Hugh Dowding

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
"Dowding" redirects here. For other uses, see Dowding (disambiguation).

The Lord Dowding
Second World War
Awards
Mentioned in Despatches
Spouse(s)
Clarice Maud Vancourt
​
​
(m. 1918; died 1920)​
Muriel Whiting
​
(m. 1951)​
Children1

CMG (24 April 1882 – 15 February 1970) was an officer in the Royal Air Force. He was Air Officer Commanding RAF Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain and is generally credited with playing a crucial role in Britain's defence, and hence, the defeat of Operation Sea Lion
, Adolf Hitler's plan to invade Britain.

Born in

Air Member for Supply and Research
. In July 1936, Dowding was appointed chief of the newly created RAF Fighter Command.

During the Battle of Britain in the

Second World War, Dowding's Fighter Command successfully defended the UK against the attacks of the Luftwaffe, thanks to his prudent management of RAF resources and detailed preparation of Britain's air defences (the Dowding system). He subsequently came into conflict with proponents of the Big Wing tactic, most notably Trafford Leigh-Mallory and Douglas Bader, which along with the inadaquecies of RAF's nighttime defence during the Blitz led to his eventual downfall. In November 1940, Dowding was replaced in command against his wishes by Sholto Douglas
, another Big Wing advocate.

Dowding retired from the Royal Air Force in July 1942 and was made a

theosophical, and animal rights
movements. He died on 15 February 1970, aged 87.

Early life

Dowding was born at St. Ninian's Boys' Preparatory School in Moffat, Dumfriesshire, the son of Arthur John Caswall Dowding and Maud Caroline Dowding (née Tremenheere). His father had taught at Fettes College in Edinburgh before moving to Moffat.[1] Dowding was educated at St Ninian's School and Winchester College.[2] He trained at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich before being commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Garrison Artillery on 18 August 1900.[3]

Military career

Promoted to

India in 1904.[5] After returning to the United Kingdom, he attended the Army Staff College 1912 before being promoted to captain on 18 August 1913 and being posted with the Royal Garrison Artillery on the Isle of Wight later that year.[5] After becoming interested in aviation, Dowding gained Aviator's Certificate no. 711 on 19 December 1913 in a Vickers biplane at the Vickers School of Flying, Brooklands.[6] He then attended the Central Flying School, where he was awarded his wings. Although added to the Reserve List of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC), Dowding returned to the Isle of Wight to resume his Royal Garrison Artillery duties. However, this arrangement was short lived and in August 1914, he joined the RFC as a pilot on No. 7 Squadron.[5]

First World War

Dowding transferred to

brigadier-general on 23 June 1917 before being given command of the southern training brigade in August 1917. He was sent to York as chief staff officer to the RAF's senior administrative officer in the area in April 1918.[9] He was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George on 1 January 1919.[5]

Inter-war years

Dowding was given a permanent commission in the RAF on 1 August 1919 with the rank of group captain.[10] He commanded No. 16 Group from October 1919 and then No. 1 Group from February 1920 where he was responsible for organising two of the annual air displays at Hendon. He was promoted to air commodore on 1 January 1922,[11] and served as chief staff officer at Inland Area headquarters at Uxbridge from February 1922 before being appointed Chief Staff Officer for RAF Iraq Command in August 1924.[5]

Dowding was an accomplished skier, winner of the first ever National Slalom Championship, and president of the Ski Club of Great Britain from 1924 to 1925.[12]

In May 1926 Dowding was appointed director of training at the

certificate of airworthiness to the R101 airship shortly before it set off on its ill-fated voyage to India; he later said "I think I was wrong not to insist on much more extensive trials and tests" and that his decision had been based on optimistic technical advice.[15] Dowding's time in this office coincided with a period of rapid development in aircraft design and a growing fear that another major war was on the horizon. Although without scientific or technical training, he displayed a great capacity for understanding technical matters. He was promoted to air marshal on 1 January 1933[16] and advanced to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath on 3 June 1933.[17]

