Denis Richards, Date of Birth, Date of Death
TweetDenis Richards
British historian
Date of Birth: 10-Sep-1910
Date of Death: 25-Nov-2004
Profession: historian
Nationality: United Kingdom
Zodiac Sign: Virgo 
About Denis Richards
- Denis Richards OBE (10 September 1910 – 25 November 2004) was a British historian.
- He is famous for his work on the history of the Royal Air Force, including the three-volume official history of the service during World War II, which was co-written with Hilary St.
- George Saunders. Richards came from London and was educated at Owen's School and Trinity Hall, Cambridge.
- In 1931 he graduated from Cambridge University with a double first in history.
- For the next eight years he was a master at Manchester Grammar School, teaching both history and English.
- From 1939 to 1941 he taught the same subjects at Bradfield College, near Reading, as a senior tutor. War service then called him and he joined the RAF.
- Within a very short time he was ordered to report to the historical section of the Air Ministry.
- His staff eventually came to number 40, and he held the position of senior narrator from 1943 to 1947.
- He began to write the official history of the RAF during World War II when he was the senior narrator.
- It was eventually published in three volumes in 1953 and 1954.
- In 1947 he was promoted within the Air Ministry to a principal, a post in which he remained until 1950.
- Richards published in his lifetime more than a dozen books, half on RAF history.After his time in the RAF, and whilst completing the official history, he became involved with Morley College in south London.
- He worked strenuously to raise funds for the rebuilding of the institution.
- The college benefitted from paintings he commissioned, and many young musicians later to find fame, took part in concerts he staged. He had a number of hobbies, including snooker and golf.
- He was heavily involved with Hampstead Golf Club after joining it in 1951.
- He also engaged in voluntary work, chairing the Women's League for Health and Beauty for 22 years between 1966 and 1988 and also acting as a vice president of the Purcell School of Young Musicians from 1984 until his death.
- He continued to publish works into his old age, and he was awarded the OBE in 1990.
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