John Sutton (RAF officer)

Sir John Sutton
Sir John Sutton
Born	9 July 1932
Died	21 November 2014 (aged 82)
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Air Force
Years of service	1950–1989
Rank	Air Marshal
Commands held	RAF Support Command (1986–89); Central Flying School (1976–77); No. 14 Squadron RAF (1970–71); No. 249 Squadron RAF (1964–66)
Battles/wars	Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath; Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air

Air Marshal Sir John Matthias Dobson Sutton, KCB (9 July 1932 – 21 November 2014) was a Royal Air Force officer who served as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at RAF Support Command from 1986 to 1989 and Lieutenant Governor of Jersey from 1990 to 1995.

RAF career

Educated at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Alford, Sutton joined the Royal Air Force in 1950.[1] He was appointed Officer Commanding No. 249 Squadron in 1964 and then became Assistant Secretary of the Chiefs of Staff Committee at the Ministry of Defence in 1966.[1] He went on to be Officer Commanding No. 14 Squadron in 1970, Assistant Chief of Staff (Plans & Policy) at Headquarters Second Tactical Air Force in 1971 and Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Policy) in 1977.[1] He then became Deputy Commander of RAF Germany in 1980, Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Commitments) in 1982 and Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Overseas) in 1985.[1] He became Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at RAF Support Command in 1986 and retired in 1989.[1]

Governorship and later life

In retirement, Sutton was made Lieutenant Governor of Jersey.[1] He attended a reunion of Lieutenant Governors in 2008.[2] He died on 21 November 2014.[3]

Family

In 1954 Sutton married Delia Eleanor Woodward; they had one son and one daughter.[1] Following the dissolution of his first marriage he married Angela Faith Gray in 1969 and they had two sons.[1] Sutton's elder son by his second marriage, Mark, became famous after parachuting into the 2012 Olympics opening ceremony, pretending to be James Bond escorting the Queen. Mark died in an accident just over a year later in August 2013, when his wingsuit clipped a ridge in Valais, Switzerland.[4]

References

Debrett's People of Today 1994
Reunion Party for Governors Jersey Evening Post, 24 October 2008
"Former Lieutenant-Governor Sir John Sutton dies". Jersey Evening Post. 25 November 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
Keleny, Anne (19 February 2015). "John Sutton: Cold War fighter pilot who later rose through the ranks". The Independent. Retrieved 31 January 2017.

Military offices
Preceded by Sir David Harcourt-Smith	Commander-in-Chief Support Command 1986–1989	Succeeded by Sir Michael Graydon
Government offices
Preceded by Sir William Pillar	Lieutenant Governor of Jersey 1990–1995	Succeeded by Sir Michael Wilkes

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[debrett-1] Debrett's People of Today 1994

[2] Reunion Party for Governors Jersey Evening Post, 24 October 2008

[3] "Former Lieutenant-Governor Sir John Sutton dies". Jersey Evening Post. 25 November 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2014.

[4] Keleny, Anne (19 February 2015). "John Sutton: Cold War fighter pilot who later rose through the ranks". The Independent. Retrieved 31 January 2017.