Hugh Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard

Trenchard arrived in India in late 1893, joining his regiment at Sialkot in the Punjab. Not long after his arrival, he was called upon to make a speech at a mess dinner night. It was common practice for the youngest subaltern to make such a speech and he was expected to cover several highlights of the Royal Scots Fusiliers' history. Instead, he simply said "I am deeply proud to belong to this great regiment", followed by "I hope one day I shall live to command it." His 'speech' was received with hoots of incredulous laughter, although some appreciated his nerve.[13]

Young officers stationed in India in the 1890s enjoyed many social and sporting diversions and Trenchard did little militarily.[14] While every regiment was required to undertake a period of duty beyond the Khyber Pass, for the most part conditions of peace and prosperity were evident and he was able to engage in various sporting activities. In early 1894 he won the All-India Rifle Championship. After his success at shooting, he set about establishing a battalion polo team. Being of the infantry, his regiment had no history of playing polo and there were many obstacles to overcome. However, within six months the battalion polo team was competing and holding its own. It was during a polo match in 1896 that he first met Winston Churchill, with whom he clashed on the field of play.[15] Trenchard's sporting prowess saved his reputation among his fellow officers. In other respects he did not fit in, lacking social graces and choosing to converse little, he was nicknamed "the camel", as like the beast he neither drank nor spoke.[4][16]

It was during this period of his life in India that he took up reading. His first choice was for biographies, particularly of British heroes, and he kept the long hours he spent reading unobtrusive, but in so doing succeeded in providing himself with an education where the service crammers had failed.[17] However, in military terms Trenchard was dissatisfied. He failed to see any action during his time in India, missing out on his regiment's turn at the frontier, as he was sent to England on sick leave for a hernia operation.[16]

With the outbreak of the Second Boer War in October 1899, he applied several times to rejoin his old battalion which had been sent to the Cape as part of the expeditionary corps. His requests were rejected by his colonel, and when the Viceroy Lord Curzon, who was concerned about the drain of leaders to South Africa, banned the dispatch of any further officers, Trenchard's prospects for seeing action looked bleak. However, a year or two previously, it had so happened that he had been promised help or advice from Sir Edmond Elles, as a gesture of thanks after rescuing a poorly planned rifle-shooting contest from disaster. By 1900, Elles was Military Secretary to Lord Curzon and Trenchard (recently promoted to captain) sent a priority signal to Elles requesting that he be permitted to rejoin his unit overseas. This bold move worked, and he received his orders for South Africa several weeks later.[18]

On his arrival in South Africa, he rejoined the Royal Scots Fusiliers, and in July 1900 he was ordered to raise and train a mounted company within the 2nd Battalion.[19] The Boers were accomplished horsemen and the tactics of the day placed a heavy strain upon the British cavalry. Accordingly, the British sought to raise mounted infantry units and Trenchard's polo-playing experiences led to him being selected to raise a mounted unit for service west of Johannesburg. Part of the newly formed company consisted of a group of volunteer Australian horsemen who, thus far being under-employed, had largely been noticed for excessive drinking, gambling and debauchery.[20]

Trenchard's company came under the command of the 6th (Fusilier) Brigade which was headquartered at Krugersdorp. During September and early October 1900, it was involved in several skirmishes in the surrounding countryside. On 5 October the 6th Brigade, including Trenchard, departed Krugersdorp with the intention of drawing the Boers into battle on the plain where they might be defeated. However, before the brigade could reach the plain it had to pass through undulating terrain which favoured the Boer guerrilla tactics.[21] The brigade travelled by night, and at dawn on 9 October the Ayrshire Yeomanry, who were in the vanguard, disturbed a Boer encampment. The Boers fled on horseback and Trenchard's company pursued them for 10 miles (16 km). The Boers, finding themselves unable to shake off Trenchard's pursuit, led them into an ambush. The Boers rode up a steep slope and disappeared into the valley beyond. When Trenchard made the ridge he saw the Dwarsvlei farmhouse with smoke coming from the chimney. It appeared to him that the Boers thought they had got away and were eating breakfast unawares. He placed his troops on the heights around the building and after half an hour's observation led a patrol of four men down towards the farmhouse. The remainder of the company were to close in on his signal. However, when Trenchard and his patrol reached the valley floor and broke cover the Boers opened fire from about a dozen points and bullets whistled past it. He pressed forward reaching the sheltering wall of the farmhouse. As he headed for the door, Trenchard was hit by a Boer bullet to the chest. The rest of the company, seeing their leader fall, descended from the heights to engage the Boers at close quarters in and around the farmhouse. Many of the Boers were killed or wounded, a few fled and several were taken prisoner. Trenchard being critically wounded was medically evacuated to Krugersdorp.[22][23]

