retiring in 1959.
In retirement he became Sales Director at Folland Aircraft Limited.
Membership
He was a member of the Royal Air Force team that competed for the Schneider Trophy in 1929.