ALLIED LEADERS (14): Sir William Mitchell

New Zealand Listener, Volume 2, Issue 34, 16 February 1940, Page 2

ALLIED LEADERS (14): Sir William Mitchell

IR MARSHAL SIR WILLIAM MITCHELL, K.CB., CB, C.B.E., D.S.0O., M.C.,. is a redheaded, freckle-faced Australian for whom great things are prophesied. At present he is Air Officer Commanding the Middle East Command, with

headquarters at Cairo. Very little is said about his job, but it is one of great strategic importance. Sir William, who is known to members of the Royal Air Force as "Ginger Mitch," began his career in the army 33 years ago. He was born in Sydney, educated at Wellington College, and joined the Highland Light Infantry in 1909, when he was commissioned. Like many other young officers just before the last war, he saw a future in the air, and in 1913 he joined the Royal Flying Corps, with which he served throughout the 1914-18 campaign in France, winning the D.S.O., M.C., and A.F.C. From 1919 to 1920 Sir William was stationed with the Royal Air Force at Waziristan, where he distinguished himself; from 1929 to 1933 he was Director of Training with the Air Ministry. He then became Commandant of the R.A.F. College at Cranwell, and left that position to become Air Officer Commanding the British Forces in Iraq. Sir William is also Air Member for Personnel on the Air Council. He is a student of Eastern languages, and one of the most popular men in the Royal Air Force. Like many other officers of the Air Force who are in command today, Sir William began his career as a pilot.