Trenchard was known as the father of the Royal Air Forcea gruff and forceful patron saint of airpower. He trained and organized the RAF for World War I, then led it into battle, pioneering many of the concepts central to air warfare today.
He twice failed the British Army entrance exams. However, by age 20, he slid through, became a lieutenant, and was posted to India, where he met a fellow officer, the young Winston Churchill, in a polo match in 1896.
Trenchard first saw combat in September 1900 in South Africa during the Boer War. His time in Africa ended after he and the Australian horsemen under his command pursued Boer riders into a valley. Trenchard, charging in ahead of most of his men, led a small party assaulting the farmhouse where the Boers were holed up. He was hit by a Boer bullet that pierced a lung and grazed his spine, knocking him out of the war.
His commanding officer told Trenchard that he was too tall and too old to join the infant Royal Flying Corps of 1912, they accepted no one over 40. Undeterred, Trenchard got two weeks leave and paid for his own instruction.
Thirteen days later, he soloed, after a grand total of one hour and four minutes of flying time. In truth, Trenchard was never a good pilot. According to Boyle in Trenchard, Man of Vision, he was described as indifferent by Royal Navy Lt. Arthur Longmore, who had two years flying experience.
He went to France in November 1914 as commander of one of the Royal Flying Corps three operational wings. In August 1915, Trenchard became commander of all British air forces in France.
In April 1918 Trenchard abruptly quit his post as the first chief of the Air Staff after only four months in the job and just two weeks after formation of the Royal Air Force. He blamed headquarters politics.
After World War I, Trenchard battled for the continued existence of the Royal Air Force. In 1919, Churchill, who became secretary of war and air, recalled Trenchard to be chief of the Air Staff, a position he kept until his retirement in 1929.
During and after the war, Trenchard was instrumental in raising money for the Battle of Britain Chapel in Westminster Abbey and, on his death in 1956, he was buried there. The formidable marshal of the RAF left a profound airpower legacy that showed itself best in those he influenced.
