Frederick Bowhill

Sir Frederick Bowhill
Air Chief Marshal Sir Frederick Bowhill
Born	(1880-09-01)1 September 1880 Gwalior, India
Died	12 March 1960(1960-03-12) (aged 79) Fulham, England
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy (1896–18) Royal Air Force (1918–45)
Years of service	1896–1945
Rank	Air Chief Marshal
Commands held	Transport Command (1943–45) Ferry Command (1941–43) Coastal Command (1937–41) Air Member for Personnel (1933–37) RAF Depot Egypt (1925–26) RNAS Killingholme (1918) RNAS Felixstowe (1918) No. 8 Squadron RNAS (1916–17) HMS Empress (1914–15)
Battles/wars	First World War Somaliland campaign Second World War
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George Distinguished Service Order & Bar Mentioned in Despatches (7) Order of Saint Vladimir, 4th Class with Sword and Bow (Russia) Commander of the Order of the Redeemer (Greece) Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau (Netherlands) Commander of the Legion of Merit (United States) Grand Cross of the Order of St. Olav (Norway) Grand Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (Poland)

Air Chief Marshal Sir Frederick William Bowhill, GBE, KCB, CMG, DSO & Bar (1 September 1880 – 12 March 1960) was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force before and during the Second World War.

Bowhill started his career as a midshipman in the merchant navy in 1896. In 1912 he attended the Central Flying School and in 1914 he was given command of the seaplane carrier HMS Empress. He became Officer Commanding No. 8 Squadron of the Royal Naval Air Service in 1915 and Station Commander at RNAS Felixstowe in 1918. Later that year he commanded RNAS Killingholme.

After the war Bowhill was not to rest for long from operational service. In 1920 he was the Chief of Staff to Group Captain Robert Gordon for the highly successful Somaliland campaign. He went on to be Officer Commanding the RAF Depot in Egypt in 1925, Senior Air Staff Officer at Headquarters RAF Iraq Command in 1928 and Director of Organisation and Staff Duties at the Air Ministry in 1929. In 1931 he was appointed Air Officer Commanding the Fighting Area of the Air Defence of Great Britain and in 1933 he became Air Member for Personnel.