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{{short description|Senior commander in the Royal Air Force}}
{{Good article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2015}}
{{Infobox military person
|name= Sir John Cotesworth Slessor
|image= Air Marshal Sir John Slessor.jpg
|alt=Portrait of moustachioed man in Royal Air Force winter uniform
|caption= Air Marshal Sir John Slessor, 1943
|birth_date= {{birth date|1897|06|03|df=yes}}
|death_date= {{death date and age|1979|7|12|1897|6|3|df=yes}}
|birth_place= [[Ranikhet]], India
|death_place= [[RAF Wroughton|Wroughton]], England
|placeofburial=
|nickname=
|allegiance= United Kingdom
|branch= [[Royal Flying Corps]] (1915–18) [[Royal Air Force]] (1918–52)
|serviceyears= 1915–52
|rank= [[Marshal of the Royal Air Force]]
|servicenumber=
|unit= [[No. 17 Squadron RAF|No. 17 Squadron]] (1915–16) [[No. 5 Squadron RAF|No. 5 Squadron]] (1917–18)
|commands= [[Chief of the Air Staff (United Kingdom)|Chief of the Air Staff]] (1950–52) [[Commandant Royal College of Defence Studies|Commandant of the Imperial Defence College]] (1948–49) [[Air Member for Personnel]] (1945–47) [[RAF Coastal Command|Coastal Command]] (1943–44) [[No. 5 Group RAF|No. 5 Group]] (1941–42) No. 3 (Indian) Wing (1935–37) [[No. IV Squadron RAF|No. 4 Squadron]] (1925–28)
|battles= First World War [[Waziristan campaign (1936–39)|Waziristan campaign]] Second World War
|awards= [[Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath]] [[Distinguished Service Order]] [[Military Cross]] [[Mentioned in Despatches]] (3)
|relations=
|laterwork= Author [[Sheriff of Somerset]] (1965)
}}
[[Marshal of the Royal Air Force]] '''Sir John Cotesworth Slessor''', {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|GCB|DSO|MC}} (3 June 1897 – 12 July 1979) was a senior commander in the [[Royal Air Force]] (RAF), serving as [[Chief of the Air Staff (United Kingdom)|Chief of the Air Staff]] from 1950 to 1952. As a pilot in the [[Royal Flying Corps]] during the [[First World War]], he saw action with [[No. 17 Squadron RAF|No. 17 Squadron]] in the Middle East, earning the [[Military Cross]], and with [[No. 5 Squadron RAF|No. 5 Squadron]] on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]], where he was awarded the Belgian [[Croix de guerre (Belgium)|Croix de Guerre]]. Between the wars he commanded [[No. IV Squadron RAF|No. 4 Squadron]] in England, and No. 3 (Indian) Wing, earning the [[Distinguished Service Order]] for operations with the latter in [[Waziristan campaign (1936–39)|Waziristan]]. In 1936, he published ''Air Power and Armies'', which examined the use of air power against targets on and behind the battlefield.

Slessor held several operational commands in the Second World War. As [[Air Officer Commanding]] [[RAF Coastal Command|Coastal Command]] in 1943 and 1944, he was credited with doing much to turn the tide of the [[Battle of the Atlantic]] through his use of long-range bombers against German [[U-boat]]s. He was [[Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath|knighted]] in June 1943. In the closing stages of the war he became [[Commander-in-Chief]] [[Near East Air Force (Royal Air Force)|RAF Mediterranean and Middle East]] and deputy to Lieutenant General [[Ira C. Eaker|Ira Eaker]] as Commander-in-Chief [[Mediterranean Allied Air Forces]], conducting operations in the [[Italian Campaign (World War II)|Italian Campaign]] and [[World War II in Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]]. Slessor went on to serve in the RAF's most senior post, Chief of the Air Staff, in the early 1950s, and was considered a strong proponent of [[strategic bombing]] and the [[nuclear deterrent]]. In retirement he published two more books, including an autobiography, and held ceremonial appointments in [[Somerset]].