In July 1936 Dowding was appointed commanding officer of the newly created

British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin's 1932 declaration that "The bomber will always get through".[18] He conceived and oversaw the development of the "Dowding system".[19] This consisted of an integrated air defence system which included (i) radar (whose potential Dowding was among the first to appreciate), (ii) human observers (including the Royal Observer Corps), who filled crucial gaps in what radar was capable of detecting at the time (the early radar systems, for example, did not provide accurate information on the altitude of incoming German aircraft), (iii) raid plotting, and (iv) radio control of aircraft. The whole network was linked in many cases by dedicated telephone cables buried sufficiently deeply to provide protection against bombing. The network had its centre at RAF Bentley Priory, a converted country house on the outskirts of London.[9] The system as a whole later became known as Ground-controlled interception (GCI).[20]

Dowding also brought modern aircraft into service during the pre-war period, including the eight gun Spitfire and Hurricane.[9] He is also credited with having fought the Air Ministry so that fighters were equipped with bullet-proof wind shields.[21] He was promoted to air chief marshal on 1 January 1937[22] and appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order on 23 January 1937.[23]

Second World War

Battle of Britain

Queen Elizabeth and King George VI with Dowding in 1940

At the time of his retirement in June 1939, Dowding was asked to stay on until March 1940 because of the tense international situation. He was again permitted to continue serving through the

evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force at Dunkirk.[26]

Through the summer and autumn of 1940 in the Battle of Britain, Dowding's Fighter Command resisted the attacks of the Luftwaffe.[9] Beyond the critical importance of the overall system of integrated air defence which he had developed for Fighter Command, his major contribution was to marshal resources behind the scenes (including replacement aircraft and air crew) and to maintain a significant fighter reserve, while leaving his subordinate commanders' hands largely free to run the battle in detail.[9]

Dowding (in the Bowler hat) with some of The Few

Dowding was known for his humility and great sincerity.[21] Fighter Command pilots came to characterise Dowding as one who cared for his men and had their best interests at heart. Dowding often referred to his "dear fighter boys" as his "chicks": indeed his son Derek was one of them.[9] Because of his brilliant detailed preparation of Britain's air defences for the German assault, and his prudent management of his resources during the battle, Dowding is today generally given the credit for Britain's victory in the Battle of Britain.[27]

Dowding's subsequent downfall has been attributed by some to his single-mindedness and perceived lack of diplomacy and political savoir faire in dealing with intra-RAF challenges and intrigues, most obviously the still, even now, hotly debated Big Wing controversy in which a number of senior and active service officers had argued in favour of large set-piece air battles with the Luftwaffe as an alternative to Dowding's successful Fabian strategy.[28] Another reason often cited for his removal, but characterised by some contemporary commentators more as a pretext, was the difficulty of countering German nighttime bombing raids on British cities.[29]

The account of radar pioneer, E. G. Bowen in Radar Days (1987) rebuts the claim that Dowding's grasp of the problems of British night fighters was inadequate. He suggests that if Dowding had been left to follow his own path, the ultimately effective British response to night bombing (which depended completely on developments in air-borne radar) would have come somewhat sooner.[30]

Dowding himself showed that he had a good grasp of night fighter defence and was planning a defence system against night bombing in a letter he wrote some time after the Battle of Britain. However, there was great political and public pressure during

Lord Beaverbrook and Churchill, decided that it was time for him to step down.[9]

On 8 October 1940, Dowding was advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath .[31] He unwillingly relinquished command on 24 November 1940 and was replaced by Big Wing advocate Sholto Douglas. Churchill tried to soften the blow by putting him in charge of the British Air Mission to the United States, responsible for the procurement of new aircraft types.[32]

Publication of his book Twelve Legions of Angels was suppressed in November 1941.[33] The British Government considered that it contained information which might be of use to the Germans. The book was finally published in 1946, soon after the war ended.[9]

Ministry of Aircraft Production

After leaving Fighter Command, Dowding was sent on special duty to the United States for the Ministry of Aircraft Production, but there he made himself unpopular with his outspokenness. On his return he headed a study into economies of RAF manpower before retiring from the Royal Air Force in July 1942. He was elevated to the peerage, as Baron Dowding of Bentley Priory on 2 June 1943.[34]

