George Croil Air Marshal George Mitchell Croil CBE , AFC ( June 5 , 1893 – April 8 , 1959 ) was a Royal Flying Corps pilot during World War I who went on to become the first Chief of the Air Staff of the Royal Canadian Air Force . He was asked to step down as CAS in 1940 and Croil then served as the Inspector - General of the RCAF until his retirement in 1944 when the post of Inspector General was abolished . Early and family life . George Mitchell Croil was born on June 5 , 1893 in Milwaukee , Wisconsin , United States of America . His parents , Thomas Croil and Christian Mitchell , were Scottish immigrants to the United States . George Mitchell Croil was a first cousin of US Brigadier General Billy Mitchell , a pioneer of American military aviation . When Croil was 11 years old , he moved , with his parents , to Montreal in Quebec where he attended the Westmount Academy from 1903 to 1907 . From 1907 to 1911 , Croil lived in Scotland , studying at Robert Gordon ' s College in Aberdeen . Remaining in Great Britain , Croil studied Civil Engineering for the next two years . In 1912 Croil moved to Ratnapura , Ceylon ( which at that time was part of British India ) where he gained employment as an assistant superintendent with the Mahawale Tea and Rubber Estate . His duties included overseeing the work routines of 700 plantation workers and ensuring that the machinery was kept running . World War I . With the outbreak of World War I , Croil enlisted in the Gordon Highlanders as a private soldier . He was soon commissioned , serving as a machine gun officer in the 5th Battalion of the Gordon Highlanders . In January 1915 he received an acting promotion to captain and took up duties as a company commander . In May 1916 , Croil was detached to the Royal Flying Corps and undertook a two - month period of flying training . On successfully completing the course and receiving his pilot ' s wings in July 1916 , Croil was seconded from the Gordon Highlanders to the Royal Flying Corps with the temporary rank of captain . Inter - war service . Croil became a member of the Canadian Air Board in June 1920 and played a key role in the establishment of air bases at Morley and High River in Alberta . On the establishment of the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1924 , Croil was one its founder officers . Although the RCAF was described as an air force and had a separate rank structure in line with the British air force , the RCAF was under the authority of the Canadian Army . The following year , in 1925 , Croil was posted to Great Britain where he served as a liaison officer with the Royal Air Force . Croil also took a course of training at the RAF Staff College , Andover . Returning to Canada by 1928 , Croil was appointed Station Commander of RCAF Station Borden in Ontario which at that time was one of a very few RCAF training bases . Returning to Great Britain for further advanced training , Croil attended the Imperial Defence College . Crossing back across the Atlantic once more , in 1934 Croil was appointed Senior Air Officer with the RCAF making him the head of the RCAF . In 1938 , Croil succeeded in obtaining the RCAF ' s independence from the Army and accordingly his post was upgraded to Chief of the Air Staff . Croil then only reported to the Minister of National Defence . World War II . Croil remained as Chief of the Air Staff until 1940 when he was replaced . Croil died on April 8 , 1959 , in Vancouver , British Columbia . External links .