J. E. S. de Graft-Hayford

John Ebenezer Samuel de Graft- Hayford (* 1912 in the UK, † 2002, also: JES de Graft- Hayford, Johnnie de Graft- Hayford or DeGraft - Hayford or de Graft Hayford ) was a boxer (known as Chocolate Kid) and the first Ghanaian Chief of Air Staff in Ghana. This was de Graft- Hayford, the first colored Sub-Saharan in the executive position of a national air force. In later years he was engaged politically and socially.

De Graft- Hayford was born in Britain in 1912, the son of a Ghanaian father from the people of Fanti. Already in 1914 the parents returned back to Ghana and de Graft- Hayford received in Ghana his fault formation.

Boxer

His career began as a boxer in the welterweight class in the 1930s. De Graft- Hayford was later in the middleweight boxing champion of Ghanaian and West African champions. In 1941, he retired undefeated back from the professional boxing. In later years he was Vice- President of the African Boxer Association (African Boxing Union, ABU ) and a member of the World Federation of the sport of boxing (World Boxing Council, WBC).

Military career

De Graft- Hayford was the third colored, who was raised in 1946 when the British forces in the rank of lieutenant. He remained until 1948 in the service of the British army. With this military training, he was invited in 1960 by President Kwame Nkrumah to Ghana to become commander of the first infantry battalion. This post took de Graft- Hayford and organized the structure of the Ghanaian Air Force. He followed John Nicholas Haworth Whitworth, who did his service in the British Army as the Chief of Defence Staff in the British colony of the Gold Coast, in office, and was Chief of Air Staff of the Air Force Ghana.

In 1962, the National Aviation School was established under the command of de Graft- Hayford, at the instigation of President Kwame Nkrumah. As a flight instructor Hanna Reitsch was successfully recruited. In the same year de Gaft - Hayford was raised to the equivalent of a brigadier general of the army rank of Air Commodore. In 1965 he resigned from active military service. His successor was Michael Otu.