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Dowding, Hugh, 1st Baron Dowding
Dowding, Hugh, 1st Baron Dowding (1882–1970). Air chief marshal. Dowding was born in Dumfriesshire and went to Winchester. He joined the army, served in India, and just before the First World War qualified as an RFC pilot. He finished the war as brigadier-general and transferred to the new RAF. In 1936 he was made commander-in-chief of Fighter Command and though due to retire in 1939 was asked to continue. He thus held a crucial post during the Second World War. In May 1940, in a powerfully argued memo, he begged that no more fighter planes be sent to France, and he was in personal control all through the Battle of Britain which followed. He was replaced in November 1940, after the German invasion threat had been defeated, and was given a barony in 1943. ‘Stuffy’ Dowding was austere and could be difficult. But the men under his direct command won one of the vital battles of the war. Churchill called his decision to hold seven squadrons in reserve ‘an example of genius in the art of war’ and in his victory broadcast of May 1945 paid a special tribute to Dowding.
J. A. Cannon |
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Cite this article
JOHN CANNON. "Dowding, Hugh, 1st Baron Dowding." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "Dowding, Hugh, 1st Baron Dowding." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-DowdingHugh1stBaronDowdng.html JOHN CANNON. "Dowding, Hugh, 1st Baron Dowding." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-DowdingHugh1stBaronDowdng.html |
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Dowding, Hugh, 1st Baron Dowding
Dowding, Hugh, 1st Baron Dowding (1882–1970). Air chief marshal. Dowding was born in Dumfriesshire and went to Winchester. He joined the army, and just before the First World War qualified as an RFC pilot. He finished the war as brigadier‐general and transferred to the new RAF. In 1936 he was made commander‐in‐chief of Fighter Command. He thus held a crucial post during the Second World War and in May 1940 he begged that no more fighter planes be sent to France. Dowding was in personal control all through the Battle of Britain which followed. In his victory broadcast of May 1945, Churchill paid a special tribute to Dowding.
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Cite this article
JOHN CANNON. "Dowding, Hugh, 1st Baron Dowding." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "Dowding, Hugh, 1st Baron Dowding." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-DowdingHugh1stBaronDowdng.html JOHN CANNON. "Dowding, Hugh, 1st Baron Dowding." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-DowdingHugh1stBaronDowdng.html |
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