Arthur Tedder became one of the most eminent figures of the Second World War: first as head of Anglo-American air forces in the Middle East, the Mediterranean and North Africa; then as Deputy Supreme Commander to General Eisenhower for the Allied campaign that began in Normandy and ended in Berlin. During those anxious, exhilarating years, he was, as The Times of London wrote, 'the most unstuffy of great commanders, who could be found sitting cross-legged, jacketless, pipe smoldering, answering questions on a desert airstrip.'
After the war, promoted to five-star rank and elevated to the peerage as Lord Tedder, he was made Chief of the Air Staff, holding this appointment for longer than anyone since his time: four critical years (from 1946 to 1949) that saw the tragic start of the Cold War and the inspiring achievement of the Berlin Airlift. In 1950, he became Britain's NATO representative in Washington: a year that saw the start of a hot war in Korea that threatened to spread around the globe.
This book provides the first comprehensive account of a great commander's public career and uses hundreds of family letters to portray a private life, both joyful and tragic.
Biography
Vincent Orange University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.
'In some ways Tedder was the most important leader you never heard of. Vincent Orange has ably filled a need for a comprehansive biography of Tedder, for surprisingly none has existed until now.'
Dean Calcott, The Press, Christchurch.
'Vincent Orange has done his subject full justice in this magnificent biography. It is written with authority, is eminently readable and will have wide appeal to general readers of non-fiction, not just to those interested in war history.'
Dean Calcott, The Press, Christchurch.
'Vincent Orange's eagerly awaited study - Tedder: Quietly in Command - will ... be welcomed throughout the military history community, and particularly by students of air power history.'
Sebastian Ritchie, RAF Air Power Review, vol. 7, no. 4 (Winter 2004)
'In this very important and highly readable biography, Vincent Orange sets himself the difficult task of portrayin g tedder ther amn - childhood, character, and private life - as well as Teddr the commander ... the result is an eminently balanced narrative which succeeds in its principal objective.'
Sebastian Ritchie, RAF Air Power Review, vol. 7, no. 4 (Winter 2004)
'The lessons that it contains on joint and coalition warfare remain supremely relevant to today's commanders.'
Sebastian Ritchie, RAF Air Power Review, vol. 7, no. 4 (Winter 2004)
'Adds much to our understanding of the British and Allied High Commands in the Second World War, of relations between Allied high commanders, and of the top-level direction of operations.'
Sebastian Ritchie, RAF Air Power Review, vol. 7, no. 4 (Winter 2004)
'Vincent Orange's biography deserves to be widely read both as a fresh accountt of Tedder's career in the Royal Air Force, and as a superbly written portrait of one of the war's most remarkable and underappreciated men.'
Carlo D'Este, Journal of Military History
'Vincent Orange, whose previous biographies of Arthur Coningham and Keith Park established him as a major authority on the Royal Air Force in World War II. has produced a masterly biography of a complex individual who rose to the highest command.'
Carlo D'Este, Journal of Military History
