Air Marshal Sir Richard Llewellyn Roger Atcherley, KBE, CB, AFC & Bar (12 January 1904 – 18 April 1970) was a senior Royal Air Force officer.
Richard Atcherley and his twin David were born on 12 January 1904, and were the sons of Major General Sir Llewellyn Atcherley, Chief Constable of the West Riding of Yorkshire,[1] and his wife “Nellie”, Eleanor Frances (1871–1957
In 1922, Atcherley attended the RAF College Cranwell and was commissioned two years later.[2] He initially served as a pilot on No. 29 Squadron, flying Snipes out of Duxford.[2] In 1925, Atcherley attended the Central Flying School and then returned to his squadron as both a pilot and a qualified flying instructor.[2] He was a member of the RAF team that competed for the Schneider Trophy in 1929.
Atcherley was appointed Officer Commanding No. 219 Squadron in October 1939 and then became Officer Commanding the Air Element of the British Expeditionary Force in Norway in May 1940.[2] He went on to be Station Commander at RAF Drem in Scotland in June 1940 in which year he was also awarded the Air Force Cross.[2] He was awarded a bar to his Air Force Cross on 24 September 1941.[4] In 1942 he served as Station Commander at RAF Fairwood Common and then at RAF Kenley.[2]

He was promoted to temporary group captain on 27 March 1942.[5] In April 1943 Atcherley became Air Officer Commanding of No. 211 Group at Tripoli in Libya.[2] At the time of the invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky) on 10 July 1943, No. 211 Group was the primary fighter force of Air Vice Marshal Harry Broadhurst’s Desert Air Force, a sub-command of Air Marshal Sir Arthur Coningham’s Northwest African Tactical Air Force.[6] Later that year he transferred to Headquarters RAF Fighter Command and in 1944 he moved to Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Air Force in preparation for Operation Overlord.[2] He spent the closing stages of the War as Commandant of the Fighter Leaders’ School and then as Commandant of the Central Fighter Establishment.
David Atcherley entered Sandhurst Military Academy in 1922 after being rejected for the RAF due to medical grounds. In 1924 he was commissioned into the East Lancashire Regiment. His wish to fly succeeded when he was seconded to the RAF in March 1927. Proving to be an excellent pilot he was able to have his secondment converted into a permanent transfer on 1 October 1929.[citation needed]

At the start of the war he was Commanding Officer of No. 85 Squadron. He commanded No. 253 Squadron in May 1940 and more postings followed rapidly. His gained his first aerial successes as a night fighter when in command of No. 25 Squadron, which was equipped with Beaufighters, early in 1941.[citation needed]

On 28 August 1941 he fractured his neck as a result of a crash after a take off. However, this did not stop him flying, although it did require six ground crew to get him into and out of his aircraft.[citation needed]

Group Captain Atcherley became the Commanding Officer at RAF Fairwood Common in 1942 and was responsible for collecting Oberleutnant Armin Faber from RAF Pembrey when he landed his Focke-Wulf 190 there on 23 June 1942.[3]

In 1942/43 he was in charge of night fighter units during the Tunisia Campaign. Back in Britain later in 1943 more postings and promotions followed.

Towards the end of the war he served in No. 2 Group, Brussels, 1945, under Basil Embry.

First Edition. 240 p. ; 22 cm. #0921 Second World War R.A.F.