Hugh Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard
| The Viscount Trenchard | |
|---|---|
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Trenchard in RAF full dress c.1930
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| Nickname(s) | The Camel (1890s) Boom (c. 1912 onwards) |
| Born |
3 February 1873 Taunton, England |
| Died | 10 February 1956 (aged 83) London, England |
| Buried at | RAF Chapel, Westminster Abbey |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/branch |
British Army(1893–18) Royal Air Force (1918–30) |
| Years of service | 1893–1930 |
| Rank | Marshal of the Royal Air Force |
| Commands held |
Chief of the Air Staff Independent Air Force Royal Flying Corps in the Field First Wing, RFC Military Wing, RFC Southern Nigeria Regiment 23rd Mounted Infantry Regiment (acting) |
| Battles/wars |
Second Boer War World War I World War II (semi-officially) |
| Awards |
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Member of the Order of Merit Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (Full list) |
| Other work |
Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis Chairman of the United Africa Company |
| Signature |  |
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Hugh Montague Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard, GCB, OM, GCVO, DSO (3 February 1873 – 10 February 1956) was a British officer who was instrumental in establishing the Royal Air Force. He has been described as the Father of the Royal Air Force.
During his formative years Trenchard struggled academically, failing many examinations and only just succeeding in meeting the minimum standard for commissioned service in the British Army. As a young infantry officer, Trenchard served in India and with the outbreak of the Boer War, he volunteered for service in South Africa. While fighting the Boers, Trenchard was critically wounded and as a result of his injury, he lost a lung, was partially paralysed and returned to Great Britain. On medical advice Trenchard travelled to Switzerland to recuperate and boredom saw him taking up bobsleighing. After a heavy crash, Trenchard found that his paralysis was gone and that he could walk unaided. Following further recuperation, Trenchard returned to active service in South Africa.
After the end of the Boer War, Trenchard saw service in Nigeria where he was involved in efforts to bring the interior under settled British rule and quell intertribal violence. During his time in West Africa, Trenchard commanded the Southern Nigeria Regiment for several years.
In Summer 1912, Trenchard learned to fly and gained his aviator's certificate (No. 270) on 31 July flying a Henry Farman biplane of the Sopwith School of Flying at Brooklands. He was subsequently appointed as second in command of the Central Flying School. He held several senior positions in the Royal Flying Corps during World War I, serving as the commander of the Royal Flying Corps in France from 1915 to 1917. In 1918, he briefly served as the first Chief of the Air Staff before taking up command of the Independent Air Force in France. Returning as Chief of the Air Staff under Winston Churchill in 1919, Trenchard spent the following decade securing the future of the Royal Air Force. He was Metropolitan Police Commissioner in the 1930s and a defender of the RAF in his later years. Trenchard is recognized today as one of the early advocates of strategic bombing.
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