Richard Gordon Wakeford

Air Marshal Sir Richard Gordon Wakeford, (20 April 1922 – 13 February 2007) was an officer in the Royal Air Force for 36 years, from 1941 to 1977. Beginning as a pilot of flying boats with Coastal Command, he became a flying instructor, and commanded the Queen's Flight. After various operational commands, his last post was as Deputy Chief of Defence (Intelligence) at the UK Ministry of Defence.

Early life and war service Wakeford was born in Torquay on 20 April 1922. He was educated at Kelly College, now known as Mount Kelly, in Tavistock, Devon.

Wakeford joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1941. After flight training with the US Navy at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida, he joined Coastal Command to fly anti-submarine missions. VE Day was the previous day, and all German submarines had been ordered to travel on the surface: submerged U-boats were liable to be attacked. Flying a Catalina over the North Atlantic, Wakeford detected a submerged German submarine. Having run out of depth charges, he dropped some sonobuoys to track the U-boat before returning to base in the Shetland Islands. He moved to Inchberry in Moray in 1987.

His wife died in 2002. He died from cancer of the oesophagus in Aberdeen. He was survived by two sons, Richard and Christopher, and a daughter, Susan. A second daughter, Sally, predeceased him.