Upon his return, he made his way to Pretoria, arriving there in late July 1901. He was assigned to a company of the 12th Mounted Infantry where patrolling duties required long days in the saddle. His wound still caused considerable pain, and the entry and exit scars frequently bled.[32]

Trenchard (shown left) in South Africa

Later in the year, he was summoned to see Kitchener, who was now the Commander-in-Chief in the South African theatre. He was tasked with re-organising a demoralised mounted infantry company, which was completed in under a month. Kitchener then sent him to D'Aar in the Cape Colony to expedite the training of a new corps of mounted infantry. Kitchener summoned Trenchard for the third time in October 1901, this time sending him on a mission to capture the Boer Government, who were in hiding. Kitchener had received intelligence on their location and he hoped to damage the morale of Boer commandos at large by sending a small group of men to capture their political leadership. Trenchard was accompanied by a column of so-called loyalist Boers whose motives he distrusted. Also with him were several British NCOs and nine mixed-race guides. After riding through the night, Trenchard's party were ambushed the next morning. He and his men took cover and gave fight. After Trenchard's column had suffered casualties, the ambush party withdrew. Although this last mission failed, he was praised for his efforts with a mention in despatches.[33]

Trenchard spent the remainder of 1901 on patrolling duties, and in early 1902 he was appointed acting commander of the 23rd Mounted Infantry Regiment. During the last few months of the war, he only once got the opportunity to lead his regiment into action. In response to Boer cattle rustling, Zulu raiders crossed the border into the Transvaal and the 23rd Mounted Infantry Regiment took action.[34] After peace terms were agreed in May 1902, he was involved in supervising the disarming of the Boers, and later took leave. In July the 23rd, Mounted Infantry was recalled to Middleburg 400 miles to the south, and after the trek, Trenchard occupied himself with polo and race meetings.[35] He was promoted to brevet major in August 1902.[36]

Following the end of the Boer War, Trenchard was seconded to stay in South Africa,[37] but he applied for service in the West African Frontier Force and was granted the position of Deputy Commandant of the Southern Nigeria Regiment, with the promise that he was entitled to lead all regimental expeditions. On arrival in Nigeria in December 1903, he initially had some difficulty in getting his commanding officer to allow him to lead the upcoming expedition, and only replaced his superior by going over his head.[38]

Once established, Trenchard spent the next six years on various expeditions to the interior patrolling, surveying and mapping an area of 10,000 square miles[16] which later came to be known as Biafra.[39] In the occasional clashes with the Ibo tribesmen, Trenchard gained decisive victories. The many tribesmen who surrendered were given jobs as road builders and thereby began to develop the country as part of the British Empire.[40] From summer 1904 to the late summer 1905, Trenchard was acting commandant of the Southern Nigeria Regiment.[41] He was appointed to the Distinguished Service Order in 1906[42] and was commandant with the temporary rank of lieutenant colonel from 1908 onwards.[43]

