David Craig, Baron Craig of Radley

The Lord Craig of Radley
Born	17 September 1929 (1929-09-17) (age 82) Dublin, Irish Free State
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Air Force
Years of service	1951–1991
Rank	Marshal of the Royal Air Force
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Officer of the Order of the British Empire
Other work	Convenor of the Crossbench Peers

Marshal of the Royal Air Force David Brownrigg Craig, Baron Craig of Radley, GCB, OBE (born 17 September 1929), is a retired ^[1] Royal Air Force officer and member of the House of Lords. He served as the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) of the United Kingdom and thus the professional head of the British Armed Forces.

Early life

David Craig was born in Dublin, Ireland, on 17 September 1929, the son of Major Francis Craig and his wife Olive. As a boy growing up in what later became the Republic of Ireland, he was largely unaffected by the events of World War II. In 1943 he came to Britain and started at Radley College^[1] where, in addition to his studies, he rowed and later became Head of School.^[2] He gained a place at Lincoln College, Oxford, and joined Oxford University Air Squadron.^[2] Craig graduated with a BA in Pure Mathematics in 1951.

RAF career

Craig was commissioned as a Pilot Officer on 19 September 1951 (seniority from 19 December 1949)^[3] After receiving his commission in 1951, Craig went on to fly Meteors and Hunters. He was promoted to Flying Officer on 19 March 1952, (seniority from 19 June 1950)^[4] to Flight Lieutenant on 19 December of that year^[5] and to Squadron Leader on 1 January 1959.^[6]

Craig was promoted to Wing Commander on 1 January 1964;^[7] in 1965, he was appointed Military Assistant to the then Chief of the Defence Staff, Field Marshal Sir Richard Hull. Also that year, he was awarded the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air in the Birthday Honours.^[8] During this time, Craig witnessed many of the policy changes that came about whilst Denis Healey was Secretary of State for Defence.

Notably, he commanded No. 35 Squadron.

Craig was appointed an OBE in June 1967^[9] and was promoted to Group Captain on 1 January 1968^[10] just prior to his posting as Station Commander at RAF Cranwell later that year.

He received successive promotions to Air Commodore (1 January 1972),^[11] and to Air Vice-Marshal by 1975.^[12]

Craig became Air Officer Commanding No 1 Group and appointed a CB in 1978.^[13] He went on to be Vice-Chief of the Air Staff and knighted with the KCB in 1980, by which time he was an Acting Air Marshal (permanent Air Vice-Marshal).^[14] He was promoted to Air Marshal on 1 January 1981,^[15] to Acting Air Chief Marshal on 21 September 1982^[16] and appointed to the post of Commander-in-Chief RAF Strike Command before being promoted to permanent Air Chief Marshal on 1 July 1983.^[17] Craig was appointed a GCB in June 1984.^[18]

Lord Craig was Chief of the Air Staff from 1985 to 1988, and subsequently Chief of Defence Staff from 9 December 1988 to 1 April 1991. On 14 November 1988, Craig was promoted to the rank of Marshal of the Royal Air Force.^[19]

Later life

On 30 July 1991, following his retirement from the RAF, Craig was made a life peer as Baron Craig of Radley, of Helhoughton in the County of Norfolk.^[20] He was the Convenor of the Crossbench Peers in the House of Lords from December 1999 until July 2004.

Also in retirement from active service, Lord Craig joined the RAF Volunteer Reserve in the rank of Flying Officer in order to fly De Havilland Chipmunk T Mk 10 aircraft for the Air Training Corps.

