Christopher Foxley-Norris
Encyclopedia
Air Chief Marshal
Sir Christopher Neil Foxley-Norris GCB
, DSO
, OBE
, FRSA (1917–2003) was a squadron commander during World War II
and, later, the RAF's commander-in-chief in Germany
.
and then Trinity College, Oxford
where he read Law. He joined the Oxford University Air Squadron
in 1936. Foxley-Norris was awarded a Harmsworth scholarship (worth £200) to read for the Bar. However, the outbreak of war prevented him from taking his final exams. The Bar Council
requested the money back, but Foxley-Norris made an arrangement with them that he would leave it to them in his will.
His father had served in the First World War and had been gassed at Loos in 1915; he died in 1923 of cancer. His grandfather, William Foxley Norris
, had been the Dean of Westminster.
after graduating and was called up for active service in 1939. He undertook initial flying training at No. 9 Flying Training School at RAF Hullavington
and completed the training at No 1 School of Army Co-operation. His first posting on completion of the training was to No. 13 Squadron RAF flying Lysanders
in the Battle of France
.
Following the fall of France and the start of the Battle of Britain
, the need for Army Co-operation pilots was greatly reduced whilst that for fighter pilots was increased. As such, Foxley-Norris was posted to No. 3 Squadron
flying Hurricanes
from RAF Turnhouse.
He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order
for his actions - published in the London Gazette
on 29 May 1945:
and then at RAF West Malling
. He undertook the Senior Officers' War Course at the Royal Naval College at Greenwich and a course at the Imperial Defence College (now the Royal College of Defence Studies) in Belgrave Square in 1961. He went on to be Director of Organisation at the Air Ministry
in 1962, Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff in 1963 and Air Officer Commanding No. 224 Group in 1964.
He was appointed Director-General of RAF Organisation at the newly unified Ministry of Defence
in 1967. He was promoted to Air Marshal
and took command of RAF Germany and of the 2nd Tactical Air Force
in 1968. Foxley-Norris was knighted in the 1969 New Year Honours
. His final post, with the rank of Air Chief Marshal
, was Chief of Personnel and Logistics in 1971. He retired from active service in 1974.
.
His funeral took place at St Mary Devoted at Turville
, near Stokenchurch
, on 7 October 2003. Memorial services were held at Westminster Abbey
on 29 January 2004, at St. Clement Danes, the Central Church of the Royal Air Force, London in April 2004.
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Air Chief Marshal
Air chief marshal is a senior 4-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
Sir Christopher Neil Foxley-Norris GCB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
, OBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, FRSA (1917–2003) was a squadron commander during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and, later, the RAF's commander-in-chief in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Early life
Foxley-Norris was educated at Winchester CollegeWinchester College
Winchester College is an independent school for boys in the British public school tradition, situated in Winchester, Hampshire, the former capital of England. It has existed in its present location for over 600 years and claims the longest unbroken history of any school in England...
and then Trinity College, Oxford
Trinity College, Oxford
The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope , or Trinity College for short, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It stands on Broad Street, next door to Balliol College and Blackwells bookshop,...
where he read Law. He joined the Oxford University Air Squadron
University Air Squadron
University Air Squadrons are training units of the Royal Air Force which primarily provide basic flying training, force development and adventurous training to undergraduate students at British universities...
in 1936. Foxley-Norris was awarded a Harmsworth scholarship (worth £200) to read for the Bar. However, the outbreak of war prevented him from taking his final exams. The Bar Council
Bar council
A bar council , in a Commonwealth country and in the Republic of Ireland, the Bar Council of Ireland is a professional body that regulates the profession of barristers together with the King's Inns. Solicitors are generally regulated by the Law society....
requested the money back, but Foxley-Norris made an arrangement with them that he would leave it to them in his will.
His father had served in the First World War and had been gassed at Loos in 1915; he died in 1923 of cancer. His grandfather, William Foxley Norris
William Foxley Norris
William Foxley Norris KCVO was Dean of York between 1917 and 1925 and of Westminster from then until his death in 1937.Born into a clerical family, he was educated at Charterhouse and Trinity College, Oxford before taking Holy orders at Leeds Clergy School...
, had been the Dean of Westminster.
Second World War
Foxley-Norris was commissioned in the Royal Air Force Volunteer ReserveRoyal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve consists of a number of groupings of individual military reservists for the management and operation of the Royal Air Force's Air Training Corps and CCF Air Cadet formations, Volunteer Gliding Squadrons , Air Experience Flights, and also to form the...
after graduating and was called up for active service in 1939. He undertook initial flying training at No. 9 Flying Training School at RAF Hullavington
RAF Hullavington
RAF Hullavington was a Royal Air Force station in Hullavington, near Chippenham, Wiltshire.RAF Hullavington has switched regiments. At the current time it is RLC-Royal Logistic Corps.-History:Opened on 9 July 1937 as a Flying Training School....
and completed the training at No 1 School of Army Co-operation. His first posting on completion of the training was to No. 13 Squadron RAF flying Lysanders
Westland Lysander
The Westland Lysander was a British army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft used immediately before and during the Second World War...
in the Battle of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
.