Later life

RAF Biggin Hill
in 1951

Later in life, because of his belief that he was unjustly treated by the RAF, Dowding became increasingly bitter. The RAF passed him over for promotion to Marshal of the Royal Air Force.[9]

He approved

Robert Wright's book Dowding and the Battle of Britain, which argued that a conspiracy of Big Wing proponents, including Trafford Leigh-Mallory and Douglas Bader, had engineered his sacking from Fighter Command.[35]

In 1951, Dowding laid the foundation stone of the Chapel of St George at

RAF Biggin Hill, now London Biggin Hill Airport, in memory of fallen airmen.[36]

Dowding and his second wife Baroness Dowding were both anti-vivisectionists, and in 1973 Britain's National Anti-Vivisection Society founded the Lord Dowding Fund for Humane Research in his honour.[37]

Spiritualism

In his retirement, Dowding became actively interested in

theosophist and spiritualist. Although he was a vegetarian, he believed that "animals will be killed to satisfy human needs for many a long day to come", and he made several appeals in the House of Lords for the humane killing of animals intended for food.[38] He was also a member of the Fairy Investigation Society.[39] Although he knew that people considered him a crank for his belief in fairies, Dowding believed that fairies "are essential to the growth of plants and the welfare of the vegetable kingdom".[40]

H.D.

The American poet Hilda Doolittle, who wrote under the name H.D., attended Dowding's lectures in London and struck up a correspondence with him. H.D. became convinced that she could hear the voices of Dowding's fallen crewmen during her Spiritualist work, believing them to be warning her of the impending dangers of atomic warfare. Dowding rebuked H.D. for performing seances unaccompanied (which he believed to be dangerous), and for her perceived lack of caution, as Dowding felt that these spirits were "of a lower order": i.e. deceptive, malevolent entities. H.D. continued these activities until Dowding finally cut off all contact with her. This rejection precipitated H.D.'s brief mental breakdown in 1946.[41]

In the decade after this breakdown, H.D. wrote two dense,

esoteric book-length poems – Helen in Egypt and Vale Ave – which detail the psychological impact this rejection had on her, and the process of recovering from it.[42] H.D. also wrote a sequence of novels about her experiences with Dowding, almost all of which went unpublished in her lifetime, including Majic Ring and The Sword Went Out To Sea.[43]

Death

Dowding died at his home in

Royal Air Force chapel in Westminster Abbey.[44] Dowding's son Derek (1919–1992) inherited the title of Baron Dowding.[9]

Personal life

Dowding married Clarice Maud Vancourt, the daughter of an officer in the Indian Army, on 16 February 1918.[45] She had one child from a previous marriage, Marjorie Brenda Williams (1911–2003) and they had one child together, Derek Hugh Tremenheere (1919–1992).[46] Clarice died in 1920,[46] and Dowding's sister Hilda helped Dowding look after the two children.[46]

Dowding married

Muriel Whiting (née Albino) on 25 September 1951; they had no children.[9][46]

Media portrayals

Memorial in Moffat

In the 1940s and 1950s, H.D. wrote several novels, memoirs, and book-length poems about Dowding.[42]

In the 1956 film Reach for the Sky, Dowding was played by Charles Carson.[47]

In the 1969 film Battle of Britain, Dowding was played by Laurence Olivier. Olivier had himself served as a pilot in the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm during the Second World War. During filming in summer 1968, 86 years old and wheelchair-bound by severe arthritis, Dowding visited the set at Hawkinge airfield in Kent. Olivier told Dowding he had sat behind the latter's desk all day "pretending to be you" and was "making an awful mess of it too", to which Dowding replied, "Oh, I'm sure you are." The crew and Olivier broke into laughter. Footage of this can be seen in the special features section of the film's Special Edition DVD.[48]

In the 2017 film Darkest Hour, Dowding was played by Adrian Rawlins.[49]

In the 2018 film Hurricane: 303 Squadron, Dowding was played by Nicholas Farrell.[50]

Honours and tributes

Lord Dowding statue, St Clement Danes, the Strand, London
Memorial at Royal Tunbridge Wells

A statue of Dowding stands outside St Clement Danes church on the Strand, London. The inscription reads:

