John Whitworth-Jones


Sir John Whitworth-Jones, was a pilot in the First World War and a senior Royal Air Force commander during the Second World War. After the latter he held several senior RAF appointments before his retirement in 1954.

Military career

Born the son of Lieutenant Colonel Aylmer Jones and his wife Lilian. His elder brother was Felix Aylmer. Jones was educated at Magdalen College School in Oxford and also at St Paul's School. He joined the territorial army in 1912 and went to France as a Bugler aged 18 with the 517th division of the Royal Engineers. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant on the Royal Flying Corps general list on 13 April 1917 during the First World War. Later in the war he served as a pilot in No. 47 Squadron and No. 21 Squadron. He was made Officer Commanding No. 13 Squadron in 1931 and Officer Commanding No. 208 Squadron in 1933 before joining the Air Staff in the Deputy Directorate of Operations at the Air Ministry in 1936.
He served in the Second World War as Director of Fighter Operations from 1940, Air Officer Commanding No 9 Group from 1942 and Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff at South East Asia Command from 1943. He went on to be Director-General of Organisation at the Air Ministry in June 1945.
After the war he was Air Officer Commanding AHQ Malaya, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Technical Training Command and then Air Member for Supply and Organisation before retiring in 1954.