[1] As Chief of the Air Staff during the Falklands War, he was involved in the decision to send the Task Force to the South Atlantic.

[4] Promoted to leading aircraftman on 19 June 1942,[5] Beetham was granted an emergency commission as a pilot officer on probation in the RAFVR on 13 December 1942.

35 Squadron which was then selected to carry out the victory fly-past and conduct a good-will tour of the United States.

[4] He was granted a permanent commission in the RAF on 1 September 1945 in the rank of flying officer,[11] and was promoted to flight lieutenant on 1 July 1946[12] with seniority from 13 June 1945.

[16] Beetham's next appointment was as the Personal Staff Officer to Task Force Commander of Operation Buffalo in 1956.

[3] In July 1959 Wing Commander Beetham captained the first aircraft, a Valiant bomber, to fly non-stop from the United Kingdom to Cape Town.

[19] After several staff tours, during which time he was promoted to group captain on 1 January 1962,[20] Beetham was appointed Station Commander RAF Khormaksar (in Aden) in November 1963.

[23] More senior appointments followed: these included Director of Strike Operations in 1968[3] and Commandant of the RAF Staff College at Bracknell in 1970[3] as an acting air vice-marshal.

[29][30] He was promoted to a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB) in the 1978 New Year Honours list.

[31] As the professional head of his Service, Beetham defended the decision to introduce the strike version of the Tornado and supported the introduction of the Airborne Early Warning Nimrod which was later cancelled.

[32] Operation Black Buck, the bombing raids on Argentine positions in the Falkland Islands, were Beetham's idea.

[34] As a Marshal of the Royal Air Force, Beetham remained on the RAF's Active List,[2] although for practical purposes he retired in 1982.

He joined the crew of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Lancaster bomber prior to its takeoff from Duxford.