New CAS

[KPax]

Air Marshal Michael Wigston CBE is to be promoted Air Chief Marshal and appointed as Chief of the Air Staff, in succession to Air Chief Marshal Sir Steven Hillier; congratulations Sir.

[LincsFM]

I had my money on Stu Atha . Oh well good luck

[ORAC]

The Times:

A group of “transformational leaders” have been promoted to the highest echelons of Britain’s armed forces, in a move signalling the government’s intent to reform the military.

The four “four-star” appointments were announced yesterday by Gavin Williamson, the defence secretary, who described the next generation of defence chiefs as “forward-looking and keen to modernise” the services (https://www.thetimes.co.uk/topic/armed-forces?page=1).

Vice-Admiral Tim Fraser, 55, will be promoted to admiral and appointed deputy head of the military. Vice-Admiral Tony Radakin, 53, will also become an admiral and will head the navy. Air Marshal Mike Wigston, 50, will become air chief marshal and chief of the RAF, while Lieutenant-General Patrick Sanders, 52, will be promoted to general and appointed Commander Joint Forces Command.......

[PostMeHappy]

Top bloke....as my Sqn Boss and later 1* on Ops, he’s one of the good guys.....

[Asturias56]

" in a move signalling the government’s intent to reform the military"

why does that worry me???????

[Just This Once...]

Wiggy has always been self-centred with his eyes upward; readily adopted into the RAF oxbridge celestial fraternity as a JO with serious 'sponsorship' to get over any errors or misdeeds. Stu Peach has little tolerance for him and has cut him down more than once, so that could be an interesting dynamic. Indeed, the contrast between Stu Atha and Wiggy could not be greater.

[Red Line Entry]

Bugger - I was hoping that Osby would get VCDS.

[reds & greens]

Bugger - I was hoping that Osby would get VCDS.

Would be great to see Osby there, - We'd all hear him speak his mind.
Likely have to move his office though, somewhere with better acoustics and a swear filter fitted...

[MPN11]

I assume their respective Ks will be in the post, along with a Christmas card from HMQ?

[Melchett01]

Wiggy has always been self-centred with his eyes upward; readily adopted into the RAF oxbridge celestial fraternity as a JO with serious 'sponsorship' to get over any errors or misdeeds. Stu Peach has little tolerance for him and has cut him down more than once, so that could be an interesting dynamic. Indeed, the contrast between Stu Atha and Wiggy could not be greater.



Peachy no longer sits in a U.K. Defence chain of command, so as fellow 4 Stars they can tell each other where to go quite happily.

Osby’s next move looks like promotion to Mr having missed out on VCDS & Com JFC - let’s be honest, CAS was never on the cards as a Nav. Unless he moves sideways in rank to take over from Tim Fraser as CJO which is the path Peach took. Admiral Tim is one to watch, likely RN candidate for CDS after Parker.

[Just This Once...]

Bugger - I was hoping that Osby would get VCDS.

Quite a few of us were hoping for that.

[Easy Street]

+1 for the Osby fan club. It should be noted that the swearing has pretty much been eradicated for some years now, in polite work settings anyway!

As far as I can gather, ACM Peach has had fairly terse relations with many of the light blue hierarchy over the years... that’s probably both cause and effect of his starred career being exclusively in purple appointments since Comdt AWC and I can’t see it making any difference to Wiggy now. Interesting appointment for sure; he can only have been a 3* for just over a year... most would have guessed at AM Atha, but (judging by the comments in that Times article) his propensity for getting right down in the tactical weeds won’t have helped if a fresh perspective is what SofS and PS are after.

[Parson]

And I thought it was just police officers and doctors that were getting younger. You know you are getting on when the CAS is younger.......

[9BIT]

Wiggy only became a 3* on 20 Aug 18!

[brakedwell]

And I thought it was just police officers and doctors that were getting younger. You know you are getting on when the CAS is younger.......

Blimey, he joined 14 years after I left .

[Old-Duffer]

I sense this is something of an MOD 'Night of the Long Knives', with all three services seeming to skip a generation. In at least one case there seems to be a recently appointed incumbent who is going to be on his bike as the new brooms sweep in. It would be very interesting to know what precipitated the moves and who really called the tunes here. I doubt the Sec of State for Defence has a decent grasp of the strengths and weaknesses of the various 'contestants'.

