Air Marshal Sir Gerard Michael David Mayhew, KCB, CBE (born 15 February 1969) is a former senior Royal Air Force officer, who served as Deputy Commander Operations, Headquarters Air Command between May 2019 and August 2022.
Sir Gerry Mayhew | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Air Marshal Mayhew in 2019 | |
| Born | 15 February 1969 Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire, England |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service | Royal Air Force |
| Years of service | 1988–2022 |
| Rank | Air Marshal |
| Commands | No. 1 Group (2016–18) RAF Leuchars (2013–14) No. 13 Squadron RAF (2007–09) |
| Battles / wars | Iraq War |
| Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Order of the British Empire |
Early life and education
editMayhew was born on 15 February 1969 in Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire, (now in the West Midlands), England. He was educated at St Benedict's Catholic High School, a voluntary aided Catholic school in Alcester, Warwickshire, and at Alcester Grammar School, a grammar school in Alcester.[1]
Military career
editMayhew was commissioned into the Royal Air Force on 28 July 1988 as an acting pilot officer.[2] He served as an air traffic control officer from 1988 to 1990.[1] In 1990, he trained as a pilot and became a Qualified Weapons Instructor (QWI).[1] His early career as a pilot was spent flying the Jaguar and Tornado, and he has more than 3000 flying hours.[3] From 2007 to 2009, he served as Officer Commanding No. 13 Squadron RAF.[1]
In January 2013, Mayhew was appointed Air Officer Scotland and Officer Commanding RAF Leuchars.[3] One of his main duties was to oversee the transfer of Leuchars, then an RAF station, to the British Army as a barracks; this was finalised in March 2015. He stepped down as Air Officer Scotland on 17 November 2014.[4] From April 2015 to April 2016, he was a member of the Strategic Defence and Security Review Team in the Cabinet Office.[5] He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2015 Queen's Birthday Honours.[6] On 28 April 2016 was promoted to air vice marshal and appointed Air Officer Commanding No. 1 Group.[7]
In August 2018, Mayhew succeeded Air Vice Marshal Michael Wigston as Assistant Chief of the Air Staff.[8] In May 2019, he became Deputy Commander Operations, Headquarters Air Command and was promoted to air marshal.[9] Mayhew was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 2022 New Year Honours.[10][11]
In April 2022 Mayhew accepted the freedom of Causeway Coasts and Glens Borough, on behalf of the RAF, at a ceremony in Limavady, County Londonderry. The town held a parade and saw a fly past of a Boeing P-8 Poseidon. The RAF were based in Limavady and in the nearby village of Ballykelly during World War Two.[12]
Mayhew was criticised in an employment tribunal case in October 2023 in which he was found to have offered "hollow and unconvincing evidence" in a claim by a serving military officer.[13]
References
edit- ^ a b c d 'MAYHEW, Air Vice-Marshal Gerard Michael David', Who's Who 2017, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2017; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2016; online edn, Nov 2016 accessed 7 Nov 2017
- ^ "No. 51524". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 November 1988. p. 12505.
- ^ a b "RAF Leuchars commander to oversee handover to army". The Courier. 12 February 2013. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
- ^ "Senior Appointments". raf.mod.uk. Royal Air Force. 4 November 2014. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
- ^ "Senior Appointments". raf.mod.uk. Royal Air Force. 4 March 2015. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
- ^ "No. 61256". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 June 2015. p. B7.
- ^ "Senior Appointments". raf.mod.uk. Royal Air Force. 20 April 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
- ^ "Senior Appointments". raf.mod.uk. Royal Air Force. 15 March 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
- ^ "Senior Appointments". raf.mod.uk. Royal Air Force. 20 February 2019. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
- ^ "No. 63571". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 2022. p. N2.
- ^ "The Military Division of the New Year Honours 2022". GOV.UK. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
- ^ "Royal Air Force given freedom of Causeway Coast and Glens". 8 April 2022 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ "Reserved Judgement: Allan Steele v. The Ministry of Defence" (PDF). Employment Tribunals. 28 April 2023. p. 12. Retrieved 20 October 2023.