Geoffrey Dhenin

Air Marshal Sir Geoffrey Howard Dhenin, (2 April 1918 – 6 May 2011) was a British physician and senior Royal Air Force officer. From 1974 to 1978, he served as Director General of the RAF Medical Services.

Early life and education Dhenin was born on 4 April 1918, three days after the formation of the Royal Air Force, in Bridgend, Glamorgan, Wales. He was educated at Hereford Cathedral School, then an all-boys grammar school in Hereford, Herefordshire.

Military career

On 11 February 1943, Dhenin was commissioned into the Medical Branch of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve as a flying officer (emergency). He was then appointed the medical officer of No. 166 Squadron RAF, an Avro Lancaster bomber squadron that was based at RAF Kirmington. During his time at Kirmington, he was awarded the George Medal for a rescuing an airman from a burning wreck in October 1943.

As part of the half-yearly promotions, he was promoted to air commodore (one star rank) on 1 January 1967.

Honours On 14 January 1944, Dhenin was awarded the George Medal (GM), the second highest civil decoration of the UK, for rescuing an airman from a crashed and burning bomber. In the 1954 New Year Honours, he was awarded an Air Force Cross (AFC) for flying a plane into the mushroom cloud of the first British nuclear bomb test in Australia in 1953. In November 1974, he was appointed a Commander of the Order of St John (CStJ). In the 1975 New Year Honours, he was knighted as a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE).

Personal life Dhenin married Evelyn in 1946. She died in 1996. He married Syvia in 2002.