Tedder

"Arthur Tedder became one of the most eminent figures of the Second World War: first, as head of the Anglo-American air forces in the Middle East, the Mediterranean and North Africa; then as Deputy Supreme Commander to Eisenhower for the Allied campaign that began in Normandy and ended in Berlin. During those years, he was, as The Times wrote, 'the most unstuffy of commanders, who could be found sitting cross-legged, jacketless, pipe smouldering, answering questions on a desert airstrip'.". "After the war, promoted to five-star rank and elevated to the peerage, as Lord Tedder of Glenguin, he was made Chief of the Air Staff, holding this appointment for longer than anyone since his time - for four critical years (1946-49), which saw the tragic start of the Cold War and the inspiring achievement of the Berlin Airlift. In 1950, Tedder became Britain's NATO representative in Washington - a year that saw the beginning of a hot war in Korea that threatened to spread around the globe.". "In 'retirement', Tedder served as Chancellor of Cambridge University, Vice-Chairman of the BBC's Board of Governors, and Chairman of the Standard Motor Company. Not least, in the period between his second wife's sudden death in 1965, and his own physical collapse during that year and the next, Tedder managed to produce (with the assistance of family and friends and David Dilks, a research assistant who would become an historian) one of the most valuable memoirs of the Second World War.". "In addition to offering the first comprehensive account of this commander's public career, Vincent Orange has made use of hundreds of family letters to portray a private life that was both joyful and tragic." "This book will be essential reading for all military historians and for those general readers with an informed interest in the First and Second World War and the subsequent development of NATO."--BOOK JACKET.