Hugh Montague Trenchard was born in
Taunton, Somerset in 1873. This month saw the anniversary of
his birth on February 3 and that of his death on February 10.
A poor and unenthusiastic student,
he eventually joined the Army in 1893 after having failed the entrance papers
for the Royal Navy.
Served in the Boer War in
1900. He was critically wounded and lost
a lung. Eventually he recovered from his
wounds and returned to South
Africa in 1901. His talents came to the attention of
Kitchener and other senior officers.
Trenchard learnt to fly before the
outbreak of World War I. He commanded
flying units on the Western Front and rose to command the Royal Flying Corps in
France. Trenchard strongly supported constant offensive tactics
although they led to very high aircrew casualties.
In 1918 Trenchard was appointed
Chief of the Air Staff and so became the first head of the RAF, a new service
resulting from the merger of the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service. He spent the next 10 years building the solid
foundations and institutions required to form a powerful future air force.
Between 1931 and 1935 he was a
reforming Commissioner of Metropolitan Police, but after he left office his
more controversial plans were dropped.
He spoke powerfully on air matters
before and during WWII and was a strong and enthusiastic advocate of strategic
bombing.
Known as “The Father of the Royal
Air Force” Trenchard died in 1956. He is
commemorated by a statue in Embankment Garden outside the Ministry of Defence in
London and a plaque marks his birthplace in Taunton. He is also commemorated on Trenchard Way in
Taunton.
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