==Early life and First World War==
The son of [[Major (United Kingdom)|Major]] Arthur Kerr Slessor and Adelaide Slessor (née Cotesworth), Slessor was born in [[Ranikhet]], [[British Raj|India]], on 3 June 1897, and educated at [[Haileybury and Imperial Service College|Haileybury]].<ref name=odnb>{{cite ODNB|last=Hastings|first=Max| author-link=Max Hastings |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/31692|title=Slessor, Sir John Cotesworth|access-date=16 June 2015|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/31692|year=2004}}</ref> Lame in both legs as a result of [[Poliomyelitis|polio]], he was rejected for [[British Army|army service]] in 1914 and received a commission as a [[second lieutenant]] in the [[Royal Flying Corps]] on 6 July 1915 only with the help of family connections.<ref name=odnb/><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=29254|page=7748|date=6 August 1915}}</ref> He was appointed to the Special Reserve as a flying officer on 9 September 1915,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=29330 |supp=y|page=10232|date=15 October 1915}}</ref> and confirmed in his rank of second lieutenant on 28 September.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=29310 |supp=y|page=9557|date=28 September 1915}}</ref> Slessor saw action with [[No. 17 Squadron RAF|No. 17 Squadron]] in Egypt and the Sudan, where he was credited with arresting the escape of [[Ali Dinar|Sultan Ali Dinar]] and 2,000 men on 23 May 1916, following the Sultan's defeat at Beringia. He was [[mentioned in despatches]] on 25 October before being wounded in the thigh and invalided back to England.<ref name=prob41>Probert, p. 41</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=29800|pages=10370–10373 |supp=y|date=25 October 1916}}</ref>

Slessor was promoted to the temporary rank of [[Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)|captain]] on 1 December 1916.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=29897|page=442 |supp=y|date=9 January 1917}}</ref> Awarded the [[Military Cross]] on 1 January 1917,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=29886|page=41 |supp=y|date=29 December 1916}}</ref> he returned to combat in April as a [[flight commander]] with [[No. 5 Squadron RAF|No. 5 Squadron]] on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]].<ref name="Boatner">Boatner, pp. 507–508</ref> The squadron converted from [[Royal Aircraft Factory BE.2]]s to [[Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8|R.E.8s]] soon afterwards.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Yoxall|first=John|url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1957/1957%20-%201554.html |title=No. 5 Squadron: A History of the "Fighting Fifth": Part 2|journal= [[Flight International|Flight]]|date= 25 October 1957| page= 642|access-date=8 June 2015}}</ref> Promoted to the substantive rank of [[Lieutenant (British Army and Royal Marines)|lieutenant]] on 1 July 1917,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=30249|pages=8777–8778 |supp=y|date=24 August 1917}}</ref> Slessor was appointed a Chevalier of the Belgian [[Order of Leopold (Belgium)|Order of Leopold]] on 24 September,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=30302|pages=9861–9862 |supp=y|date=21 September 1917}}</ref> and awarded the Belgian [[Croix de guerre (Belgium)|Croix de Guerre]] on 11 March 1918.<ref name=odnb/> He transferred to the newly formed [[Royal Air Force]] in April 1918 and, having been promoted to the temporary rank of major on 3 July 1918,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=30798|page=8339|date=16 July 1918}}</ref> was posted to the [[Central Flying School]] at [[Upavon]] as an instructor on 14 July 1918.<ref name=odnb/><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=31157|page=1537|date=31 January 1919}}</ref>