With the outbreak of First World War, Trenchard was appointed Officer Commanding the Military Wing of the Royal Flying Corps, replacing Lieutenant-Colonel Sykes. This appointment put him in charge of the Royal Flying Corps's home garrison, which retained one-third of the Corps' total strength. Its headquarters were at Farnborough, and being disappointed about remaining in England he applied to rejoin his old regiment in France. However, the head of the RFC, General Sir David Henderson, refused to release him.[63] Trenchard's new duties included providing replacements and raising new squadrons for service on the continent. He initially set himself a target of 12 squadrons; however, Sefton Brancker, the Assistant Director of Military Aeronautics, suggested that this should be raised to 30, and Lord Kitchener later increased the target to 60.[64] In order to begin the task of creating these squadrons, Trenchard commandeered his old civilian training school at Brooklands, and then used its aircraft and equipment as a starting point for the establishment of new training schools elsewhere.[65]

In early October 1914, Kitchener sent for Trenchard and tasked him with providing a battle-worthy squadron forthwith. The squadron was to be used to support land and naval forces seeking to prevent the German flanking manoeuvres during the Race to the Sea. On 7 October, only 36 hours later, No. 6 Squadron flew to Belgium, the first of many additional squadrons to be provided.[66]

Later in October, detailed planning for a major reorganisation of the Flying Corps' command structure took place. Henderson offered Trenchard command of the soon-to-be created First Wing. He accepted the offer on the basis that he would not be subordinated to Sykes, whom he distrusted.[67] The next month, the Military Wing was abolished and its units based in the United Kingdom were re-grouped as the Administrative Wing. Command of the Administrative Wing was given to Lieutenant Colonel E B Ashmore.[68]

Trenchard took up command of the First Wing in November 1914, establishing its headquarters at Merville. On arrival he discovered that Sykes was to replace Henderson as commander of the Royal Flying Corps in the Field, making Sykes Trenchard's immediate superior. Trenchard bore Sykes some animosity and their working relationship was troubled. Trenchard appealed to Kitchener, by then the Secretary of State for War, threatening to resign.[69] Trenchard's discomfort was relieved when in December 1914 Kitchener ordered that Henderson resume command of the Royal Flying Corps in the Field.[70] The R.F.C.'s First Wing consisted of Nos Two and Three Squadrons[71] flying in support of the British Army's IV Corps and Indian Corps.[72] After the First Army under General Haig came into being in December 1914, the First Wing provided support to its operations.[73]

In early January 1915 Haig summoned Trenchard to explain what might be achieved in the air war. During the meeting, Haig brought him into his confidence regarding plans by the First Army for a March attack in the Merville/Neuve Chapelle region. After aerial photographic reconnaissance had been gathered, the British plans for the attack were reworked in February in consequence. During the Battle of Neuve Chapelle in March the R.F.C., and especially the First Wing, supported the operation. This was the first time that aircraft were used as bombers with missiles strapped to the wings and fuselage as opposed to being released by hand which had happened earlier in the war.[74] However, the bombing from the air had little effect due to limited weight payload capacity, and the Royal Artillery disregarded the information provided by the R.F.C.'s airmen.[75] Prior to the British First Army's offensives at Ypres and Aubers Ridge in April and May, the First Wing's crews flew reconnaissance sorties using aerial cameras over the German lines. Despite the detailed information this provided and the improved air-artillery cooperation during the battles, the offensives were inconclusive. At the end of this engagement Henderson offered Trenchard the position as his chief of staff. He declined the offer, citing his unsuitability for the role,[76] although his ambition for command may have been the real reason.[77] In any case, this did not stop his promotion to full colonel in June 1915.[36]

Trenchard at the Flying Corps' general headquarters, May 1917, by William Orpen

On Henderson's return to the War Office in the summer of 1915,[78] Trenchard was promoted to brigadier-general and appointed Officer Commanding the R.F.C.'s units in France. He was to serve as the head of the R.F.C. in the field until the early days of 1918. In December 1915 when Douglas Haig was appointed as Commander-in-Chief of the British Expeditionary Force, Haig and Trenchard re-established their partnership, this time at a higher level.[79] In March 1916, with the RFC expanding, Trenchard was promoted to major-general.[36]

