Who served as Britain's first Chief of the Defense Staff?

Sir William Dickson was appointed the first Chief of the Defense Staff in 1959. He served as chairman of the Chiefs of Staff committee until the Chief of Defense Staff was created as a permanent post, rather than a rotating chair among the Chiefs of Staff. Dickson began his career as an aviator in the First World War with the Royal Naval Air Service. During WWI he was involved in early aircraft carrier landing tests. He also took part in the first air attack from an aircraft carrier when aircraft from HMS Furious successfully attacked a German air station in Denmark.

He served during the Second World War in various positions, rising to the rank of air vice-marshal. Dickson was promoted to Air Chief Marshal in 1951 and appointed Chief of the Air Staff in 1953. He was promoted to the rank of Marshal of the Royal Air Force in 1954. He served first as chair of the Chiefs of Staff committee starting in 1956, then as Chief of the Defense Staff in 1959. Dickson died in 1987 at the age of 88.

The Chief of the Defense Staff (CDS) is the professional head of the British Armed Forces and the most senior uniformed military adviser to the Secretary of State for Defense and the Prime Minister. The Chief of the Defense Staff is based at the Ministry of Defense and works alongside the Permanent Under Secretary, the Ministry's senior civil servant. The Chief of the Defense Staff is the British equivalent position of what in NATO and the European Union is known as the Chief of Defense.