==Inter-war years==
[[File:Bristol F2B D8096 flying 1.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.28|[[Bristol F.2 Fighter|Bristol Fighter]], a type flown by Slessor in the 1920s|alt=Colour photo of biplane in flight]]
Having left the RAF as a [[flight lieutenant]] on 21 August 1919,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=31539 |supp=y|pages=11246–11247|date=5 September 1919}}</ref> Slessor applied to rejoin and was offered a short-service commission at the same rank on 24 February 1920.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=31816 |supp=y|page=2906|date=9 March 1920}}</ref> In May 1921, he became a flight commander with [[No. 20 Squadron RAF|No. 20 Squadron]], which operated [[Bristol F.2 Fighter|Bristol Fighters]] on the [[Military history of the North-West Frontier|North-West Frontier]] of India.<ref name=prob41/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.raf.mod.uk/organisation/20squadron.cfm|title=20 Squadron|publisher=Royal Air Force|access-date=8 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303182419/http://www.raf.mod.uk/organisation/20squadron.cfm|archive-date=3 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> He joined the staff at the Directorate of Training and Staff Duties in the [[Air Ministry]] in February 1923.<ref name=prob41/> The same year, he married Hermione Grace Guinness; they had a son and a daughter.<ref name=odnb/> He attended the [[RAF Staff College, Andover]], in 1924,<ref name=prob41/> and was promoted [[squadron leader]] on 1 January 1925.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=33007 |supp=y|page=8|date=30 December 1924}}</ref>

Slessor commanded [[No. IV Squadron RAF|No. 4 (Army Cooperation) Squadron]], which flew Bristol Fighters out of [[Farnborough Airport|RAF Farnborough]], from April 1925 to October 1928, when he joined the air planning staff at the Directorate of Operations and Intelligence at the Air Ministry.<ref name=prob41/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.raf.mod.uk/organisation/4squadron.cfm|title=4 Squadron|publisher=Royal Air Force|access-date=8 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120404142703/http://www.raf.mod.uk/organisation/4squadron.cfm|archive-date=4 April 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> He attended the [[Staff College, Camberley]], in 1931, and was appointed RAF Directing Staff Officer there in January 1932.<ref name=prob41/> Slessor was promoted acting [[Wing commander (rank)|wing commander]] on 1 January 1932 (substantive on 1 July).<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=33791|page=423|date=19 January 1932}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=33842|page=4303 |supp=y|date=1 July 1932}}</ref> He became Officer Commanding No. 3 (Indian) Wing at [[Quetta]] in March 1935,<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1957/1957%20-%201554.html |title=Royal Air Force intelligence|journal= Flight|date= 2 May 1935| page= 470|access-date=16 June 2015}}</ref> and was awarded the [[Distinguished Service Order]] for operations in [[Waziristan]] between 25 November 1936 and 16 January 1937.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=34462|page=7741|date=10 December 1937}}</ref>

In 1936, Slessor published ''Air Power and Armies'', an examination of the use of air power against targets on and behind the battlefield. In this work he advocated army co-operation, [[interdiction]] to cut off enemy reinforcements and supply, and the use of aerial bombardment as a weapon against enemy morale.<ref name="British Air Power Doctrine">{{cite web|url=http://www.raf.mod.uk/rafcms/mediafiles/374F3212_1143_EC82_2E801D2FE37E9617.pdf|title=History of British Air Power Doctrine|publisher=Royal Air Force|access-date=16 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606154221/http://www.raf.mod.uk/rafcms/mediafiles/374F3212_1143_EC82_2E801D2FE37E9617.pdf|archive-date=6 June 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> He did, however, acknowledge the limitations of his theory, stating:<ref>Slessor (1936), p. xi</ref><blockquote>...the conditions envisaged throughout [this book] are those of a campaign on the land in which the primary problem at the time is the defeat of an enemy army in the field. ... in a war against a great Naval power at sea, or when the principle threat to the Empire at the time is the action of hostile air forces against this country or its possessions, the aim and objectives of the air forces of the Empire will not be the same as described in this book.</blockquote> On 17 May 1937, following his posting to India, Slessor was promoted acting [[group captain]],<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=34405|page=3669|date=8 June 1937}}</ref> and appointed Deputy Director of Plans at the Air Ministry.<ref name=prob42>Probert, p. 42</ref> He was promoted to substantive group captain on 1 July 1937.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=34414|page=4253|date=2 July 1937}}</ref> Mentioned in despatches on 18 February 1938,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=34485|page=1075|date=18 February 1938}}</ref> he took over as Director of Plans on 22 December 1938.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=34591|page=465|date=20 January 1939}}</ref> He was appointed [[Air Aide-de-Camp]] to [[George VI|the King]] on 1 January 1939.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=34610|page=2009|date=24 March 1939}}</ref>

