Michael Graydon

Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael James Graydon, (born 24 October 1938) is a retired Royal Air Force (RAF) officer. He was a fast jet pilot in the 1960s, a squadron commander in the 1970s and a station commander in the 1980s before serving as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief RAF Strike Command during the Gulf War. He was Chief of the Air Staff from 1992 to 1997, in which role he advised the British Government on the implementation of No Fly Zones in Iraq and Bosnia and implemented the Front Line First initiative.

RAF career The son of James Julian Graydon and Rita Mary Graydon (née Alkan), Graydon was educated at Wycliffe College, in the town of Stonehouse in Gloucestershire, and became a flight cadet at the Royal Air Force College Cranwell in January 1957 before being commissioned into the Royal Air Force on 15 December 1959. His potential as a flying instructor was noticed early in his career and, after completing his Qualified Flying Instructor course at the Central Flying School, he was posted to No. 1 Flying Training School at RAF Linton-on-Ouse in Yorkshire in 1960. Promoted to flying officer on 15 December 1960, he attended No. 229 Operational conversion unit where he gained experience on the Hunters He became a qualified flying instructor at No. 226 Operational conversion unit in November 1964. Having been awarded the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air in the 1967 Birthday Honours, he was promoted to squadron leader on 1 January 1968.

Graydon attended RAF Staff College in 1970 and became Personal Staff Officer to the Deputy Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces Central Europe in 1971 before joining the Air Staff in the Directorate of Operations at the Ministry of Defence in 1973. he attended the National Defence College at Latimer in 1976. he became Station Commander at RAF Leuchars in 1981 and at RAF Stanley in the Falkland Islands in 1983. and attended the Royal College of Defence Studies later that year. Graydon became Senior Air Staff Officer at Headquarters No. 11 Group at RAF Bentley Priory in January 1985. Promoted to air marshal on 5 April 1989, he was appointed Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at RAF Support Command that month Promoted to air chief marshal on 31 May 1990, he became Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at RAF Strike Command serving in that role during the Gulf War in 1991. and advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in the 1993 New Year Honours. As Chief of the Air Staff he advised the British Government on the implementation of No Fly Zones in Iraq and Bosnia. He also implemented the Front Line First initiative launched in July 1994 which contributed to reducing the RAF manpower from around 75,000 to around 53,000. He retired from the Royal Air Force in April 1997. As a trustee of the British Cyprus Memorial Trust, he provided support for the campaign for a memorial, erected on 8 November 2009, to all British servicemen who died in service in Cyprus during the conflict in between 1956 and 1960. Then in 2010/11, Graydon won approval from the North Cyprus government and the Royal British Legion to establish a branch of the Royal British Legion in North Cyprus: on 1 October 2011 the branch was officially formed with Graydon as president. He is currently the chairman of the board of trustees for the International Bomber Command Centre.

Personal life In 1963, Graydon married Margaret Elizabeth Clark; they have no children. His interests include golf, flying and reading.