Martin Widdowson

Air Commodore Martin Keith Widdowson (born 10 May 1946) was a senior Royal Air Force officer in the 1980s and 1990s and the 24th and last Commandant Royal Observer Corps.

Martin Keith Widdowson
Born (1946-05-10) 10 May 1946
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchRoyal Air Force
Years of service1964–96[1][2]
RankAir Commodore
Service number4232200
Commands heldRoyal Observer Corps
RAF Coningsby
No. 23 Squadron

Military career

Widdowson was commissioned into the Royal Air Force on 25 March 1964, as an acting pilot officer.[1] A year later, on 25 March 1965, he was regraded as a pilot officer.[3] A year after that, on 25 March 1966, he was promoted to flying officer,[4] and he was appointed to a permanent commission on 1 October 1968.[5] He was promoted to flight lieutenant on 25 September 1969.[6] On 1 January 1974, he was promoted to squadron leader.[7] He was promoted to wing commander on 1 July 1981.[8]

His final operational flying appointment was as the Officer Commanding No. 23 Squadron in 1982 and by the late 1980s, he was Station Commander of RAF Coningsby.[9] He was promoted from wing commander to group captain on 1 January 1988.[10] On 1 July 1992,[11] he was promoted to air commodore[12] and in 1995 he was appointed as Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) of No. 11/18 Group RAF, simultaneously holding the appointment of 24th and last Commandant Royal Observer Corps until the ROC was Stood Down.[13] He retired from the RAF[2] on 14 September 1996.[14]

References
  1. "No. 43314". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 May 1964. p. 3889.
  2. "No. 54551". The London Gazette. 14 October 1996. p. 13685.
  3. "No. 43612". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 March 1965. p. 3191.
  4. "No. 43936". The London Gazette (Supplement). 25 March 1966. pp. 3519–3520.
  5. "No. 44850". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 May 1969. p. 5261.
  6. "No. 44945". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 September 1969. p. 9959.
  7. "No. 46174". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 January 1974. pp. 283–284.
  8. "No. 48677". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 July 1981. p. 9312.
  9. "Station OCs". rafweb.org. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  10. "No. 51188". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 January 1988. p. 38.
  11. "No. 52983". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 July 1992. p. 11415.
  12. "Half-yearly Service Promotions". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 16 June 2010. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  13. "Units directly responsible to Ministry level". rafweb.org. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  14. "No. 54551". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 October 1996. p. 13685.


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