==Second World War==
[[File:Slessor inspects Czecho-Slovak personnel.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.28|Air Marshal Slessor as Air Member for Personnel, inspecting Czecho-Slovak personnel during the farewell parade of Czech squadrons at [[Manston, Kent|Manston]], Kent, in 1945|alt=Slessor, with walking stick, before ranks of uniformed personnel]]
Slessor was promoted [[air commodore]] on 1 September 1939,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=34679|page=6194|date=12 September 1939}}</ref> and was succeeded as Air Aide-de-Camp by Group Captain [[Ralph Cochrane]].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=34694|page=6503|date=26 September 1939}}</ref> On 10 January 1941, he was raised to temporary [[air vice marshal]]<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=35065|page=693|date=4 February 1941}}</ref> (made permanent in April 1942)<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=35525| date=14 April 1942|page=1648}}</ref> and became [[Air Officer Commanding]] (AOC) [[No. 5 Group RAF|No.5 (Bomber) Group]] in May 1941.<ref name=prob42/> Appointed a [[Companion of the Order of the Bath]] and mentioned in dispatches in January 1942, he was appointed Assistant Chief of the Air Staff in April 1942.<ref name=prob42/>

Slessor was closely involved in planning the combined Allied [[Strategic bombing during World War II|air offensive in Europe]]. At the [[Casablanca Conference]] in January 1943, he was able to influence Britain's [[Secretary of State for Air|Secretary for Air]], [[Archibald Sinclair, 1st Viscount Thurso|Sir Archibald Sinclair]], and [[Chief of the Air Staff (United Kingdom)|Chief of the Air Staff]], Air Chief Marshal [[Charles Portal, 1st Viscount Portal of Hungerford|Sir Charles Portal]], to agree to [[United States Army Air Forces|USAAF]] proposals that led to a "round-the clock" bombing policy against Germany, with the US mounting daylight precision attacks and the RAF conducting [[area bombing]] at night.<ref name="Boatner" /> Slessor's assigned personal pilot was Flight Lieutenant Owen Phillipps DFC, an Australian from No. 14 Squadron RAF and a distinguished veteran of the Mediterranean conflict.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.pressreader.com/australia/the-west-australian/20161226/281908772803892|title=At the helm of history|date=26 December 2016|newspaper=The West Australian|access-date=23 November 2019}}</ref>

Appointed Commander-in-Chief [[RAF Coastal Command|Coastal Command]] with the acting rank of [[air marshal]] on 5 February 1943, Slessor had at his disposal sixty squadrons, two of which were equipped with [[Consolidated B-24 Liberator|B-24 Liberator]] heavy bombers.<ref name=odnb/><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=35904 |supp=y|page=815|date=12 February 1943}}</ref> He was credited with doing much to turn the tide of the [[Battle of the Atlantic]] in the Allies' favour by employing his thinly stretched long-range bomber force against the [[U-boat]] threat, in close cooperation with naval forces.<ref name="Boatner"/> Promoted temporary air marshal on 1 June 1943,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=36067 |supp=y|page=2881|date=22 June 1943}}</ref> he was advanced to [[Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath]] in the 1943 [[Birthday Honours]].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=36033 |supp=y|page=2419|date=28 May 1943}}</ref> Slessor became [[Commander-in-Chief]] [[Near East Air Force (Royal Air Force)|RAF Mediterranean and Middle East]] in January 1944, and deputy to Lieutenant General [[Ira C. Eaker|Ira Eaker]] as Commander-in-Chief [[Mediterranean Allied Air Forces]]. In this role he conducted operations in the [[Italian Campaign (World War II)|Italian Campaign]] and [[World War II in Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]], establishing the [[Balkan Air Force]] in the latter theatre.<ref name="Boatner"/><ref>{{cite web|last=Foot|first=M.R.D.| author-link=M.R.D. Foot |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/31692|title=Slessor, Air Marshal Sir John Cotesworth|publisher=Oxford Companion to World War II|access-date=16 June 2015|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Slessor joined the [[Air Council]] as [[Air Member for Personnel]] on 5 April 1945.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=37021 |supp=y|page=1883|date=6 April 1945}}</ref> His rank of air marshal became substantive on 6 June.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=37124 |supp=y|page=3073|date=8 June 1945}}</ref> He was awarded the Grand Cross of the Greek [[Order of the Phoenix (Greece)|Order of the Phoenix]] on 6 September 1946.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=37712 |supp=y|page=4455|date=3 September 1946}}</ref> His war service also earned him appointment as a Commander of the Belgian Order of Leopold on 27 August 1948,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=38390|page=4724|date=27 August 1948}}</ref> and a Knight Grand Cross of the Norwegian [[Order of St. Olav]] on 6 March 1953.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=39793|page=1301|date=6 March 1953}}</ref>