It will be interesting to see the following moves/promotions, with at least two RAF three star jobs needing to be filled, if Wigston goes up and Atha goes out. I wonder if we're about to see the first 3 star of the fair sex???!!!

Old Duffer

[Melchett01]

I sense this is something of an MOD 'Night of the Long Knives', with all three services seeming to skip a generation. In at least one case there seems to be a recently appointed incumbent who is going to be on his bike as the new brooms sweep in. It would be very interesting to know what precipitated the moves and who really called the tunes here. I doubt the Sec of State for Defence has a decent grasp of the strengths and weaknesses of the various 'contestants'.

It will be interesting to see the following moves/promotions, with at least two RAF three star jobs needing to be filled, if Wigston goes up and Atha goes out. I wonder if we're about to see the first 3 star of the fair sex???!!!

Old Duffer

There are also questions about where Gary Waterfall goes next after his time at PJHQ. Given that Hillier and Wigston were both Tornado drivers, would the failure for both Atha and Waterfall to progress any further represent the final nail in the coffin of the Harrier mafia? Not that I’m even remotely thinking that Service leadership will be driven by inter-fleet politics.

[Lima Juliet]

Wiggy is a very good choice in my humble opinion...

As for Osby, yes, what a top bloke. Even the subject of some humour on FaceBook recently!
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1089x1505/fb3ad2ca_b690_4f25_886b_a86729e1a1fa_955d806d82b8bde92834f9b 9ca9307a548413d14.jpeg

[Easy Street]

would the failure for both Atha and Waterfall to progress any further represent the final nail in the coffin of the Harrier mafia?

No: AOC 1, AVM Harv Smyth is a colossus in the Harrier pantheon, widely reckoned to be a shoo-in for higher... and it doesn’t hurt that he’s a lovely bloke. Longer-term, the mafia has done a very fine job of getting its progeny into the F-35 force (well, it does hover and land on boats, right?) so you might as well view that as a continuation. ‘Putting the band back together...’ as AM Atha jarringly captioned a F-35 deck landing clip on social media recently. However, most from Harv downwards went on to fly Typhoon or Tornado, and while there is obvious affection for their former steed, they at least now seem to have chips balanced fairly evenly on each shoulder!

[Black Swan]

I sense this is something of an MOD 'Night of the Long Knives', with all three services seeming to skip a generation. In at least one case there seems to be a recently appointed incumbent who is going to be on his bike as the new brooms sweep in. It would be very interesting to know what precipitated the moves and who really called the tunes here. I doubt the Sec of State for Defence has a decent grasp of the strengths and weaknesses of the various 'contestants'.

It will be interesting to see the following moves/promotions, with at least two RAF three star jobs needing to be filled, if Wigston goes up and Atha goes out. I wonder if we're about to see the first 3 star of the fair sex???!!!

Old Duffer

I was thinking similar to Old Duffer. Interesting that the RAF Senior Appointments announced today advise that "Air Commodore S D Ellard to be promoted Air Vice-Marshal and to be Air Officer Commanding No 38 Group in December 2018 in succession to Air Vice-Marshal S C Gray CB OBE whose next appointment is yet to be announced." She''s been AOC 38 Gp for two and a half years, so assume she's either moving upwards, sideways (within the MOD) or (further speculation) she takes over from AM Julian Young as Chief of Materiel (Air) given he's coming up to three years in post. Guess the moves over the next few months are going to be interesting!

[tartare]

Has Air Marshall Wigston driven anything pointy during his career thus far?
Didn't seem so from my uneducated reading of his CV.
I had always assumed that the head of the service had usually been a flyer - and usually a fast jet flyer at that.
Not judging - just curious...

[roving]

It appears that he has.
CAREER HISTORY1986 - Commissioned on a University Cadetship

1992 – Completed pilot training on Tornado GR1

This was followed by a succession of frontline tours, including operational deployments enforcing the no-fly zones in Iraq.

2005 – Assumed command of 12 (Bomber) Squadron

Flying the Tornado GR4 and leading the Squadron on two operational tours in Iraq and large force exercises in Canada, Malaysia and the USA.

