Page 91 - They Also Served

39
Edgar Ludlow-Hewitt 1905.
Edgar Rainey Ludlow-Hewitt was born in Cork, Ireland, on 9th June 1886. Educated at Radley College, he was commissioned from Sandhurst in 1905 into the Royal Irish Rifles. Seeing the opportunities offered by the newly formed RFC, he transferred in 1914 and gained his Royal Aero Club Aviator’s Certificate (887) on 11th September 1914.
Posted to Number 1 Squadron, flying
reconnaissance aircraft over the Western
Front, Ludlow-Hewitt was soon spotted
as a future leader as the RFC rapidly expanded. Given command of firstly 15 Squadron then 3 Squadron, he regularly flew on combat missions, greatly improving the morale of his crews. In 1916 he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel, during which time he continued to fly, and Brigadier the following year. However, a severe injury to his left arm curtailed his operational flying and he ended the war as GOC the training division of the newly formed RAF, having been awarded the CMG, DSO, MC and MiD six times.
Between the wars, Ludlow-Hewitt rose steadily through the ranks of the RAF, serving as commandant of the Staff College, air officer commanding in Iraq, and commander of RAF units in India. Finally, he was promoted to air chief marshal on 1st July 1937 and took charge of Bomber Command. During the final years of peace, he proved to be a superb organiser with a far-sighted view of the command’s role in the inevitable war with Germany. Establishing the Central Gunnery School, professionalising the aircrew trades and setting in motion the design of a fast bomber, which eventually entered service as the Mosquito, he did much to prepare the RAF for the war. However, his insistence on forming OTUs after the war had started proved to be his downfall. Recognising the need for new crews to be trained by experienced pilots, the OTUs took crews off operations to pass on their experience to new recruits. Realising that, without long-range fighter escort, the bombers would be decimated in daylight attacks on Germany, he saw the OTUs as the best way to prepare new crews for
85