Trenchard's time in command of the R.F.C. on the Western Front was characterised by three priorities. First was an emphasis on support to and co-ordination with ground forces. This started with reconnaissance and artillery co-ordination, and later encompassed tactical low-level bombing of enemy ground targets. While he did not oppose the strategic bombing of Germany in principle, he rejected moves to divert his forces on to long-range bombing missions as he believed the strategic role to be less important and his resource to be too limited. Secondly, he stressed the importance of morale, not only of his own airmen, but more generally the detrimental effect that the presence of an aircraft had upon the morale of enemy ground troops. Finally, he had an unswerving belief in the importance of offensive action. Although this belief was widely held by senior British commanders in the war, the R.F.C.'s routinely offensive strategy resulted in the loss of many of its air crews and machines, and some doubted its military validity.[80]

Following the Gotha raids on London in the summer of 1917, the Government considered creating an air force by merging the R.F.C. and the Royal Naval Air Service. Trenchard opposed this, believing that it would dilute the air support required by the ground forces in France. By October he realised that the creation of an "Air Force" was inevitable and, seeing that he was the obvious candidate to become the new Chief of the Air Staff, he attempted to bring about a scheme whereby he would retain control of the flying units on the Western Front. In this regard he was unsuccessful, and he was succeeded in France by Major-General John Salmond.[81]

After the Air Force Bill received the Royal Assent on 29 November 1917, there followed a period of political manoeuvring and speculation over who would take up the new posts of Air Minister, Chief of the Air Staff and other senior positions within soon-to-be-created Air Ministry. Trenchard was summoned back from France, crossing the Channel on a destroyer on the morning of 16 December. At around 3 pm he met newspaper proprietor Lord Rothermere, who had recently been appointed as Air Minister by David Lloyd George for political reasons. Rothermere offered Trenchard the post of Chief of the Air Staff and before Trenchard could respond explained that Trenchard's support would be useful to him as he was about to launch a press campaign against Sir Douglas Haig and Sir William Robertson, the Chief of the Imperial General Staff. On hearing this Trenchard flatly refused the position, being personally loyal to Haig and antipathetic to political intrigue. Rothermere and his brother Lord Northcliffe, who was also present, then spent over 12 hours acrimoniously debating with Trenchard. The brothers pointed out that if Trenchard refused, they would use the fact to attack Haig on the false premise that Haig had refused to release Trenchard. Trenchard defended in the debate Haig's policy of constant attacks on the Western Front, arguing that it had been preferable to standing on the defensive, and he himself also had maintained an offensive posture throughout the war which, like the infantry, had resulted in the Flying Corps taking extremely heavy casualties. In the end, the brothers wore Trenchard down, and he accepted the post on the condition that he first be permitted to consult with Haig. After meeting with Haig, Trenchard wrote to Rothermere, accepting the post.[82]

The New Year saw Trenchard made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath, and he was appointed Chief of the Air Staff[36] on the newly formed Air Council. He began work on 18 January.[83] During his first month at the Air Ministry he clashed with Rothermere over several issues. First, Rothermere's tendency to disregard his professional advisors in favour of outside experts irritated Trenchard. Secondly, Rothermere insisted that Trenchard claim as many men for the newly formed Royal Air Force as possible, even if they might be better employed in the other services. Thirdly, Rothermere and Trenchard disagreed on nominees for senior appointments in the R.A.F.[84] Finally and most significantly, they disagreed over proper future use of air power which Trenchard judged as being vital in preventing a repeat of the strategic stalemate which had occurred along the Western Front.[85] Also during this period Trenchard resisted pressure from several press barons to support an "air warfare scheme", which would have seen the British armies withdrawn from France and an attempt to defeat Germany entrusted to the R.A.F.[86] Despite the differences with Rothermere, Trenchard was able to put in place planning for the merger of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service. However, as the weeks went on they became increasingly estranged personally, and a low point was reached in mid-March when Trenchard discovered that Rothermere had promised the Navy 4000 aircraft for anti-submarine duties. He accorded the highest priority to air operations on the Western Front's land campaign: there were fewer than 400 spare aircraft in the United Kingdom. On 18 March they exchanged letters, Trenchard expressing his dissatisfaction and Rothermere curtly replying. The following day Trenchard sent Rothermere a letter of resignation. and although Rothermere asked him to remain, Trenchard only agreed to defer the date until after 1 April 1918, when the Royal Air Force would officially come into being.[87][88]