2007 – Commander of 903 Expeditionary Air Wing in Iraq

Supporting a number of aircraft types such as Typhoon FGR4, Tornado GR4 and C130 Hercules.

2013 – Tornado Force Commander

https://www.raf.mod.uk/our-organisation/senior-commanders/deputy-commander-capability-and-air-member-for-personnel-capability/

[tartare]

I stand corrected.
Is it a given that CAS must have been a fast jet driver at some point?

[Bob Viking]

No. It is not essential that CAS has a FJ background.

It is a fact, though, that FJ pilots are just far superior to everyone else and therefore it makes it a sensible course of action.

BV

(For all those sensitive poppets out there, this post is meant in jest!)

[Old-Duffer]

Cor, Bob Viking - despite your bracketed caveat - the rotary wing mafia (in the absence of their maritime equivalent) are sharpening their swords as I pen this.

You are brave but reckless officer !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OD

[orca]

OD,

Whilst BV does have a point - I do note that CAS desig is one of the subset of FJ drivers who can’t find their own way home. 😉

[Lima Juliet]

OD,

Whilst BV does have a point - I do note that CAS desig is one of the subset of FJ drivers who can’t find their own way home. 😉

Probably because they want someone who had flown an aircraft that has strategic reach and far ranging capabilities - rather than a subsonic pig, with mainly a support-the-troops role that can fly backwards at airshows? ;);)

[Just This Once...]

...CAS desig is one of the subset of FJ drivers who... ��

...has dropped a live KRET in the face of one of his own formation.

[Melchett01]

Cor, Bob Viking - despite your bracketed caveat - the rotary wing mafia (in the absence of their maritime equivalent) are sharpening their swords as I pen this.

You are brave but reckless officer !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OD

Having been thoroughly dunked in a vat of purple paint, my dog in this fight these days is a small terrier - Scrappy Doo if you like. But I would suggest it's potentially a long walk home when superior FJ skills lose out to the laws of physics without a helicopter to give you a lift. And one thing I quickly learned about FJ pilots, they really don't like walking - can't even manage a round of golf without sitting on one of those motorised shopping carts ;-)

[Davef68]

Incumbent before the current post holder flew whirly things

[Old-Duffer]

My earlier caution to Bob Viking was not meant to signal open warfare between the various types of 'drivers airframe', 'directional consultants' or anybody else but clearly it has fired the combative ppruners to take to the barricades.

I must search out a Christmas card received many moons ago which had a photo of Avro's tin triangle with a Blue Steel tucked underneath, on the front. When opened, the card held the message: 'Peace on earth and goodwill to all men - From the RAF's nuclear strike force'.

O-D

[Bob Viking]

Personally I think the inter fleet banter is far more interesting than discussing the relative merits of senior officers.

I also think it’s probably fair to say I started it.

You're all most welcome.

BV

[Onceapilot]

...has dropped a live KRET in the face of one of his own formation.

Very interesting... More info might amuse. :ouch:

OAP

[oxenos]

I can't think why the R.A.F., R.N. etc. do not consult Ppruners BEFORE making appointments, thus gaining the benefit of of our vast experience, inside knowledge etc.

[MPN11]

Ah, Upward Reporting! As a deal-breaker it has potential! :D

[tartare]

KRET?
Google's no help.
Kinetic Radio Emitting...???

[Bob Viking]

'K' meaning one thousand. 'RET' meaning retarded. Therefore KRET = 1000 pound retarded bomb. Now a legacy weapon.

I do not know any details of the story in question. It sounds like an honest mistake though!

BV

[Red Line Entry]

[QUOTE][It sounds like an honest mistake though!/QUOTE]

It would be a bit worrying if it had been intentional!

[RHINO]

I guess if you do the hard yards you get the rewards. That being said having the top operational job does not seem a good precursor to becoming CAS. I will let this forum debate that one...

Remember when Steve was a Flying Officer and Elaine, by my calibration, was at least a Squadron leader and that is RAF not WRAF....! Hope they have an enjoyable retirement, they have certainly earn't it.

[melmothtw]

Incumbent before the current post holder flew whirly things

I've covered quite a few CASs during my time as a defence journo, but without doubt Pulford was the most anonymous of all of them.

[Flap62]

The Air Force must be flush for talent if it can allow people of the ability and drive of Stu Atha to walk out the door.