==Post-war career==
Slessor was promoted [[air chief marshal]] on 1 January 1946.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=37423 |supp=y|page=347|date=4 January 1946}}</ref> He continued to serve as Air Member for Personnel, responsible for overseeing the demobilisation of the wartime RAF, until 1 October 1947.<ref name=odnb/><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=38095 |supp=y|page=4795|date=14 October 1947}}</ref> At the urging of the-then Chief of the Air Staff, Marshal of the Royal Air Force [[Arthur Tedder, 1st Baron Tedder|Sir Arthur Tedder]], Slessor succeeded General [[William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim|Sir William Slim]] as [[Commandant Royal College of Defence Studies|Commandant of the Imperial Defence College]].<ref name=prob44>Probert, p. 44</ref><ref name=Orange>Orange, pp. 317–320</ref> Slessor had been dubious about accepting the position, and sought assurances from Tedder that he would be next in line for the post of Chief of the Air Staff, particularly in light of Tedder's preference for Air Chief Marshal Sir Ralph Cochrane to succeed him.<ref name=Orange/> Meanwhile, Slessor was appointed a [[Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath]] on 10 June 1948,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=38311|page=3367|date=4 June 1948}}</ref> and became Principal Air Aide-de-Camp to the King on 1 July.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=38344 |supp=y|page=3898|date=2 July 1948}}</ref> In the event, he took over from Tedder as Chief of the Air Staff on 1 January 1950, and chose Cochrane as his Vice Chief of the Air Staff.<ref name=Orange/><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=38795 |supp=y|page=6168|date=30 December 1949}}</ref> Slessor was promoted [[Marshal of the Royal Air Force]] on 8 June 1950.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=38941 |supp=y|page=3045|date=13 June 1950}}</ref> In late 1951, he reluctantly became involved in the Australian Government's quest for a suitable RAF officer to serve as [[Chief of Air Force (Australia)|Chief of the Air Staff]] of the [[Royal Australian Air Force]]. He eventually selected Air Marshal [[Donald Hardman]] as the "outstanding candidate" for the Australian post, trying to avoid what he called "the follies of some years ago", referring to Air Chief Marshal [[Charles Burnett (RAF officer)|Sir Charles Burnett]]'s controversial tenure as Chief of the Air Staff in Australia on secondment from Britain in the early years of the Second World War.<ref>Stephens, pp. 73–74</ref>

