Peter J. M. Squires


Peter James Murray Squires, is a Royal Air Force officer. Since August 2016, he has served as Commandant of RAF College Cranwell. He was formerly a Harrier pilot and served as commander of No. 100 Squadron RAF, flying BAE Systems Hawks.

Early life and education

From 1975 to 1986, Squires was educated at Warwick School, an all-boys public school in Warwick, Warwickshire. Having received a bursary, he studied aeronautics and astronautics at the University of Southampton.

RAF career

On 1 October 1989, Squires was granted a short service commission in the General Duties Branch of the Royal Air Force. On 1 April 1990, he was promoted to flying officer, with seniority in that rank from 1 October 1988. He was promoted to flight lieutenant on 1 April 1992.
From April 2009 to April 2011, Squires commanded No. 100 Squadron RAF, a Hawk squadron is based at RAF Leeming. He was Commanding Officer of the 906 Expeditionary Air Wing during Operation Unified Protector, the NATO-enforced no-fly zone over Libya in 2011. He was promoted to group captain on 1 January 2012 and, in the 2012 New Year Honours, Squires was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.
It was announced in December 2015 that Squires would be the next Commandant of Royal Air Force College Cranwell. He then studied at Royal College of Defence Studies to prepare for the command. In August 2016, he succeeded Chris Luck as commandant and was made an Aide-de-Camp to The Queen.