[207592]

Been looking at the CAS' deputies. By designation, one is a leader, and the other a planner. If re-organisation is on the cards, one is perhaps the better placed to wield the axe.

[Jabba_TG12]

Transformational leaders??? What, you mean working for the EU instead of NATO?

[KPax]

I still believe that in this 'modern world' it should be the best person for the job, not the best pilot.

[Fortissimo]

KPax

Very true. But I still think you would need to find someone with an understanding of air power driven by operational experience that would make them a credible source of advice etc here and with allies. That would mean identifying people at 4-ring level and giving them the right jobs thereafter. If you can countenance having a bright engineer as the F35 Force Cdr it might work.

[Red Line Entry]

Fortissimo,
I understand your view, but disagree. It is perfectly possible to understand the operational environment (I didn’t use your word, experience) without having been part of operational planning or delivery. Most importantly, CAS is not the RAF’s warfighter, he is the RAF’s strategic leader. My opinion of any previous CAS has not been shaped by how physically brave I perceiive them to be. I would rather have a man who is known for being a great leader, a thinker, and with an ability to influence Main Building.
in other words, I think it would be perfectly reasonable to consider having non-aircrew in the job. There’s a certain Engineer who is about to become a 3 star who could be an excellent future candidate!

[Rheinstorff]

Isn’t the Royal Norwegian Air Force CAS an Air Battle Manager? If so, it does support the notion that a non-pilot and a woman can be a chief of an advanced Air Force.

[MPN11]

Smaller Air Forces, like the RAF, require larger thinking than was previously the case. And the majority of the ‘warfighting’ is done in Whitehall, which requires a specific skill-set not necessarily related to being able to operate a fast-jet in a combat scenario.

Horses for Courses, although generating the right career path for non-aircrew would be challenging.

[orca]

Honest questions - are the command opportunities for engineers available to create a CAS? I agree that the next Mil Cap is a great advert for the branch but can’t see the step to 4 star without multiple command opportunities (and therefore experience if only to generate empathy with future subordinates) along the way. Can Rock Apes make it to CAS?

[Flap62]

Rock Apes can’t even spell CAS!

[SlopJockey]

Rock Apes can’t even spell CAS!



Pretty, boy scout badges not always required:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham_Stacey
http://www.ndc.nato.int/news/news.php?icode=1198 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham_Stacey)

[Rheinstorff]

Rock Apes can’t even spell CAS!

And yet I did...

[Darvan]

If there is already a non-aircrew type out there who has had experience in command as a flt cdr, sqn cdr, det cdr, CAOC or JFAC cdr, and has high level staff experience in either JHQ or CAS’s outer office then let him or her compete with aircrew to be the next CAS. Somehow I think you will struggle to find someone suitably ‘qualified’. An ABM may get close but the branch is so small that it will only throw up one candidate in every blue moon. The engineer branch is too specialised with its own challenges. It is almost impossible for an engineer to develop the all important operational and war-fighting levels of ‘experience’ without diluting his own specialist skills.

[Red Line Entry]

Valid point, Darvan, and I suppose if we consider that CAOC/JFAC/A3 experience is essential, then non-aircrew are unlikely to get a look in. However, my contention is that such experience is essential for the warfighting commander (ie DCom Ops) but not for the strategic commander (ie CAS).

interesting point about command experience. The average aircrew officer will not directly command significant (ie more than say 20) subordinates until they are a wg cdr. His engineer oppo could have commanded 100+ in his very first tour and as an OC Eng could be in charge of 1500.

However, I’m not trying to turn this into an inter-branch p###ing contest. We all want the best man for the job, it just would be nice if the net was cast a bit wider.

[Just This Once...]

The role of CAS means that he may be the only person at the top table who can fully articulate operational air power at either the national or multinational level and have a working knowledge of capabilities possessed by others - achieved by being immersed in the subject throughout their career. CAS is not just a manager of personnel, he or she has to know how to fight a war, engage with overseas equivalents at the same level whilst educating, supporting and translating capabilities at the grand-strategic/political level.

[Pontius Navigator]

And yet I did...
Cut n paste?😀

[Pontius Navigator]

The man for the job.

On one exercise we had a shortage of suitable Execs. The S Dent O, a wg cdr, was put in charge. He was extremely effective and proved the man is better than the job spec.

