Peck was born in
West Derby, Liverpool, and educated at
St Paul's School, London and
Brasenose College, Oxford. In the First World War he served in France with No 12 Squadron of the
Royal Flying Corps. In 1919 he was commissioned as a Major. After the war he became a flight instructor and was stationed at
RAF Iraq Command in 1922 and
RAF Station Shaibah in 1924. and was often quoted in newspapers as an anonymous
Air Ministry spokesman. In 1940 Peck ensured the RAF ordered 50
de Havilland Mosquitos for reconnaissance. This was planned to be one of the fastest aircraft of its time, but there had been disagreements about its purpose and it was almost cancelled. Peck was promoted to Air Marshal in 1942. He retired in 1946. He was a Governor of the
BBC from 1946 to 1949, vice-chairman of the
National Savings Committee in 1947, and he became president of the
Royal Air Forces Association (RAFA) in 1949. He died in Switzerland from a heart attack aged 59. Richard Peck House, a RAFA rest home, was named after him. ==Publications==