Arthur William Tedder 1st Baron Tedder

Arthur William Tedder Tedder, 1st Baron 1890-1967, British air marshal. He saw service in the infantry and the Royal Flying Corps in World War I. After 1919 he held important positions in the Royal Air Force and the air ministry. Tedder was sent to the Middle East in 1940 and, as air chief there (1941-43), helped sweep the Germans from Tunisia. In 1943 he held a Mediterranean command and later that year was appointed deputy supreme commander of the Allied invasion forces. Raised to the peerage in 1946, he served as air chief of staff (1946-50) and in 1950 became chancellor of the Univ. of Cambridge.

Bibliography: See his memoirs, With Prejudice (1966).

Tedder, Arthur William, 1st Baron Tedder of Glenguin (b. 11 July 1890, d. 3 June 67). Marshal of the RAF Born in Glenguin (Scotland), he was raised in Croydon and studied at Cambridge. He served briefly in the colonial service in 1914, before joining the army. He transferred to the Royal Flying Corps (Royal Air Force, RAF, from 1918) in 1916, and by 1936, he was RAF commander in the Far East. He was then transferred to the Middle East, where he developed RAF-army co-operation, particularly in the Sicily and Italy landings. He was an outstanding military leader, with a singular grasp of complicated military operations and a particular gift of getting on well with his colleagues among the Allies. As Eisenhower's deputy from December 1943, he co-ordinated air operations in the Normandy campaign. On 8 May 1945 he was in Berlin where, with Zhukov, he signed the German instrument of surrender. He was Chief of Air Staff in 1946–9, and in 1950–1 served in Washington for NATO. In 1950, he became Chancellor of Cambridge University.

Tedder, Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur (1890–1967),British airman who served as Eisenhower's deputy from December 1943 to May 1945.

After serving in the British Army during the First World War, Tedder transferred to the Royal Flying Corps, rose to command a fighter squadron, and in 1919 was given the rank of squadron leader in the newly formed RAF. In 1937, while AOC, Far East, he was promoted air vice-marshal and in 1938 was appointed to the newly created post of director-general of research and development at the air ministry.

When the ministry of aircraft production was created in 1940 he worked with it, becoming deputy member of the air staff for development and production. However, he had conflicts of opinion with Beaverbrook, the minister concerned, and this did not enhance his reputation with Churchill. In December 1940, early in the battle for the Mediterranean, he became Longmore's deputy in the Middle East and succeeded him in May 1941 with the rank of air marshal. But when Churchill thought his estimate of RAF strength needed for the relief of Tobruk was too conservative he tried to have him sacked. Portal, the chief of air staff, threatened to resign and Tedder stayed.

During his time in the Middle East Tedder did much to improve army—air co-operation, one notable contribution being the bombing technique of clearing a path for ground troops through the Axis defences which came to be known as ‘Tedder's carpet’ (see alsobombers, 2). He was promoted air chief marshal in 1942 and served as vice-chief of the air staff before becoming Allied Air Commander in the Mediterranean in February 1943, the start of a long and successful partnership with Eisenhower and also a turning-point in his relationship with the prime minister.

In December 1943 Tedder returned to England as Eisenhower's deputy for the Normandy landings which took place the following June (see OVERLORD). He orchestrated the vast array of Allied aircraft with such effectiveness that the Germans had little chance of intervening during the landings and were severely hampered in bringing up supplies and land reinforcements after them. But in his role as Deputy Supreme Commander at SHAEF Tedder was also an outstanding mediator: like Eisenhower he truly understood the meaning of unified command and of co-operation.

Tedder was a quiet man with a quizzical sense of humour, but he could be tough, too. Harris, with whom Tedder clashed more than once, thought Tedder had one of the most brilliant minds of any serviceman. He was knighted in 1942, promoted Marshal of the Royal Air Force in September 1945, created a baron in January 1946, and became Chief of Air Staff the same month. See also air power.

Bibliography

Tedder, A. , With Prejudice (London, 1966).