Peter Squire

Early life Peter Ted Squire was born at Felixstowe, Suffolk in England, on , the son of wing commander Frank Squire, DSO, DFC. Frank Squire was the son of a Devon farmer, and Margaret Pascoe Squire (née Trump). Peter Squire received his schooling at the independent King's School, Bruton in Somerset, the fees of which were paid for by the British Government, as he was the son of a serving military commissioned officer.

Military career In 1961, at the age of sixteen, the young Squire was awarded a scholarship to academically study at the Royal Air Force College, Cranwell in Lincolnshire, which he entered in September 1963. He subsequently earned a commission into the Royal Air Force, with the rank of pilot officer on 15 July 1966. On 15 January 1967, Squire was promoted to flying officer and after qualifying as an RAF pilot, was posted to No. 20 Squadron based in Singapore in Asia to fly Hunters in March 1968. returned to the United Kingdom and posted to No. 4 Flying Training School (4FTS) at RAF Valley in Anglesey, north-west Wales in 1970, where he became a qualified flying instructor (QFI) on the Hunter. and having been promoted to squadron leader on 1 July 1973, he was attached to No. 233 Operational Conversion Unit (233 OCU) for conversion to the Harrier GR1 jump-jet. and promoted to wing commander on 1 July 1980, On 25 March 1981, Squire was appointed officer commanding (OC) of No. 1 (F) Squadron at RAF Wittering, flying Harrier GR3 aircraft. Less than a month later, Squire led 1 Squadron during the Falklands War.

No. 1 (F) Squadron departed with its Harrier GR3s from RAF St Mawgan on Cornwall, south-west England, for RAF Ascension Island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean on 3 May 1982, where it later embarked on the merchant vessel . Upon arrival in the South Atlantic Ocean, the Harriers were transferred to the 'ski-jump' equipped . A few days later, the Atlantic Conveyor was struck by two Argentine-fired Exocet missiles and sunk.

Squire flew twenty-four Harrier sorties against Argentine positions in support of operations, and during one mission, a 7.62 mm round fired from the ground penetrated the cockpit of his mount. On 13 June 1982, Squire became the first RAF pilot to drop a laser-guided bomb in combat, during the Battle of Mount Tumbledown and was subsequently awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross

Four of No. 1 (F) Squadron's ten Harrier GR3s were lost during the campaign, three to enemy ground fire, and one (piloted by Squire) due to engine failure. +Royal Air Force Harrier GR3 losses during the Falklands War aircraft registration!!pilot!!date!!location!!cause / weapon Shot down by Blowpipe surface-to-air missile He was forced to eject at low altitude near Cape Pembroke, and was rescued uninjured from the sea by a Royal Navy helicopter. and the following year became Station Commander at RAF Cottesmore in Leicestershire. he became Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) at HQ RAF Strike Command, and Deputy Chief of Staff Operations (United Kingdom) Air Forces in 1991, AVM Squire was appointed Air Officer Commanding No. 1 Group in February 1993, however, after only a few months, he was replaced by Air Vice Marshal John Day. Squire served as Assistant Chief of the Air Staff from 1994, and, having been promoted to air marshal on 9 February 1996, became Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Programmes and Personnel) in 1996. Appointed Air Aide-de-Camp to Queen Elizabeth II on 29 March 1999, he was promoted to air chief marshal, and became Commander-in-Chief RAF Strike Command, and Commander Allied Air Forces North-western Europe on 30 March 1999.

In 2000, he became Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), As Chief of the Air Staff, he personally advised the British Government on the British air contribution to Operation Veritas in Afghanistan in 2001, and then to Operation Telic in Iraq. He retired from the Royal Air Force on .

Later life In retirement, Squire joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR). He was chairman of the board of trustees of the Imperial War Museum (IWM) from 2003 to 2011, In 2004, he privately issued a narrative of the combat operations by No.1 (F) Squadron in the Falklands in 1982, entitled The Harrier Goes to War. In 2005, he recorded an extended interview detailing his military career with the Imperial War Museum's Sound Archive.

Peter Squire died of heart failure at the age of 72 on 19 February 2018 at his home, 'Lower Park', at Gidleigh in Devon. A funeral service was held at Holy Trinity Church, Gidleigh in early March 2018. A memorial service was held for him at St Clement Danes Church in London on 1 June 2018, the Queen being represented by Lord Craig of Radley.

Personal life In 1970, Squire married Carolyn Joynson, the marriage producing three sons. orders = Collar as grand cross Knight and the Order of the Bath circlet. other_elements = banner = badge = symbolism = previous_versions =