Quick Facts
Biography
Air Marshal Clare Samantha Walton, CB, is a senior Royal Air Force officer and physician. Since July 2023 she has been Director General of Defence Medical Services.
RAF career
Walton was commissioned into the Medical Branch of the Royal Air Force (RAF) on 27 March 1987 as a pilot officer: she was being sponsored through her degree by a University Cadetship with the RAF. She graduated from St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical School with Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MB, BS) degrees in 1989. After training at Royal Air Force College Cranwell, she was promoted to squadron leader on 1 August 1990. She transferred from a short service commission to a permanent commission on 24 April 1992. She has served a number of posting abroad, including with the United Nations Protection Force in Bosnia-Herzegovina, in Kuwait as part of Operation Desert Fox, and in Iraq as part of Operation Telic.
From 2011 to 2014, Walton served as commanding officer of Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre Headley Court. She was appointed Air Officer Medical Operations in No. 38 Group RAF on 13 June 2016. She was then Commander of the Defence Medical Group from 2018 to 2020.
From February 2020, she was Director Defence Medical Personnel & Training, based at Defence Medical Services Whittington. In October 2022 it was announced that Walton would succeed as Director General of the Defence Medical Services from July 2023. She was promoted to Air Marshal and took up the position on 3 July 2023.
She was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the 2022 New Year Honours.
