Group Captain the Earl of Ilchester

[Batgirl]

Group Captain the 9th Earl of Ilchester, who has died aged 86, started his 40-year career in the RAF as a 15-year old apprentice and rose to become one of the service's leading nuclear weapons engineers before taking his seat in the House of Lords in 1976, where he later sat on the Science and Technology Select Committee.

Ilchester was one of "Trenchard's Brats", training as an apprentice at RAF Halton, where he graduated as an armaments tradesman. Sixteen years later, as a squadron leader, he specialised in the development of nuclear weapons when he was appointed to the Directorate of Air Armament Engineering.

After two years he moved to the headquarters of Bomber Command to take a leading role in the introduction into service of the RAF's Thor inter-continental ballistic missile, which was developed by the USA. With a range of 2,000 miles, the missiles were sited on 15 RAF airfields to be an effective strategic nuclear deterrent.

Ilchester worked on the Thor programme for six years before leaving for Australia, where he was involved in the nuclear weapons programme at Woomera testing range.

He later pointed out that "these were not missiles, they were projectiles, for they projected our power, influence, and desire for peace around the world, to all those who understood and valued the sanctity of human life - and they don't miss". On his return to England he was an armaments officer on the nuclear V-bomber base at RAF Finningley in Yorkshire.

Promoted to wing commander, he served in the officer and aircrew selection centre at Biggin Hill where he was involved in recruiting the RAF's future officers. In 1969 he served at the Ministry of Technology where, as a group captain, he was the assistant director of air weapons development, working at the centre of nuclear weapon policy and procurement.

Three years later he fulfilled a central role in the Polaris engineering programme where the Royal Navy, RAF and Americans held him in the highest esteem. He retired from the RAF in 1976, having held every rank from aircraft apprentice to group captain.

The son of Walter Angelo Fox-Strangways, an accomplished linguist who worked in the Consular Service, Maurice Vivian de Trouffreville Fox-Strangways was born on All Fool's Day 1920 at Tewfik, Egypt.

He was sent to boarding school when he was five years old and later educated at Kingsbridge School as a boarder, where he was a good sportsman, particularly at cricket.

With his parents living in Egypt, Ilchester experienced a lonely and turbulent childhood. When he joined the RAF in January 1936 he was one of 700 apprentices in No 33 Entry, of whom only 400 lived to see their 25th birthday. The RAF became "his family" and he devoted much of the rest of his life to the service and its associated charities.

After completing his apprenticeship Ilchester was posted to RAF Brize Norton. One evening in August 1940 it was his turn to take a bath when the air raid siren sounded. Disobeying orders, he remained in the cast iron tub.

A bomb demolished the adjacent building and he soon found himself out of the bath and some distance from his barrack block. Naked, he fled for the nearest air raid shelter, which happened to be reserved for the WAAFs. As he appeared at the entrance, a tall attractive girl shouted "he's mine" - a year later she became his wife.

Ilchester spent most of the war on armaments duties in India and the Far East, returning to England in 1946 as a warrant officer. Shortly after his return he was commissioned in the Technical Branch, where he specialised in maritime armaments, before spending the next few years at RAF Negombo in Ceylon and at RAF Kai Tak, Hong Kong. On his return in 1955 he started his long association with nuclear armaments.

Ilchester succeeded as the 9th Earl of Ilchester, a title created in 1756, on the death of his father in 1970. On his retirement from the RAF in 1976, he took up his seat in the House of Lords, where he sat as a crossbencher. Never a man to rush things, he waited until he understood all the intricate customs of the House before he finally stood up to make his maiden speech on February 27 1980.

He elected to speak on the Finniston report, a governmental enquiry into the health of the country's engineering industry and manufacturing base. He sat down after 17 minutes to warm congratulations. He was a very active member of the House, with an exemplary attendance record. In addition to the select committee, he was a member of the all-party groups for defence, energy and engineering development.

After 23 years of service he left the House of Lords in 1999 following the reforms to the hereditary peerage which had been introduced by the Labour government. Ilchester refused many entreaties to join the ballot for a place among the 92 hereditary peers created in the Weatherill Amendment, modestly saying: "there are many better candidates than me."

Ilchester led a very active commercial life. He was a director of the Nottingham Building Society, serving as vice-chairman for two years. He worked tirelessly for the Biggin Hill News Group and assisted in its sale to the Tindall Group. For 19 years he was vice-chairman of the Biggin Hill Airport Consultative Committee.

He devoted a great deal of his time to the RAF Association at Biggin Hill and was South East Area president for many years. When he stepped down at the age of 83, he was presented with an inscribed dish "for over 60 years of service to the RAF and RAFA, greatly admired and sadly missed". He had a particularly strong affection for No 2427 (Biggin Hill) Air Training Corps Squadron, serving as their president until his death.

He took great interest in the young cadets' achievements and rarely turned down an invitation to attend their open days and prize-giving ceremonies. He was also president of the local branch of the British Legion and served as chairman of the governors of Cannock School for 15 years.

Ilchester was president of the Society of Engineers and was later appointed a patron. After his election to be a Fellow of the Institute of Nuclear Engineers he served as their president from 1982 to 1984. He was a Freeman of the Guild of Air Pilots and Navigators and became a liveryman in 1987. He was initiated into the St George and Corner Stone Lodge as a Freemason in 1975 and became Master in 1986.

A man of natural sartorial elegance, who effortlessly observed protocol, Ilchester could appear reserved and shy, but he simply saved his views for the occasions when he had something significant to say. A colleague described him as: "the very embodiment of his family motto Faire Sans Dire - deeds not words.

He was indeed a noble man and a gentle man." Polite, modest, utterly dependable and calm, he had a dry wit and was very generous with his time and energy. He enjoyed the arts and had a wide taste in music.

The Earl of Ilchester died on July 2. He married Diana Simpson in November 1941, when they obtained a 24-hour pass before having to return to duty, and she survives him.

There were no children, and his nephew, Robin Maurice Fox-Strangways, succeeds him as the 10th Earl.

Telegraph