The Under-Secretary of State for Air was a junior ministerial post in the United Kingdom Government, supporting the Secretary of State for Air in his role of managing the Royal Air Force. It was established on 10 January 1919, replacing the previous short-lived posts of Parliamentary Secretary to the Air Board and Parliamentary Secretary to the Air Council.
Parliamentary Secretary to the Air Board, 1916–1917
Name Entered office Left officeJohn Baird 1916 1917
Parliamentary Secretary to the Air Council, 1917–1919
Name Entered office Left officeJohn Baird 1917 1919
Under-Secretary of State for Air, 1919–1964
Name Entered office Left officeJ. E. B. Seely 1919 1919 George Tryon 1919 1920 Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 7th Marquess of Londonderry 1920 1921 Ronald Barnes, 3rd Baron Gorell 1921 1922 George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 5th Duke of Sutherland 1922 1924 William Leach 1924 1924 Sir Philip Sassoon, 3rd Baronet 1924 1929 Frederick Montague 1929 1931 Sir Philip Sassoon 1931 1937 Anthony Muirhead 1937 1938 Harold Balfour 1938 1941 Harold Balfour and Hugh Seely, 1st Baron Sherwood 20 July 1941 21 November 1944 Hugh Seely, 1st Baron Sherwood and Rupert Brabner 21 November 1944 27 March 1945 Lord Sherwood 27 March 12 April 1945 Lord Sherwood and Quintin Hogg 12 April 1945 23 May 1945 Quintin Hogg and David Beatty, 2nd Earl Beatty 26 May 1945 4 August 1945 John Strachey 1945 1946 Geoffrey de Freitas 1946 1950 Aidan Crawley 1950 1951 Nigel Birch 1951 1952 George Ward 1952 1955 Christopher Soames 1955 1957 Ian Orr-Ewing 1957 1959 Airey Neave 1959 1959 William Taylor 1959 1962 Julian Ridsdale 1962 1964
Minister of State for the Air Force, 1964–1967
Name Entered office Left officeHugh Fraser 1964 1964 Edward Shackleton, Baron Shackleton 1964 7 January 1967
Under-Secretary of State for the Air Force, 1964–1981
Name Entered office Left officeJulian Ridsdale 1964 1964 Bruce Millan 1964 1966 Merlyn-Rees 1966 1968 Ian Winterbottom, Baron Winterbottom 1968 24 June 1970 Antony Lambton 24 June 1970 5 June 1973 Anthony Kershaw 5 June 1973 8 January 1974 Euan Howard, 4th Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal 8 January 1974 8 March 1974 Brynmor John 8 March 1974 14 April 1976 James Wellbeloved 14 April 1976 6 May 1979 Geoffrey Pattie 6 May 1979 29 May 1981
Sources
D. Butler and G. Butler, Twentieth Century British Political Facts 1900–2000