Helen Renton

Air Commodore Helen Ferguson Renton, (13 March 1931 – 2 June 2016) was a Scottish Royal Air Force officer. From 1980 to 1986, she served as Director of the Women's Royal Air Force.

Early life and education Renton was born on 13 March 1931 in Denny, Falkirk, Scotland, to John Paul Renton and Sarah Graham Renton (née Cook). Having completed an accounting course, she was posted as a junior accounts officer to RAF Spitalgate in Grantham, Lincolnshire, England. She served in the United Kingdom between 1955 and 1960. From 1960 to 1962, she served in Cyprus. From 1968 to 1971, she worked at the Directorate of the WRAF in London. She then moved to Cyprus where she served as the most senior WRAF officer at the headquarters of the Near East Air Force.

On 16 February 1980, Renton was appointed Director of the Women's Royal Air Force in succession to Joy Tamblin, and made an acting air commodore. On 1 July 1980, she was promoted to air commodore as part of the half-yearly promotions. She was head of the WRAF during the Falklands War, and although no WRAF personnel were directly involved in the conflict, they played a supporting role from bases in the United Kingdom.

Personal life Renton never married, nor did she have any children. She believed "children and military life are incompatible". In 1981, she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD) degree by the University of Glasgow, her alma mater.