The Chairman of the United Kingdom Reserve Forces Association, Colonel CL Argent, has much pleasure in announcing the appointment of Air Vice-Marshal B H Newton CB CVO OBE as President UKRFA.
Air Vice-Marshal Barry Newton was educated at Highgate School and the Royal Air Force College Cranwell, from which he graduated as a pilot in 1953. After advanced flying training, he flew Canberras in the low-level target-marking role with 109 Squadron and then with 76 Squadron, in the cloud-sampling role throughout the British nuclear weapon tests in Australia and at Christmas Island. On his return from the Pacific, the Central Flying School course was followed by a tour instructing on Vampires at Cranwell, and then as a Squadron Commander at 6 Flying Training School at Acklington. After Staff College at Bracknell in 1966, and a tour as Personal Staff Officer to the Commander-in-Chief RAF Germany, he returned to flying duties as OC Operations Wing RAF Cottesmore. In 1972, the Air Warfare College course was followed by a series of joint service appointments in the Defence Policy Staff, the National Defence College and the Cabinet Officer. In 1982 he was appointed Air Commodore Flying Training at HQ Support Command and, the following year, on promotion to Air Vice-Marshal, Senior Directing Staff (Air) at the Royal College of Defence Studies. He was appointed Commandant of the Joint Service Defence College Greenwich in 1986.
On leaving the Royal Air Force in 1989, he was appointed Gentleman Usher to Her Majesty The Queen, and became Vice-Chairman of the National Council of Territorial, Auxiliary and Volunteer Reserve Associations. In 1997, he was appointed the first Honorary Air Commodore of 606 (Chiltern) Squadron, and in January 2000 he succeeded the Rt Hon Lord Monro of Langholm as Honorary Inspector-General of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force.
Air Vice-Marshal Newton is an Honorary Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Lightmongers, an Upper Freeman of the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators, and a freeman of the City of London. He and his wife Lavinia have a grown-up family and live in Berkshire.