Family

Craig married Elisabeth Derenburg in 1955. They have two children: The Hon. Christopher Craig (born 1957) and The Hon. Susan Craig (born 1960).^[21]

Styles

• 1929-1951: David Brownrigg Craig
• 1951-19 March 1952: Pilot Officer David Brownrigg Craig
• 19 March-19 December 1952: Flying Officer David Brownrigg Craig
• 19 December 1952-1959: Flight Lieutenant David Brownrigg Craig
• 1959-1964: Squadron Leader David Brownrigg Craig
• 1964-1967: Wing Commander David Brownrigg Craig
• 1967-1968: Wing Commander David Brownrigg Craig, OBE
• 1968-1972: Group Captain David Brownrigg Craig, OBE
• 1972-c1975: Air Commodore David Brownrigg Craig, OBE
• c1975-1978: Air Vice-Marshal David Brownrigg Craig, OBE
• 1978-1979: Air Vice-Marshal David Brownrigg Craig, CB, OBE
• 1979-1980: Air Vice-Marshal (Actg. Air Marshal) David Brownrigg Craig, CB, OBE
• 1980-1981: Air Vice-Marshal (Actg. Air Marshal) Sir David Brownrigg Craig, KCB, OBE
• 1981-1982: Air Marshal Sir David Brownrigg Craig, KCB, OBE
• 1982-1983: Air Marshal (Actg. Air Chief Marshal) Sir David Brownrigg Craig, KCB, OBE
• 1983-1984: Air Chief Marshal Sir David Brownrigg Craig, KCB, OBE
• 1984-1988: Air Chief Marshal Sir David Brownrigg Craig, GCB, OBE
• 1988-1991: Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir David Brownrigg Craig, GCB, OBE
• 1991–present: Marshal of the Royal Air Force The Rt. Hon. The Lord Craig of Radley, GCB, OBE

Notes

1. ^ Old Radleian 2006
2. ^ ^{a b} Probert, p. 95
3. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 39358. p. 5363. 12 October 1951. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
4. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 39499. p. 1677. 25 March 1952. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
5. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 39758. p. 482. 23 January 1953. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
6. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 41586. p. 7950. 30 December 1958. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
7. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 43210. p. 77. 31 December 1963. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
8. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 43667. p. 5505. 12 June 1965. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
9. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 44326. p. 6276. 10 June 1967. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
10. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 44493. p. 82. 2 January 1968. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
11. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 45564. p. 92. 4 January 1972. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
12. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 46526. p. 3973. 25 March 1975. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
13. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 47549. p. 6230. 3 June 1978. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
14. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 48467. p. 3. 31 December 1980. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
15. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 48498. p. 821. 20 January 1981. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
16. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 49122. p. 12552. 28 September 1982. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
17. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 49406. p. 8832. 5 July 1983. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
18. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 49768. p. 2. 16 June 1984. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
19. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 51530. p. 12790. 15 November 1988. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
20. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 52588. p. 1. 28 June 1991. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
21. ^ The Peerage.com

• Probert, H. (1991). High Commanders of the Royal Air Force. HMSO. ISBN 0-11-772635-4

External links

• theyworkforyou.com - Lord Craig of Radley
• The Public Whip - Voting Record — Lord Craig of Radley

Footnote

1. ^ Marshals of the Royal Air Force remain on the active list even when they have, for all practical purposes, retired.

Military offices
Preceded by B A Primavesl	Station Commander RAF Cranwell 1968 – 1970	Succeeded by G L Pendred
Preceded by P J Lageson	Air Officer Commanding No 1 Group 1978–1980	Succeeded by M W P Knight
Preceded by Sir John Nicholls	Vice-Chief of the Air Staff 1980–1982	Succeeded by Sir Peter Harding
Preceded by Sir Keith Williamson	Commander-in-Chief RAF Strike Command 1982–1985	Succeeded by Sir Peter Harding
Preceded by Sir Keith Williamson	Chief of the Air Staff 1985–1988	Succeeded by Sir Peter Harding
Preceded by The Lord Fieldhouse	Chief of the Defence Staff 1988–1991	Succeeded by The Lord Vincent
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by The Lord Weatherhill	Convenor of the Crossbench Peers 1999–2004	Succeeded by The Lord Williamson

Persondata
Name	Craig, David
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	17 September 1929
Place of birth	Dublin, Irish Free State
Date of death
Place of death