We used to train engineers and medics to operational wings standard. No reason why they could not get a command. Once anyone reaches wg cdr is it not true that they can be posted to any role?

[MPN11]

Certainly a lot more 'appointment flexibility' was happening in my later years and subsequently. I'm thinking of a couple of ATCOs ... one went as Stn Cdr Shawbury, and another ended up as the 2-star ABM boss at STC.

[Just This Once...]

And did the SDentO agree to have his teeth filled by one of the aircrew afterwards?

Yes, any wg wdr can fill any other wg cdr role if he/she is suitably qualified and experienced for that role.

[Pontius Navigator]

JTO, that is why aircrew are General Duties😁

We had a copilot on Nimrods. I don't think he liked to role but they wouldn't post him. He resigned and joined the army as a Medic in the rank of major.

On any large sqn you could usually find someone with a skill besides flying.

[KPax]

Sir Stu Peach surely dispelled the myth that you have to be a Pilot to get to the top of the tree.

[Old-Duffer]

During the exchange of views in the posts above, perhaps one needs to look at how things have progressed in the last 30 or so years.

Setting aside the strides made by the fair sex, we had people like Sir Charles Ness as a navigator and Sir Michael Alcock (Engineer) being AFB members. Currently and in addition to the principal engineer - Air Marshal Julian Young there is Richard Knighton who has just been made 3 star and is a major player in the central staffs.

CAS does 'sit at the table' by himself but in the background there is a large staff of specialist advisers who feed him the briefs etc. True, his operational experience and probably his personality as well are major factors but what he says, writes and does is a distillation of many contributions and the 'grooming system', which sees a large number of contenders at (possibly) gp capt level, gradually whittled down to a slack handful at 3/4 star level is the power behind the throne.

Old Duffer

[Dutystude]

JTO, that is why aircrew are General Duties��

We had a copilot on Nimrods. I don't think he liked to role but they wouldn't post him. He resigned and joined the army as a Medic in the rank of major.

On any large sqn you could usually find someone with a skill besides flying.

In our day yes. Many senior Station admin posts - OC SSS, OC PMS; even OC Admin were filled by aircrew. But aircrew haven’t been GD/P, GD/N etc for years.

Officers Wg Cdr and above are designated General Duties these days I think.

[Melchett01]

Sir Stu Peach surely dispelled the myth that you have to be a Pilot to get to the top of the tree.

I’d disagree there in one sense - what made him employable as CDS and not as CAS? I still think, for all it’s fine words, that the RAF lives in a world where the right man for the job is a pilot and the rest make up the numbers. Outside of light blue structures it may well be the case that the best man regardless works to a greater degree, but I think we still have lessons to learn.

For what it’s worth, what do I think makes the ‘right man’ at the highest level. Well, it’s not thousands of combat hours. A level of operational experience is vital, but he nature of operations are changing - Cyber, big data, RPAS - effect in the Air domain is achieved by more ways than sitting in a ‘traditional’ cockpit. Plus a pure ops background will mean you are light in certain critical areas, notably Cap and Finance. A 2-Star a while back suggested to me at a DIN that both those were critical by 1-Star to be credible for the final push. To that I would add intellectual / academics and the ability to think conceptually if you’re going to conquer policy. And that then leads to the question of ACSC or alternative routes - as I believe the Army are now experimenting with. Plus when you then reach the highest levels the ability to operate comfortably in political circles is crucial.

[MPN11]

That last sentence is the deal-breaker ... Whitehall Warrior might have been a calumny, but these days it’s a critical skill.

[jindabyne]

Sir Stu Peach surely dispelled the myth that you have to be a Pilot to get to the top of the tree.

And that you have to be reasonably fit!

[Finningley Boy]

Interesting reading about the CAS needing a back ground in flying pointy grey beasties. This is relatively new, before Sir Keith Williamson no CAS had operational experience of fast jets, Sir Michael Beetham had flown and commanded a Squadron of Valiants, but his early operational career was on Lancasters and, I think, Lincolns. I know that these gents were a bit long in the tooth to get some Hunter or Lightning time in, but that's the point, its operational combat flying experience which is at the heart of the RAF's professional leader's background. Beetham could have flown Lightnings, perhaps, but he was a Bomber pilot at a time when the profile of the types according to role was far more divergent. As well as Andy Pulford, one more past CAS had experience of Helicopters. Peter Harding, but that was in addition to his time on Canberras and I think Strike role Phantoms as well.

