Arthur Longmore
Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Murray Longmore GCB DSO (8 October 1885 - 10 December 1970) was born in Australia, the son of Charles Croker Longmore and Janet Murray. He was commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1904. Having developed an interest in flying, he obtained his flying certificate in 1911 and joined the Royal Flying Corps in 1912. He subsequently obtained a permanent commission in the Royal Air Force, serving in (among other places) Italy, Iraq and RAF Coastal Command.
The outbreak of the Second World War found Longmore an Air Chief Marshal and in charge of Training Command. On 2 April 1940, he was appointed Air Officer Commanding in the Middle East. He did not long enjoy the full confidence of Winston Churchill in that position and was relieved of his command in May 1941. His last role before his formal retirement in 1942 was as Inspector-General of the RAF. He was subsequently Vice-Chairman of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Longmore’s memoirs, From Sea to Sky 1910-1945, were published in 1946.
In 1913 Longmore married Marjorie Maitland, the daughter of William James Maitland C.I.E. Their son, Wing Commander Richard Maitland Longmore OBE, was killed in action on 4 October 1943, in the course of an attack on a U-boat.
Longmore died on 10 December 1970.
Sources
- Arthur Longmore, From Sea to Sky (Geoffrey Bles, London, 1946)
- Dictionary of National Biography
- Air of Authority: A History of RAF Organisation
- uboat.net: U539
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by F C Halahan |
RAF College
Commandant 1929 – 1933 |
Succeeded by W G S Mitchell |
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