Sir William Wratten | |
---|---|
Born | 15 August 1939 |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/branch | Royal Air Force |
Years of service | 1960–97 |
Rank | Air Chief Marshal |
Commands held |
Strike Command (1994–97) No. 11 Group (1989–91) RAF Stanley (1982–83) RAF Coningsby (1980–82) No. 23 Squadron (1975–77) |
Battles/wars | Gulf War |
Awards |
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Companion of the Order of the Bath Air Force Cross |
Air Chief Marshal Sir William John Wratten, GBE, CB, AFC (born 15 August 1939) is a retired senior commander in the Royal Air Force who was Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of RAF Strike Command from 1994 to 1997.
Educated at Chatham House Grammar School in Ramsgate, Wratten entered RAF Cranwell and was commissioned into the Royal Air Force in 1960. He was appointed Officer Commanding No. 23 Squadron in 1975 and, following his promotion to group captain, he became Station Commander at RAF Coningsby in 1980. In June 1982 he was made the first Station Commander at RAF Stanley in the Falkland Islands after the 1982 war. He went on to serve as Director of Operational Requirements (Air) at Ministry of Defence in 1983, as Senior Air Staff Officer at Headquarters No. 1 Group in 1986 and as Air Officer Commanding No. 11 Group in 1989. As an air vice marshal, he was Air Commander British Forces Middle East from 17 November 1990 until the end of the Gulf War (as such he was the senior air force officer in Operation Granby). His last appointment was as Air Officer Commanding Strike Command in 1994 before he retired in 1997.