Arthur Tedder

Personal

Vocation

Notable

Baron Arthur Tedder was a senior British air force commander (Marshal of the Royal Air Force). He was a pilot and squadron commander in the Royal Flying Corps in the First World War and he went on to serve as a senior officer in the Royal Air Force during the inter-war years. During the Second World War, as Air Officer Commanding RAF Middle East Command, Tedder commanded air operations in the Mediterranean and North Africa, including the evacuation of Crete and Operation Crusader in North Africa. His bombing tactics became known as the "Tedder Carpet". Later in the War Tedder took command of Mediterranean Air Command and in that role was closely involved in the planning of the Allied invasion of Sicily and then the Allied invasion of Italy. When Operation Overlord—the invasion of France—came to be planned, Tedder was appointed Deputy Supreme Commander at SHAEF under General Eisenhower. After the War he served as Chief of the Air Staff in which role he advocated increased recruiting in the face of many airmen leaving the service, doubled the size of RAF Fighter Command and implemented arrangements for the Berlin Airlift in 1948. Tedder was the author of a highly regarded essay on the history of the Royal Navy and also composed his war memoirs. In November 1950 he was elected Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. He also served as Chairman of the Standard Motor Company and Vice-Chairman of the Board of Governors of the BBC. In his later years he developed Parkinson's Disease and died at his home at Banstead in Surrey on 3 June 1967. Link to Wikipedia