Background

Hugh Dowding was born on April 24, 1882, in Moffat, Scotland, United Kingdom. He was the son of Arthur John Caswall Dowding and Maud Caroline Dowding (née Tremenheere). His father had taught at Fettes College in Edinburgh before moving to the southern Scottish town of Moffat. Hugh Dowding also had two brothers and a sister.

Education

Hugh Dowding began his education at St Ninian's Boys' Preparatory School in Moffat, which had been established by his father, Arthur Dowding. He later attended Winchester College and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, before joining the Army in 1900.

Hugh Dowding gained Aviator's Certificate no. 711 on December 19, 1913, at the Vickers School of Flying, Brooklands. He then attended the Central Flying School at Upavon, where he received Royal Flying Corps certificate number 156 and was awarded his "wings" on April 28, 1914.

Career

Hugh Dowding started his career in 1914 when he joined the Royal Flying Corps as a pilot on No. 7 Squadron. The following year, Dowding became commander of No. 16 Squadron and finished the war as Brigadier General. In 1918, Dowding joined the newly created Royal Air Force. He served as commanding officer of No. 16 Group from 1919 to 1920. In 1920, he was appointed commanding officer of No. 1 Group and held this post until 1922. He also was director of training at the Air Ministry from 1926 to 1929. Dowding took up a post of Air Member for Supply and Research on September 1, 1930.

Hugh Dowding became Air Marshal in 1933 and served as commanding officer of RAF Fighter Command. He devised, developed and implemented what became known as the "Dowding System," recognized as the world's first integrated air defense network. In 1935, he left his post as Air Member for Supply and Research and became Air Member for Research and Development. He held this post until 1936. Dowding was appointed Air Officer Commanding RAF Fighter Command in 1936, a post that he held until 1940.

Hugh Dowding was due to retire in June 1939 but was asked to stay in the post because of the tense international situation. In 1940, Dowding worked closely with Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park, the commander of No. 11 Fighter Group, in covering the evacuation at Dunkirk. Although Dowding only had 200 planes at his disposal he managed to gain air superiority over the Luftwaffe. However, he was unwilling to sacrifice his pilots in what he considered to be a futile attempt to help Allied troops during the Western Offensive. He retired in November 1942 and was created Baron the next year.

After his retirement, Dowding wrote such books as Many Mansions, Lychgate: The Entrance to the Path, and The Dark Star. He died at his home in Tunbridge Wells in Kent on February 15, 1970.

Achievements

• Hugh Dowding was a British military officer who was known as Air Chief Marshal and commanding officer of No. 16 Squadron. He was famous for defeating the German Air Force in its attempt to gain control of British skies in preparation for a German invasion of England. Dowding also developed and implemented what became known as the "Dowding System."
  
  Hugh Dowding received the Order of St Michael and St George in 1919 and the Royal Victorian Order in 1937. On October 8, 1940, he was awarded the Order of the Bath. A statue of Dowding stands outside St Clement Danes Church on the Strand, London. Other monuments to Dowding can be found in Station Park in Moffat. The Dowding Centre at the School of Aerospace Battle Management at RAF Boulmer is named after Dowding. Dowding Place, Stanmore is also named after him.
  
  Dowding was played by Charles Carson in the 1956 film Reach for the Sky. In the 2018 film Hurricane: 303 Squadron, Dowding was played by Nicholas Farrell.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Many Mansions

    (English edition)

    1943
  • Lychgate: The Entrance to the Path

    (English edition)

    1945
  • The Dark Star

    (English edition)

    2014

Religion

Hugh Dowding rejected conventional Christianity and joined the Theosophical Society which advocated belief in reincarnation. In 1951, Dowding laid the foundation stone of the Chapel of St George at RAF Biggin Hill, now London Biggin Hill Airport, in memory of fallen airmen.

Views

After retirement, Hugh Dowding became actively interested in Spiritualism and devoted his books to this topic. He was a vegetarian, but at the same time, he believed that animals will be killed to satisfy human needs for many a long day to come. He made several appeals in the House of Lords for the humane killing of animals intended for food. Dowding believed in fairies and said that fairies are essential to the growth of plants and the welfare of the vegetable kingdom. He also was against vivisection (surgery conducted for experimental purposes on a living organism).

Quotations: "The best defense of the country is the fear of the fighter. If we are strong in fighters we should probably never be attacked in force. If we are moderately strong we shall probably be attacked and the attacks will gradually be bought to a standstill. If we are weak in fighter strength, the attacks will not be bought to a standstill and the productive capacity of the country will be virtually destroyed."

"Nearly all of us have a deep-rooted wish for peace - peace on earth, but we shall never attain the true peace - the peace of love and not the uneasy equilibrium of fear - until we recognize the place of animals in the scheme of things and treat them accordingly."

"Even should it be conclusively proved that human beings benefit directly from the suffering of animals, its infliction would nevertheless be unethical and wrong."

Membership

Hugh Dowding was a member of the Fairy Investigation Society.

Personality

Those who knew Hugh Dowding said he was a self-opinionated and very determined man. He was considered dour, stubborn, obstinate, and uncooperative. Moreover, to some people, Dowding seemed weird because of his belief in reincarnation and the fairy.

Connections

Hugh Dowding married Clarice Maud Vancourt on February 16, 1918. The marriage produced one son, Derek. In 1920, Clarice died. Hugh Dowding married Muriel Whiting on September 25, 1951. The couple had no children.

Father:

Arthur John Caswall Dowding

Arthur John Caswall Dowding (1855 – 1932) served as an educator at Fettes College.

Mother:

Maud Caroline Dowding

(June 14, 1852 – September 20, 1934)

Sister:

Hilda Dowding

(1884 – 1976)

Brother:

Kenneth Townley Dowding

(1888 – 1979)

Brother:

Arthur Ninian Dowding

Arthur Ninian Dowding (January 4, 1886 – November 26, 1966) was an officer of the Royal Navy.

late wife:

Clarice Maud Vancourt

(died 1920)

Son:

Derek Dowding

(January 9, 1919 – November 22, 1992)

Wife:

Muriel Dowding

Muriel Dowding (March 22, 1908 – November 20, 1993) was an English animal rights activist.

References

• The Battle of Britain: Victory and Defeat: The Controversial Dismissal of Sir Hugh Dowding A detailed investigation of the circumstances leading to the controversial dismissal, in November 1940, of Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding from his post as Commander in Chief of RAF Fighter Command, immediately following victory in the Battle of Britain, over which he had presided.
  2003
• Dowding of Fighter Command: Victor of the Battle of Britain This, quite simply, is the definitive book on the life of the man who prepared the ground for victory in the Battle of Britain. Without him, Britain and the world would have entered a dark age. Making full use of archival sources and information provided by family members, respected historian Professor Vincent Orange has produced a masterful biography of a truly remarkable man.
  2008