Edgar Ludlow-Hewitt

Air Chief Marshal Sir Edgar Rainey Ludlow-Hewitt, GCB, GBE, CMG, DSO, MC, DL (9 June 1886 – 15 August 1973) was a senior Royal Air Force commander. He was the second son and the second of five children of the Rev. Thomas Arthur Ludlow-Hewitt (17 May 1850 - 16 June 1936) of Clancoole, Co. Cork and later vicar of Minety, Wiltshire and Edith Annie Hudson (9 March 1854 - 15 November 1944), only daughter of Alfred Ricketts Hudson ( - 5 August 1908) of Wick House, Pershore and brother of Lieut. Colonel Alfred Henry Hudson, D.L., J.P., (18 August 1850 - 15 April 1946), High Sheriff of Worcester 1918<The London Gazette Publication date:5 March 1918 Issue:30557 Page:2781>

Sir Edgar Ludlow-Hewitt
Air Chief Marshal Ludlow-Hewitt
Born(1886-06-09)9 June 1886
Died15 August 1973(1973-08-15) (aged 87)
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchBritish Army (1905–18)
Royal Air Force (1918–45)
Years of service1905–45
RankAir Chief Marshal
Commands heldInspector-General of the RAF (1940–45)
Bomber Command (1937–40)
RAF India (1935–37)
Iraq Command (1930–32)
RAF Staff College (1926–30)
3rd (Corps) Wing (1916–17)
No. 3 Squadron (1915–16)
No. 15 Squadron (1915)
Battles/warsFirst World War
Second World War
AwardsKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire
Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George
Distinguished Service Order
Military Cross
Mentioned in Despatches (6)
Knight of the Legion of Honour (France)

First World War

Educated at Eastman's School,[1] Radley College and Sandhurst, Ludlow-Hewitt was commissioned into the Royal Irish Rifles in 1905, but transferred to the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) before the First World War, where he qualified on 11 September 1914 for the Royal Aero Club's Aviator's Certificate no. 886.[2] During the war he served first as a pilot in No. 1 Squadron Royal Flying Corps and then later as the Officer Commanding No. 15 Squadron and No. 3 Squadron on the Western Front.[2] In 1916 Ludlow-Hewitt took up command of the 3rd (Corps) Wing as a temporary lieutenant colonel.[2] Late in the following year, he was promoted to brigadier general and made the Inspector of Training at the headquarters of the RFC Training Division.[2] Like other members of the RFC, he transferred to the Royal Air Force (RAF) on its creation on 1 April 1918.[2] It was also on that date that he became General Officer Commanding (GOC) the Training Division.[2] Less than two months later he was appointed GOC the 10th Brigade.[2]

Later career

He was appointed Air Secretary in 1922 and Commandant of the RAF Staff College in 1926.[2] He went on to be Air Officer Commanding Iraq Command in 1930, Deputy Chief of the Air Staff and Director of Operations and Intelligence in 1933 and Air Officer Commanding the RAF India in 1935.[2] In 1937 Ludlow-Hewitt was promoted to Air Chief Marshal and appointed Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Bomber Command.[2] In the Second World War, Ludlow-Hewitt was replaced by Portal in April 1940 because of Ludlow-Hewitt's insistence on the formation of Operational Training Units, at the expense of the availability of front line airmen.[3] He spent the remainder of the war as Inspector-General of the RAF and did not retire until November 1945, making him the RAF officer with the longest service as an Air Chief Marshal during the 20th century.[2]

References

  1. Hammerton, Sir John ABC of the RAF London 1941 p.48
  2. Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Chief Marshal Sir Edgar Ludlow-Hewitt
  3. "RAF Commanders in WW-II". Archived from the original on 18 February 2017. Retrieved 21 November 2017.

4.

Military offices
Preceded by
Robert Brooke-Popham
Commandant RAF Staff College, Andover
1926–1930
Succeeded by
Philip Joubert de la Ferté
Preceded by
Robert Brooke-Popham
Air Officer Commanding Iraq Command
1930–1932
Succeeded by
Christopher Courtney
Preceded by
Charles Burnett
Deputy Chief of the Air Staff
and Director of Operations and Intelligence

1 February 1933 – 26 January 1935
Succeeded by
Christopher Courtney
Preceded by
Sir John Steel
Air Officer Commanding RAF India
1935–1937
Succeeded by
Sir Philip Joubert de la Ferté
Preceded by
Sir John Steel
Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Bomber Command
1937–1940
Succeeded by
Sir Charles Portal
Preceded by
Sir Leslie Gossage
Inspector-General of the RAF
1940–1945
Succeeded by
Sir Arthur Barratt
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