[[File:Victor 50s.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Victor bomber pictured in 1959|alt=Several people walking around a jet bomber at an airfield]]
As leader of the RAF, Slessor coined the term "[[V bomber|V-Force]]" to denote its planned trio of strategic jet bombers—the [[Vickers Valiant]], [[Handley Page Victor]], and [[Avro Vulcan]]—and contributed to the decision to build all three designs.<ref name="British Air Power Doctrine"/><ref name="jstor3874148">{{cite journal|title=The Future of United Kingdom Nuclear Weapons: Shaping the Debate|journal=International Affairs |volume=82 |issue=4 |date=July 2006|pages= 627–637|jstor = 3874148|last1 = Quinlan|first1 = Michael|doi=10.1111/j.1468-2346.2006.00558.x }}</ref> He played a key role in promoting nuclear weapons as an effective instrument of deterrence in early [[Cold War]] British strategy. In 1952, the RAF argued that, because bombers were such an important deterrent, conventional forces could be drastically reduced at a time when the Government was seeking significant public expenditure savings.<ref>Ball, p. 49</ref> Slessor believed it unlikely that the United Kingdom would be able to meet a [[Communism|communist]] offensive without resorting to the use of [[tactical nuclear weapon]]s.<ref>{{cite journal | author = House of Commons Defence Committee| title = The Future of the UK's Strategic Nuclear Deterrent: Memorandum from Paul Rogers| journal = Hansard| pages=para 26 | year = 2007 | url = https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmselect/cmdfence/225/225ii.pdf| access-date=16 June 2015}}</ref> He became one of the key propagandists of the "Great Deterrent" (which he employed as the title of a book he wrote after he retired) on both sides of the Atlantic.<ref>Slessor (1957), title page</ref><ref>{{Cite book|page=740|title=Makers of Modern Strategy from Machiavelli to the Nuclear Age|editor-first=Peter|editor-last=Paret|chapter=the First Two Generations of Nuclear Strategists|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F0N59g93EBYC|year=1986|isbn=9780198200970|first=Lawrence|last=Freedman}}</ref> Slessor's term as Chief of the Air Staff was dominated by the [[Korean War]].<ref name=prob44/>

==Later life==
Completing his term as Chief of the Air Staff on 31 December 1952, Slessor was succeeded by Air Chief Marshal [[William Dickson (RAF officer)|Sir William Dickson]] and retired from the RAF on 29 January 1953.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=39739 |supp=y|page=56|date=30 December 1952}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=39767 |supp=y|page=692|date=30 January 1953}}</ref> He attended the [[coronation]] of [[Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth II]] in June 1953.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=40020 |supp=y|page=6229|date=17 November 1953}}</ref> In retirement he published two books: his autobiography, ''The Central Blue'' (1956), and ''The Great Deterrent'' (1957). He served as Honorary Air Commodore of No. 3 (County of Devon) Maritime Headquarters Unit, [[Royal Auxiliary Air Force]], from 23 May 1963 to 5 May 1969.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=43024 |supp=y|page=5001|date=7 June 1963}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=44841 |supp=y|page=4725|date=6 May 1969}}</ref> His wife, Lady Hermione, was appointed a Serving Sister of the [[Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem]] on 2 July 1963.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=43045 |supp=y|pages=5646–5648|date=2 July 1963}}</ref>

On 24 March 1965, Slessor was appointed [[Sheriff of Somerset]] for the following year.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=43610 |supp=y|page=3049|date=26 March 1965}}</ref> He was commissioned a [[Deputy Lieutenant]] of Somerset in April 1969.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=44830|page=4101|date=18 April 1969}}</ref> Slessor was also a director of [[Blackburn Aircraft]] and governor of several schools.<ref name=odnb/> After Hermione's death, he married Marcella Florence Priest (née Spurgeon) in 1971. Slessor died at the [[RAF Princess Alexandra Hospital|Princess Alexandra Hospital, Wroughton]], in Wiltshire on 12 July 1979.<ref name=odnb/> His son John also joined the RAF, rising to the rank of group captain.<ref>Orange, p. xviii</ref>

