During the Second World War he served in RAF Bomber Command with the elite Pathfinder Force.

After the war he participated in the British nuclear weapons tests in Australia, and was on board the Vickers Valiant that dropped Britain's first atomic bomb on 11 October 1956 during Operation Buffalo.

[2] He was promoted to flying officer on 19 June 1938,[4] and was granted the acting rank of flight lieutenant on 7 April 1939.

[24][25][26] He became Senior Air Staff Officer at Bomber Command on 27 April 1961, and was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 1963 Birthday Honours.

[29] After leaving the RAF, "Paddy" Menaul (as he was known), became Director General of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).

Under his guidance, it transformed from a society of military men with a respected journal into a well-known voice in public policy matters.

He achieved widespread public recognition as an Independent Television commentator on the 1982 Falklands War.

[1] After his death, documents relating to Menaul from 1950 to 1986 have been compiled in 1997 and stored in King's College London.