of the Second World War, Beetham was posted to No. 35 Squadron which was then selected to carry out the victory fly-past and conduct a good-will tour of the United States. He was granted a permanent commission in the RAF on 1 September 1945 in the rank of flying officer, and was promoted to flight lieutenant on 1 July 1946 with seniority from 13 June 1945. He was posted to No. 82 (Recce) Squadron in East Africa in 1949, promoted to squadron leader on 1 January 1952 and attended the RAF Staff College, Andover that year. Beetham was also awarded a King's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air in the 1952 New Year Honours. In 1953, Beetham was posted to the Air Ministry's Operational Requirements Branch. Much of his time was taken up with the problems of bringing the V-bombers into service. Notably, Beetham also drafted the first specification for the TSR 2. Beetham's next appointment was as the Personal Staff Officer to Task Force Commander of Operation Buffalo in 1956. The open-air nuclear test explosions witnessed by Beetham led him to the view that it would never be possible to limit the extent of a nuclear war. Beetham was promoted to wing commander on 1 January 1958 and he then took up the post of Officer Commanding No. 214 Squadron. In July 1959 Wing Commander Beetham captained the first aircraft, a Valiant bomber, to fly non-stop from the United Kingdom to Cape Town. He was awarded the Air Force Cross in the 1960 New Year Honours. After several staff tours, during which time he was promoted to group captain on 1 January 1962, Beetham was appointed Station Commander RAF Khormaksar (in Aden) in November 1963. At the time of his arrival, Khormaksar was the RAF's largest overseas base and markedly overcrowded. That December saw the start of a major attacks against British forces in Aden (the Aden Emergency) and over the next two years Beetham spent considerable time dealing with the security of his overcrowded station. However the security problems did not prevent the aircraft based at Khormaksar being used on operations in the neighbouring region of Radfan. Air officer appointments Beetham was promoted to air commodore on 1 July 1966. He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1967 New Year Honours. More senior appointments followed: these included Director of Strike