Alan Boxer
Sir Alan Boxer | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1 December 1916 Hastings, New Zealand |
| Died | 26 April 1998 (aged 81) Hampshire, England |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service | Royal Air Force |
| Years of service | 1939–1970 |
| Rank | Air Vice Marshal |
| Commands | RAF Wittering (1957–59) No. 7 Squadron (1956–57) No. 161 Squadron (1943) |
| Battles / wars | Second World War Korean War |
| Awards | Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Companion of the Order of the Bath Distinguished Service Order Distinguished Flying Cross Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari (Poland) Bronze Star Medal (United States) Air Medal (United States) |
Air Vice Marshal Sir Alan Hunter Cachemaille Boxer, KCVO, CB, DSO, DFC (1 December 1916 – 26 April 1998) was a senior Royal Air Force officer.
Early life
[edit]Boxer was born in Hastings, New Zealand, on 1 December 1916,[1] and was educated at Nelson College from 1927 to 1935.[2]
RAF career
[edit]Boxer joined the Royal Air Force in January 1939 and saw service during the Second World War as a pilot with No. 161 Squadron at RAF Tempsford,[3] as a flight commander with No. 138 Squadron and then as Commanding Officer of No. 161 Squadron from 1943.[4] He continued his war service on the staff in the Directorate of Intelligence at the Air Ministry from September 1943 and then on the staff at Headquarters RAF Bomber Command from February 1945.[4]
Boxer remained in the Royal Air Force after the war. Boxer flew B-29s over Korea while on secondment to the USAF.[5] He became Officer Commanding No. 7 Squadron in 1956, Station Commander at RAF Wittering in 1958 and Group Captain responsible for Plans at Headquarters Bomber Command in 1959.[4] He went on to be Senior Air Staff Officer at Headquarters No. 1 Group in 1963, Senior Air Staff Officer at Headquarters RAF Bomber Command in 1965 and Defence Services Secretary in 1967 before retiring in 1970.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ "Alan Hunter Cachemaille Boxer". Auckland War Memorial Museum. Retrieved 8 July 2022 – via Online Cenotaph.
- ^ Nelson College Old Boys' Register, 1856–2006, 6th edition
- ^ "History of RAF Tempsford". Archived from the original on 5 July 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
- ^ a b c d Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Vice-Marshal Sir Alan Boxer
- ^ Newton, Dennis Kiwis over Korea article Fly Past magazine February 2006 pp. 61–2
- 1916 births
- 1998 deaths
- New Zealand Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
- New Zealand Companions of the Order of the Bath
- New Zealand Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
- People educated at Nelson College
- People from Hastings, New Zealand
- Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
- Recipients of the Air Medal
- Royal Air Force air marshals
- Royal Air Force pilots of World War II
- Recipients of the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari
- Military personnel from Hawke's Bay