David Murray (RAF officer)

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David Murray
Born1960 (age 63–64)
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchRoyal Air Force
Years of service1980–2013
RankAir Vice Marshal
Service number8023715
Commands heldDefence College of Police and Personnel Administration
RAF Halton
Battles/warsBosnia
Sierra Leone Civil War
AwardsCommander of the Royal Victorian Order
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
RelationsLen Murray, Baron Murray of Epping Forest (father)

Air Vice-Marshal David Paul Murray, CVO, OBE, DL (born 1960) is a retired senior Royal Air Force officer. He served as Defence Services Secretary in the Royal Household from 2010 to 2012. He is currently a member of the Veterans Advisory Board and a Deputy Lieutenant for the County of Suffolk.

Military career[edit]

The son of Baron Murray of Epping Forest, the former TUC General Secretary Len Murray, Murray was commissioned into the Royal Air Force on 27 March 1980 in the rank of acting pilot officer.[1] He was promoted to pilot officer on 27 September,[2] and to flying officer on 5 July 1982.[3] Murray served as station commander RAF Halton and then at Worthy Down Camp before becoming garrison commander at Winchester and then commandant of the Defence College of Police and Personnel Administration. Murray served on operational tours in the Falkland Islands, on UN peace-keeping duties in Bosnia and Sierra Leone. He also served in Africa, Australia, Cyprus and Germany.[4] He became assistant chief of staff training in the RAF in 2006[5] and head of Ministry of Defence Personnel Strategy and Programmes in 2009 before he was promoted to air vice marshal in 2010 and appointed as Defence Services Secretary and Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Personnel).[6] Murray led the Diamond Jubilee Armed Forces Parade and Muster in 2012.[7]

Having been appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 1996 New Year Honours and an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 1999 Birthday Honours,[8] Murray was invested as a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) for his services as Defence Services Secretary in October 2012.[9] He officially retired from the Royal Air Force on 21 January 2013.[10]

Later life[edit]

In October 2012, Murray became chief executive of national Armed Forces charity SSAFA.[11]

As chief executive of SSAFA, Murray led an organisation with an annual turnover of more than £55m, 900 paid staff (mainly medical professionals and social workers) and over 7500 volunteers, providing practical support and assistance to more than 50,000 people each year, from D-Day veterans to young soldiers wounded in Afghanistan.[12]

In September 2016, Murray was appointed controller/chief executive of the RAF Benevolent Fund. Founded in 1919, the RAF Benevolent Fund is the RAF's leading welfare charity supporting serving and former members of the RAF as well as their families. Annually, the charity spends over £18m supporting more than 41,000 members of the RAF family.[13] Murray stepped down from the RAF Benevolent Fund in April 2020, succeeded by Air Vice Marshal Chris Elliot.[14]

In October 2020, Murray was appointed to the Veterans Advisory Board.[15] In February 2021 he was named a Deputy Lieutenant for the County of Suffolk.[16]

In September 2021, Murray was appointed to the Royal Household as a Gentleman Usher.[17]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "No. 48176". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 May 1980. p. 6688.
  2. ^ "No. 48331". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 October 1980. p. 13960.
  3. ^ "No. 49069". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 August 1982. p. 10143.
  4. ^ "Royal Air Force Charitable Trust Trustees". Royal Air Forces Charitable Trust. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
  5. ^ RAF Introduces a Recruitment Bounty Scheme
  6. ^ Ministry of Defence & Tri-service senior appointments Archived 17 November 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ "Diamond Jubilee: Armed forces in parade and flypast". BBC News. BBC. 19 May 2012. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
  8. ^ "No. 55513". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 June 1999. p. 7.
  9. ^ Court Circular, Facebook 11 October 2012
  10. ^ "No. 60438". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 March 2013. p. 4260.
  11. ^ "New man at the top for SSAFA Forces Help". SAFFA. 26 October 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  12. ^ "SSAFA Annual Report". SSAFA. 1 July 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2013.[permanent dead link]
  13. ^ "How we spend our money". RAF Benevolent Fund. 1 September 2016. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  14. ^ "Air Vice Marshal Chris Elliot receives Queen's Birthday Honour". RAF Benevolent Fund. 10 October 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  15. ^ "Veterans Advisory Board". Office for Veterans' Affairs. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  16. ^ "No. 63279". The London Gazette. 26 February 2021. p. 3510.
  17. ^ "Court Circular: September 30, 2021". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
Military offices
Preceded by Defence Services Secretary
2010–2012 		Succeeded by
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