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==References==
* {{cite book|last=Ball | first=S.J. | year=1995| title=The Bomber in British Strategy | location=Boulder, Colorado| publisher=Westview Press| isbn=978-0-8133-8934-9}}
* {{cite book | last=Boatner III | first=Mark | year=1996 | title=The Biographical Dictionary of World War II | location=Novato, California | publisher=Presidio Press | isbn=978-0-89141-548-0 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/biographicaldict0000boat }}
* {{cite book|last=Orange | first=Vincent |author-link=Vincent Orange (historian) | year=1957| title=Tedder: Quietly in Command | location=London | publisher=Frank Cass | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=epklB2o79_8C&q=%22john+slessor%22+raf&pg=PR18 | isbn=978-0-7146-4817-0}}
* {{cite book|last=Probert | first=Henry |author-link=Henry Probert | year=1991| title=High Commanders of the Royal Air Force| location=London| publisher=HMSO| isbn=978-0-11-772635-2}}
* {{cite book|last=Slessor|first=Sir John |year=1936|title= Air Power and Armies|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.278559|location=London|publisher= Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0817356101}}
* {{cite book|last=Slessor | first= Sir John | year=1957| title=The Great Deterrent| location=London| publisher=Cassell|oclc=2602099}}
* {{cite book|last=Stephens| first=Alan| year=1995| title=Going Solo: The Royal Australian Air Force 1946–1971|location=Canberra|publisher=Australian Government Publishing Service|isbn=978-0-644-42803-3}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|last=Orange|first=Vincent|year=2006|title=Bomber Champion: The Life of Marshal of the RAF Sir John Slessor, GCB, DSO, MC |location=London|publisher=Grub Street|isbn= 978-1904943570}}
* {{cite book|last=Slessor | first=Sir John | year=1957| title=The Central Blue: The Autobiography of Sir John Slessor, Marshal of the RAF| publisher=Frederick A. Praeger, Inc| asin=B0007E5ZK4}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* [http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/80003162 Imperial War Museum interview]

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{{succession box|
title=Air Officer Commanding [[No. 5 Group RAF|No. 5 Group]]|
before= [[Norman Bottomley]] |
after= [[Alec Coryton]] |
years=1941–1942}}
{{succession box|
title=Commander-in-Chief [[RAF Coastal Command|Coastal Command]]|
before=[[Philip Joubert de la Ferté|Sir Philip Joubert de la Ferté]]|
after=[[Sholto Douglas, 1st Baron Douglas of Kirtleside|Sir William Sholto Douglas]]|
years=1943–1944}}
|-
{{s-new}}
{{s-ttl|title=Commander-in-Chief [[Near East Air Force (Royal Air Force)|RAF Mediterranean and Middle East]]|years=1944–1945}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Guy Garrod|Sir Guy Garrod]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Bertine Sutton|Sir Bertine Sutton]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Air Member for Personnel]]|years=1945–1947}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Hugh Saunders|Sir Hugh Saunders]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim|Sir William Slim]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Commandant Royal College of Defence Studies|Commandant of the Imperial Defence College]]|years=1948–1949}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Charles Daniel (Royal Navy officer)|Sir Charles Daniel]]}}
|-
{{succession box |
title=[[Chief of the Air Staff (United Kingdom)|Chief of the Air Staff]] |
before=[[Arthur Tedder, 1st Baron Tedder|Sir Arthur Tedder]] |
after=[[William Dickson (RAF officer)|Sir William Dickson]] |
years=1950–1952}}
{{s-hon}}
{{succession box
| title = [[High Sheriff of Somerset]]
| years = 1965–1966
| before = [[Richard Hill (high sheriff)|Richard Hill]]
| after = [[Edward William St Lo Malet|Sir Edward Malet]]
}}
{{s-end}}

{{Chief of the Air Staff}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slessor, John}}
[[Category:1897 births]]
[[Category:1979 deaths]]
[[Category:Chiefs of the Air Staff (United Kingdom)]]
[[Category:Companions of the Distinguished Service Order]]
[[Category:Councillors in South West England]]
[[Category:High Sheriffs of Somerset]]
[[Category:Marshals of the Royal Air Force]]
[[Category:Members of Somerset County Council]]
[[Category:People educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Legion of Merit]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Sword]]
[[Category:Deputy Lieutenants of Somerset]]
[[Category:Royal Air Force air marshals of World War II]]
[[Category:Royal Flying Corps officers]]
[[Category:Conservative Party (UK) politicians]]
[[Category:Royalty and nobility with disabilities]]
[[Category:Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley]]
[[Category:Academics of the Staff College, Camberley]]
[[Category:Military personnel of British India]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Military Cross]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium)]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of the Phoenix (Greece)]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Legion of Honour]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Croix de Guerre (France)]]

John Slessor - Revision history

Bot at 21:13, 28 June 2022