Lord Hugh Caswell Tremenheere Dowding graduated from the Royal Military Academy in 1889, serving as an artillery officer in the Far East until he returned to England in 1913. While attending the Army's Staff College, he paid for his own flight instruction, qualifying for his Royal Flying Corps pilot's rating. He served with distinction in France as a squadron and wing commander and was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in the Royal Flying Corps. At war's end, Brigadier Dowding was in command of all flight training in England. Upon formation of the Royal Air Force in 1918, he received the rank of Group Captain, serving in England and the Middle East. In 1930, Air Vice Marshall Dowding was appointed to the Air Council as member for supply and research, a key position where he influenced the development and procurement policies of the RAF, which became vital to its successes in World War II. Knighted in 1935 for his superior performance, he set out with high purpose and haste to develop the radio direction finding system (later know as RADAR) that contributed so much to victory in 1940. In 1936, as first Commander in Chief of the RAF Fighter Command responsible for the air defenses of Great Britain, he began the Herculean task of forging the Shield and Sword. The network of early warning radars and ground observer corps, the complex command and control facilities, and the interceptor Hurricane and Spitfire fighters, were welded into a highly-trained, cohesive weapons system. Because of his foresight, deep sense of purpose, and leadership, Fighter Command was ready when the call came in 1939. In the epic Battle of Britain in July, August, and September of 1940, the only battle in the history of the world to be fought entirely in the air, with strategic employment of limited resources, Dowding saved England from certain destruction. The eloquent words of Winston Churchill, "Never was so much owed by so many to so few," will forever remind the world of the sacrifice and valor of "the few" and their indomitable leader Hugh Dowding.
Inducted in 1985.
Portrait Location: Not Currently on Floor