Group Captain Paul Atherton
Royal Air Force Lyneham
Station Commander
On a chilly 16th December morning Group Captain Oborn and the incoming Station Commander, Group Captain Atherton marked the official handover as the flew together and shook hands passing the responsibilities of Wiltshire's workhorse station, home of the Hercules and busiest airbase.

Group Captain Paul Atherton is no stranger to busy airbases as he has had previous tours with our neighbouring Oxfordshire airbase RAF Brize Norton. He has been captain and commanders with the ageing VC10 and Tristar aircraft.

Lyneham Village Online welcomes the new boss and his family into the local community and we wish them all the very best for his latest tour, hoping they get their feet under the table quickly and enjoy the times in Wiltshire.

Group Captain Paul Atherton - Biography
Born in West Hartlepool and brought up in a small Durham mining village, Group Captain Atherton attended Peterlee Technical Grammar School prior to joining the Royal Air Force in 1982. Following 6 months at the Royal Air Force College Cranwell, he underwent basic pilot training on the Jet Provost at RAF Linton-on-Ouse. After advanced multi-engined training on the Jetstream at RAF Finningley, he was posted to No 10 Squadron at RAF Brize Norton where he operated the VC10 aircraft.

Following a co-pilot tour, in 1988 he was selected as the fleet’s youngest ever captain and progressed to VIP and training duties; he was also actively involved in operations during both the Gulf War and the conflict in the Balkans. A short second tour as a captain preceded promotion to Squadron Leader and a further tour on No 10 Sqn as a flight commander. During this time he became the senior sqn pilot and his tour culminated in him captaining HM the Queen on her last 2 Royal Tours on the VC10.

Group Captain Atherton then undertook a policy appointment in Headquarters No 2 Group at RAF High Wycombe before being selected for the final RAF Staff Course at Bracknell in 1996. Following a successful year at the College, he was posted to the Ministry of Defence and an appointment within the Directorate of Joint Warfare as a strategic exercise planner. He was promoted in situ to Wing Commander and his responsibilities changed to taking forward the wide-ranging joint initiatives resulting from the 1998 Strategic Defence Review.

In 1999, Group Captain Atherton returned to RAF Brize Norton as Officer Commanding No 216 Sqn flying the Tri-Star aircraft. During his time in command, he and his Sqn operated from deployed locations in Italy, Oman and Bahrain in support of operations over Kosovo, Afghanistan and Southern Iraq. Following the events of September 11th 2001, he was the UK Tanker Commander in Seeb, Oman as part of the UK’s air-refuelling contribution to Operation Enduring Freedom and the air campaign over Afghanistan.

On completion of this tour, Group Captain Atherton was promoted to his current rank in 2002 and was appointed the senior military member of the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft programme within the Integrated Project Team at the Defence Procurement Agency, Abbey Wood. He departed this post in November 2004 to command Basrah Air Station in Iraq for 6 months prior to assuming his current post as Station Commander RAF Lyneham flying the C-130 Hercules.

Married with 2 teenage daughters, he has a home in West Oxfordshire and his interests include reading and gardening. An ex Combined Services and RAF cricketer he also has a passionate interest in all sports.