Percy Groves
Percy Groves | |
---|---|
Commander of the Legion of Honour (France) |
Early life
Percy Robert Clifford Groves was born on 26 May 1878 at Rai Bareli, India.[5] He was the eldest son of Joseph Groves who served as Commissioner of Railways for the United Provinces in India.[6][7] He was educated at Bedford Modern School.[8]
Career
Groves joined the King's Shropshire Light Infantry where he was commissioned a second lieutenant on 18 October 1899. He served with the 2nd battalion of his regiment in the Second Boer War,[6][7] and was promoted to lieutenant on 9 March 1901.[9] The war in South Africa ended in May 1902, and he returned home later that year, on the SS Kildonan Castle in December 1902.[10] He was employed with the West African Regiment (1903–04) and was Territorial Adjutant (1909–12).[7] In 1914 he joined the Royal Flying Corps, serving with Air Services France (1914–15).[7] On 29 April 1915, he received his Royal Aero Club Aviator's Certificate passing on a Maurice Farman Biplane at Farman Aerodrome, Étampes.[5] He did much active flying in the Dardanelles (1915–16).[1][7]
Between 1916 and 1918, he was Chief of Staff,
Groves retired from active service in 1922 with the rank of brigadier general.[7] Based on his experiences on active service, Groves realised that Britain needed to radically rethink its approach to air strategy.[1] Shortly after his retirement from the forces, he proceeded to campaign "for the creation of an effective striking force and for a proper regard for the patent realities of civil aviation".[1] His opinions attracted the interest of Viscount Northcliffe and in 1922 a series of articles on "Our Future in the Air" were published in The Times.[1] He remained a forceful campaigner for an immediate expansion of the RAF to parity with the largest European force within striking distance.[1]
In 1939 Groves returned to active service being made Deputy Director of Intelligence at the Air Ministry with the rank of air commodore, a position he held until April 1940.[1] He was then seconded to the Foreign Office before being demobilised in 1946.[1]
Military strategist
Groves was a colleague of Frederick Sykes and Viscount Trenchard, who both influenced his early military thinking.[4] He was also engaged in lengthy correspondence with Sir Basil Liddell Hart.[11] In terms of his military thinking, Groves was a proponent of the aerial "knock out blow": the possibility of ending a war in its early stages by launching a massive attack on the enemy's centres of gravity.[4]
Awards and honours
In the Second Boer War he was awarded the Queen's medal (4 clasps) and the King's medal (2 clasps).[7]
During the First World War he was awarded the
Groves was an Associate Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society; Hon. Secretary General Air League of British Empire, and Editor of Air, 1927–29. He was group captain and honorary air commodore, RAFVR, September 1939.[7]
Personal life
Groves was a member of the United Service Club.[7] In 1920 he married Suzanne, daughter of T.E. Steen of Oslo; they had one son.[7] He died in Mombasa on 12 August 1959.[6][7]
The National Portrait Gallery has numerous photographic portraits of Groves.[12]
Selected works
- Flying over Egypt, Sinai and Palestine, National Geographic, 1926[13]
- Behind the Smoke Screen, 1934[14]
- Our Future In The Air, 1935[15]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Obituary, Brigadier-General P. R. C. Groves – Campaigner For Air Power, The Times, 17 August 1959
- ^ a b c Kelly’s Handbook to the Titled, Landed and Official Classes 1958, Published by Kelly’s Directories Limited 1958
- ^ "Brig.-Gen. Percy Robert Clifford GROVES". militarian.com. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
- ^ ISBN 9780313070334. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
- ^ a b "Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History Records at Ancestry.co.uk". ancestry.co.uk. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
- ^ a b c Obituary, Brigadier-General P. R. C. Groves, The Times, 17 August 1959
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-954089-1.
- ^ The Harpur Trust 1552–1973, by Joyce Godber, 1973
- ^ Hart′s Army list 1903
- ^ "The Army in South Africa - Troops returning Home". The Times. No. 36943. London. 5 December 1902. p. 8.
- ^ "Groves, Percy Robert Clifford (1878–1959) Brigadier General". nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
- ^ "National Portrait Gallery – Person – Percy Robert Clifford Groves". npg.org.uk. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
- ISBN 9781566397520. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
- OCLC 1326185.
- OCLC 2218791.