Following the fall of France and the start of the Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...
, the need for Army Co-operation pilots was greatly reduced whilst that for fighter pilots was increased. As such, Foxley-Norris was posted to No. 3 Squadron
No. 3 Squadron RAF
No 3 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Typhoon F2, FGR4 and T3 from RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire.No 3 Squadron, which celebrated its 95th anniversary over the weekend of 11-13 May 2007, is unique in the RAF for having two official crests....
flying Hurricanes
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force...
from RAF Turnhouse.
He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
for his actions - published in the London Gazette
London Gazette
The London Gazette is one of the official journals of record of the British government, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are required to be published...
on 29 May 1945:
Post-war RAF career
After the war, Foxley-Norris became Station Commander at RAF StradishallRAF Stradishall
RAF Stradishall was a Royal Air Force station in Suffolk, opened in 1938.The airfield closed in 1970 and is now the site of two category C prisons: HMP Highpoint North and HMP Highpoint South...
and then at RAF West Malling
RAF West Malling
RAF West Malling was a Royal Air Force station near West Malling in Kent, England.Originally used as a landing area during the first World War, the site opened as a private landing ground and in 1930, then known as Kingshill, home to the Maidstone School of Flying, before being renamed West Malling...
. He undertook the Senior Officers' War Course at the Royal Naval College at Greenwich and a course at the Imperial Defence College (now the Royal College of Defence Studies) in Belgrave Square in 1961. He went on to be Director of Organisation at the Air Ministry
Air Ministry
The Air Ministry was a department of the British Government with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964...
in 1962, Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff in 1963 and Air Officer Commanding No. 224 Group in 1964.
He was appointed Director-General of RAF Organisation at the newly unified Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
in 1967. He was promoted to Air Marshal
Air Marshal
Air marshal is a three-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
and took command of RAF Germany and of the 2nd Tactical Air Force
RAF Second Tactical Air Force
The former RAF Second Tactical Air Force was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force during and after the Second World War...
in 1968. Foxley-Norris was knighted in the 1969 New Year Honours
New Year Honours
The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, being a civic occasion on the New Year annually in which new members of most Commonwealth Realms honours are named. The awards are presented by the reigning monarch or head of state, currently Queen Elizabeth II...
. His final post, with the rank of Air Chief Marshal
Air Chief Marshal
Air chief marshal is a senior 4-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
, was Chief of Personnel and Logistics in 1971. He retired from active service in 1974.
Family
Foxley-Norris married Joan (née Lovell Hughes now Lady Foxley-Norris) in 1948. They had no children. His widow survives him and takes his place at the many Battle of Britain events which are held. She is also a regular visitor to RAF BensonRAF Benson
RAF Benson is a Royal Air Force station near Benson in South Oxfordshire, England. It is home to the Royal Air Force's support helicopters, the Aérospatiale Puma and the EH-101 Merlin, known as the Puma HC.Mk 1 and the Merlin HC.Mk 3 and Mk 3a....
.
His funeral took place at St Mary Devoted at Turville
Turville
Turville is a village and civil parish within Wycombe district in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located in the Chiltern Hills, about five miles west of High Wycombe and five miles north of Henley-on-Thames....
, near Stokenchurch
Stokenchurch
Stokenchurch is a village and civil parish within Wycombe district in Buckinghamshire England. It is in the Chiltern Hills, about south of Chinnor in Oxfordshire and west of High Wycombe. The village is a popular place to live, due to its rural location and ease of access to London and Birmingham...
, on 7 October 2003. Memorial services were held at Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
on 29 January 2004, at St. Clement Danes, the Central Church of the Royal Air Force, London in April 2004.
Honours and awards
- Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the BathOrder of the BathThe Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
– 1 January 1973 (KCB – 1 January 1969, CB -11 June 1966) - Distinguished Service OrderDistinguished Service OrderThe Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
- 29 May 1945 - Officer of the Order of the British EmpireOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
– 2 January 1956 - Mention in Despatches - 14 June 1945
- Master of Arts (Trinity College, OxfordTrinity College, OxfordThe College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope , or Trinity College for short, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It stands on Broad Street, next door to Balliol College and Blackwells bookshop,...
) - 1946 (BA - 1930) - CCMI (FBIM - 1974)
- Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts
External links
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