Air Chief Marshal Lord Dowding was commander-in-chief of Fighter Command, Royal Air Force, from its formation in 1936 until November 1940. He was thus responsible for the preparation for and the conduct of the Battle of Britain. With remarkable foresight, he ensured the equipment of his command with monoplane fighters, the Hurricane and the Spitfire. He was among the first to appreciate the vital importance of R.D.F. (radar) and an effective command and control system for his squadrons. They were ready when war came. In the preliminary stages of that war, he thoroughly trained his minimal forces and conserved them against strong political pressure to disperse and misuse them. His wise and prudent judgement and leadership helped to ensure victory against overwhelming odds and thus prevented the loss of the Battle of Britain and probably the whole war. To him, the people of Britain and of the Free World owe largely the way of life and the liberties they enjoy today.[51]

Other monuments to Dowding can be found in Station Park in Moffat, the town of his birth,[52] and in Calverley Gardens in Tunbridge Wells where he died.[53] The RAF Association in conjunction with the RAF Benevolent Fund, purchased his birthplace, the former St Ninian's School, Moffat;[54] the building was renamed Dowding House and restored to provide sheltered housing for former members of the Royal Air Force or their dependents.[55]

The Dowding Centre at the School of Aerospace Battle Management (formerly the School of Fighter Control) at RAF Boulmer is named after Dowding.[56]

A green ceramic commemorative plaque was unveiled at his former residence (1951–1967) in Darnley Drive, Southborough on 6 May 2012.[57]

Dowding Place, Stanmore, the site of former RAF Stanmore Park is named after him.

The 1946-built Southern Railway Battle of Britain pacific (4-6-2) locomotive 21C152 was named Lord Dowding in his honour.[58]

