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Group Captain

Robert Cecil Dawkins

CBE
Born1903
Holloway, London, England
Died1985
Newton Blossomville, England
Allegiance United Kingdom United Kingdom
Service/branch  Royal Air Force
Years of service1932-1955
Rank Group Captain
Service number27251
Commands held RAF Tengah
R.A.F. Hendon
Battles/wars World War II

Group Captain Robert Cecil Dawkins CBE (1903-1985) was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force. [1] In September 1951 he was made CBE for services in Malaya, principally for operational achievements while he was in command of the R.A.F. station at Tengah. [1] [2] [3] In 1951 he was made station commander at R.A.F. Hendon until his retirement in 1955. [2] [4]

Life

Robert Cecil Dawkins was born on 6 March 1903 in Holloway, London. [5] He was the son of Frederick Adolphus Dawkins and Adelaide (née Maude) [5] and was educated at Bedford Modern School between 1912 and 1920. [2]

Dawkins saw service with the Fleet Air Arm [6] between 1932 and 1938, becoming squadron leader on 1 October 1938. [7] [8] Shortly after the outbreak of World War II he was promoted to wing commander. [9] For much of the war, he served with Coastal Command and ‘commanded several important stations at home and abroad’. [7] In 1944 he was promoted to temporary group captain. [10]

In 1947, Dawkins was made substantive group captain, [11] and became superintendent of flying at the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment at Boscombe Down. [7] In 1949 he was appointed deputy director of accident prevention at the Air Ministry. [7]

In 1950, Group Captain Dawkins was put in command of the R.A.F. station at Tengah [1] [2] [3] and in recognition of his operational achievements while holding that command he was made CBE. [1] [2] [3] The citation for his CBE read that ‘by his sympathy, example and determination he had shown outstanding devotion to duty’. [2]

In 1951 Dawkins returned to England and was made station commander at R.A.F. Hendon, [2] [4] [12] a position he held until his retirement on 15 March 1955. [13] Dawkins died in Newton Blossomville in 1985. [5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "The London Gazette" (PDF). thegazette.co.uk. 18 September 1951. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g The Eagle, The Magazine of Bedford Modern School, Christmas 1951, Vol. XXVIII No.4
  3. ^ a b c "Station OCs - Far East".
  4. ^ a b "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 March 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2016.{{ cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title ( link)
  5. ^ a b c "Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History Records at Ancestry.co.uk".
  6. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 March 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2016.{{ cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title ( link)
  7. ^ a b c d "Aeroplane and Commercial Aviation News". July 1949.
  8. ^ "The Air Force List, April 1940". Mocavo.
  9. ^ The London Gazette 10 December 1940, Issue 35010, p. 6983
  10. ^ Fourth Supplement to The London Gazette, 18 January 1944, Issue 36340, p. 403
  11. ^ Supplement to The London Gazette, 14 October, 1947, Issue 38095, p. 4796
  12. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 March 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2016.{{ cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title ( link)
  13. ^ Supplement to The London Gazette, 15 March 1955, Issue 40429, p. 1532
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