Dickson was Chief of the Air Staff in the mid-1950s, in which role his main preoccupation was the establishment of the V Force and the necessary supporting weapons, airfields and personnel.

[4] From August 1917 he was a pilot on HMS Furious,[4] where he carried out pioneering work, performing deck landings and taking part in the first raid from an aircraft carrier in history.

[4] Transferring to the Royal Air Force on its creation, he was promoted to captain in the flying branch on 7 October 1918[5] and awarded the Distinguished Service Order on 21 September 1918.

[4] He was mentioned in despatches again on 1 January 1919[6] and received a permanent commission in the Royal Air Force on 1 August 1919.

1 (Indian Wing) Station at RAF Kohat in February 1929 and found himself flying missions over the North West Frontier.

[4] Promoted to squadron leader on 5 November 1930,[9] he remained on the staff at RAF India[4] and was mentioned in despatches again on 26 June 1931.

[4] Appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 1934 Birthday Honours,[10] he joined the air staff at Headquarters Western Area in September 1934.

[12] Dickson continued in this work for the first two years of the war, receiving a temporary promotion to group captain on 2 January 1940,[13] (made permanent in April 1942)[14] being appointed Director of Plans in March 1941[4] and gaining an acting promotion to air commodore in April 1941.

[4] He was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 1942 Birthday Honours[15] and promoted to the rank of acting air vice-marshal on 26 June 1942.

[28] He attended the funeral of King George VI in February 1952,[29] and the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in June 1953.

[31] Wanting to see more authority vested in the joint governance of the British Armed Forces, Dickson welcomed Prime Minister Sir Anthony Eden's plan to create a separate Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (previously the chairmanship had been held by the single service chiefs in turn) and accepted the offer of the post, starting on 1 January 1956.

During his three and a half years in the Armed Forces' senior appointment, Dickson dealt with the Suez Crisis, the post-Suez reforms and the challenges of restructuring during defence during budget cuts.