FB

[orca]

FB - do you mean reading within this thread?

I’ve been through it to check and can’t find any post that says CAS must have flown pointy things. Other than BV’s which is probably the highlight.

[SASless]

At least the USAF is honest about its "Fighter Pilot Mafia" that controls far too much of the Air Force choice of leadership.

It used to be the "Bomber Mafia" before the demise of the Strategic Air Command (SAC) following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

[Finningley Boy]

FB - do you mean reading within this thread?

I’ve been through it to check and can’t find any post that says CAS must have flown pointy things. Other than BV’s which is probably the highlight.

No I think you've misunderstood, I didn't say that someone had said they must as such, I'm simply alluding to the perceived wisdom. In all but one case, the CAS has always flown a combat type operationally, assuming Helicopters in RAF service are not classed as frontline combat aircraft. And I'm not saying this is a good or a bad custom, simply that it has always been that way, probably through the logic of having been close to the core raison det're of why there is an air force in the first place.

But I accept that nothing is set in stone.

FB

[Lima Juliet]

The GD branch is long dead. These days our Aircrew are divided into Flying Branch and the Non-Commissioned Aircrew (NCA). For the Flying Branch, the ‘Sub-Branch’ are Pilot, WSO and RPAS(P). For the NCA their ‘Main Trade’ is WSOp. Then you get the capability types - Fast Jet (FJ), Multi-Eng (ME), Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance (ISR) and Rotary Wing (RW). So a helicopter pilot would be a Pilot(RW).

Also, the disastrous ‘Wg Cdr Any’ policy is also long since dead - oddly enough you need certain suitably qualified and experienced persons (SQEPs) to do a lot of these jobs.

Finally, I have read a lot “best man for the job” - surely this is “best person for the job”? It would be great to see some more female Aircrew in the top jobs.

[Evalu8ter]

Fair comment FB - "assuming Helicopters in RAF service are not classed as frontline combat aircraft" - but I would suggest that 23 Chinook DFCs in Afghan, a triple DFC holder and the only CGC awarded to aircrew, ever, has started to change the narrative? You correctly suggest it has always seemed to be this way - maybe those attitudes are slowly changing? A friend who was in Recruiting at the time said that would-be pilots were split broadly 50/50 between Typhoon and Chinook over what they wanted to fly. As helicopters were flavour of the month, it was perhaps logical that Pully would take the role - he's also left behind a cohort of highly decorated and able RW players that will challenge for leading roles in the future. Notably, they're all following his lead in avoiding 1* and above positions in JHC…..

SASLess - quite right. There's an insightful book entitled "The Rise of the Fighter Generals" (available here (https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/Portals/10/AUPress/Books/B_0051_WORDEN_RISE_FIGHTER_GENERALS.pdf) on PDF) which tells the tale of the rise and fall of the Bomber Mafia. A follow-up should look at the subsequent Tac Air / Fighter domination of the highest positions until the spat between Moseley and the Sec Def (Gates). Although publicly he quit over the Minot Nuke fiasco, it seems that Moseley's continual counter-briefing over F-22 numbers during the prolonged asymmetric campaigns it contributed little to, exasperated the political leadership (who were also eyeing lucrative contracts for the B-21 bomber). Sec Gates was advocating more SOC, more Tac Airlift and more ISR - and felt the fighter mafia were frustrating those efforts. Very pointedly, his successor, Gen Schwartz, was a Spec Ops C-130 / MH-53 pilot….

[Finningley Boy]

Indeed Evalu8ter,

Quite a few Field Ambulance medical orderlies and Doctors over the decades have picked up VCs and so on, I also understand Private Charles Godfrey of the Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard Platoon, responsible for defending the UK coast line between the Pier Novelty Rock Emporium and Timothy Whites on the High Street, picked up a Military Medal (For Bravery in the Field). He got the medal while serving as a medical orderly in the Great War, while also a confirmed Conscientious objector!

FB

[Pontius Navigator]

LJ, thank you for that synopsis.