Coat of arms of Hugh Dowding
Crest
Upon a catherine wheel Azure a falcon rising Or belled and hooded Gules.
Escutcheon
Argent three bars gemel Sable overall a fleur-de-lis Azure on a chief of the second three Doric columns of the first.
Motto
Laborare Est Orare[59]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Battle of Britain and the fall of 'Stuffy' Dowding". The Herald. 8 September 2000. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  2. ^ Edkins, Richard. "Well Road and the Schools of Moffat". Moffat Business Index. Archived from the original on 17 September 2014. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  3. ^ "No. 27222". The London Gazette. 21 August 1900. p. 5174.
  4. ^ "No. 27456". The London Gazette. 22 July 1902. p. 4671.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Air Chief Marshal Lord Dowding of Bentley Priory". Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  6. ^ "Royal Aero Club of the United Kingdom: Official Notices to Members". Flight. 14 October 1914. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  7. ^ "Beaupré-sur-la-Lys (Abbey)". European Charter of the Cistercian Abbeys and Sites. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  8. ^ Grinnell-Milne 1933, pp. 42–3
  9. ^
    doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/32884. Retrieved 19 August 2014. (Subscription or UK public library membership
    required.)
  10. ^ "No. 32372". The London Gazette. 28 June 1921. p. 5139.
  11. ^ "No. 13774". The Edinburgh Gazette. 2 January 1922. p. 11.
  12. ^ Carver 2005, p. 206
  13. ^ "No. 14405". The Edinburgh Gazette. 3 January 1928. p. 5.
  14. ^ "No. 33453". The London Gazette. 1 January 1929. p. 71.
  15. ^ Wright 1970, p. 53
  16. ^ "No. 33898". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1932. p. 16.
  17. ^ "No. 14971". The Edinburgh Gazette. 6 June 1933. p. 468.
  18. ^ Korda 2009, p. 18.
  19. ^ Deighton 1980, pp. 88, 89.
  20. ^ "Ground Controlled Interception Radars in Operation Neptune / Overlord" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  21. ^ a b "Fighting The Blue". Yesterday TV. 25 June 2011. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  22. ^ "No. 34356". The London Gazette. 1 January 1937. p. 17.
  23. ^ "No. 34420". The London Gazette. 23 July 1937. p. 4733.
  24. ^ Waugh and Wright, p. 42
  25. ^ Waligorski, Martin. "The Battle is Lost: Dowding's Letter Which Changed History". The Spitfire Site. Archived from the original on 24 December 2014. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  26. ^ Braun, Simon. "The Command and Leadership Competence of Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Caswell Tremenheere Dowding GCB GCVO CMG ADC RAF". Royal Air Force. p. 4. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  27. ^ Braun, Simon. "The Command and Leadership Competence of Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Caswell Tremenheere Dowding GCB GCVO CMG ADC RAF". Royal Air Force. p. 17. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  28. ^ Korda 2009, pp. 124–125.
  29. ^ Dixon 2009, pp. 103–120
  30. ^ Bowen 1987, pp. 71, 119, 121.
  31. ^ "No. 34964". The London Gazette. 8 October 1940. p. 5893.
  32. ^ McKinstry 2010, pp. 222–3
  33. ^ Slee, John (10 November 1941), "Banned", Daily Herald (United Kingdom)
  34. ^ "No. 36087". The London Gazette. 9 July 1943. p. 3117.
  35. ^ Wright 1970, p. 247
  36. ^ "Say A Prayer for St George's Chapel" (PDF). RAF Chapel Biggin Hill. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  37. ^ "The Lord Dowding Fund for Humane Research". National Anti-Vivisection Society. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  38. ^ Orange 2008, p. 262.
  39. ^ "Fairy Investigation Society". Strange History. 13 November 2011. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  40. ^ Orange 2008, p. 263.
  41. ^ Guest, Barbara (1984). Herself Defined: The Poet H.D. and her World. New York: Doubleday. p. 260-262.
  42. ^ a b H.D. (2015). Hirslanden Notebooks: An Annotated Scholarly Edition. ELS Editions. pp. xx–xxv.
  43. JSTOR 463904
    – via JSTOR.
  44. ^ pixeltocode.uk, PixelToCode. "Hugh & Muriel Dowding". Westminster Abbey.
  45. ISBN 978-1906502140
    .
  46. ^ a b c d "Dowding-the Man Exhibition". Moffat Museum. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  47. ^ "Reach for the Sky". IMDB. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  48. ^ Battle of Britain film starring Harry Andrews, Michael Caine, Trevor Howard, et al. 1969
  49. ^ "Darkest Hour". IMDB. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  50. ^ "Hurricane". IMDB. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  51. ^ "Lord Dowding". Open Plaques. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  52. ^ "Battle of Britain hero Hugh Dowding honoured in Moffat". BBC News. 12 September 2010. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  53. ^ "Scottish granite memorial to Lord Dowding in Calverley Park, Tunbridge Wells, Kent". Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  54. ^ "Dowding House". The Spectator. 21 November 1987. p. 35. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  55. ^ "RAFA Sheltered Housing". RAFA. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  56. ^ "Controllers Training Unit Calcutta". The Association of Royal Air Force Fighter Control Officers. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  57. ^ "Sir Hugh Dowding plaque: Battle of Britain mastermind honoured". BBC. 6 May 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  58. ^ "34052 – 'Lord Dowding'". Nine Elms. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  59. ^ Burke's Peerage. 1959.

Sources

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hugh Dowding, 1st Baron Dowding.
Military offices
Preceded by Officer Commanding No. 16 Squadron
23 July 1915 – January 1916 		Succeeded by
D.W. Powell
Preceded by
Air Officer Commanding Northern Area

1919 		Succeeded by
John Higgins
Unknown Officer Commanding No. 16 Group
1919–1920 		Vacant
Group disbanded
Preceded by Officer Commanding No. 1 Group
1920–1922 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Director of Training
1926–1929 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Air Officer Commanding RAF Transjordan and Palestine

September–December 1929 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Sir John Higgins
Air Member for Supply and Research

1 September 1930 – 14 January 1935 		Succeeded by
Himself
As Air Member for Research and Development
Succeeded by
Cyril Newall
As Air Member for Supply and Organisation
New title
Created from part of the remit of the Air Member for Supply and Research
Air Member for Research and Development

14 January 1935 – 1 April 1936 		Succeeded by
New title
Command established
 Commander-in-Chief Fighter Command
1936–1940 		Succeeded by
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation Baron Dowding
1943–1970 		Succeeded by

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