After the Germans overran the British Fifth Army on 21 March 1918, Trenchard ordered all available reserves of aircrew, engines and aircraft to be speedily transported to France. Reports reached him on 26 March that concentrations of Flying Corps' machines were assisting in stopping German advances. On 5 April, Trenchard travelled to France, inspecting squadrons and updating his understanding of the air situation. On his return, he briefed the Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, and several other ministers on air activity and the general situation in France.[89]

On 10 April, Rothermere informed Trenchard that the War Cabinet had accepted his resignation, and Trenchard was offered his old job in France. He refused the offer, saying that replacing Salmond at the height of battle would be "damnable". Three days later Major-General Frederick Sykes replaced him as Chief of the Air Staff. On the following Monday, Trenchard was summoned to Buckingham Palace where King George listened to his account of the events which caused him to resign. Trenchard then wrote to the Prime Minister stating the facts of his case and pointing out that in the course of the affair, Rothermere had stated his intention to resign also. Trenchard's letter was circulated among the Cabinet, with a vindictive response written by Rothermere. Around the same time, the question of Rothermere's general competence as Air Minister was brought to the attention of Lloyd George. Rothermere, realising his situation, offered his resignation, which was made public on 25 April 1918.[90]

In the weeks that followed his resignation, Trenchard was without a role and he kept a low profile, avoiding the Press and making no public comments. The new Air Minister, Sir William Weir, under pressure to find a position for Trenchard, offered him command of the yet to be formed Independent Force, which was to conduct long-range bombing operations against Germany. Instead, Trenchard, seeking equal status with Sykes, argued for a re-organisation of the R.A.F. which would have seen him appointed as the RAF's commander of fighting operations, while Sykes would have been left to deal with administrative matters. Weir did not accept his proposal and instead gave Trenchard several options.[91] Trenchard rejected the offer of a proposed new post which would have meant a London-based command of the bombing operations conducted from Ochey, arguing that the responsibility was Newall's under the direction of Salmond. He also turned down the post of Grand Co-ordinator of British and American air policy, and that of Inspector General of the R.A.F. overseas. Weir then offered him command of all air force units in the Middle East, or the post of Inspector-General of the RAF at home, but strongly encouraged him to take command of the independent long-range bombing forces in France.[92]

Trenchard had many reasons for not accepting any of these posts, which he saw as titular, with little value and lacking practical authority.[93] On 8 May 1918 Trenchard was sitting on a bench in Green Park when he overheard a naval officer saying to another: "I don't know why the Government should pander to a man who threw in his hand at the height of a battle, if I'd my way with Trenchard I'd have him shot."[4] Afterwards Trenchard walked home and wrote to Weir accepting command of the as yet unformed Independent Force.[94]

After a period of what was officially termed "special duty" in France, Trenchard was appointed General Officer Commanding of the Independent Air Force on 15 June 1918, with his headquarters in Nancy, France.[95] The Independent Air Force continued the task of the VIII Brigade from which it was formed, carrying out strategic bombing attacks on German railways, airfields and industrial centres.[96] Initially, the French general Ferdinand Foch, as the newly appointed Supreme Allied Commander, refused to recognize the Independent Air Force, which caused some logistical difficulties. The problems were resolved after a meeting of Trenchard and General de Castelnau, who disregarded the concerns about the status of the Independent Air Force and did not block the much-needed supplies. Trenchard also improved the links between the R.A.F. and the American Air Service, providing advanced tuition in bombing techniques to the newly arriving American aviators.[97]

In September 1918, Trenchard's Force indirectly supported the American Air Service during the Battle of Saint-Mihiel, attacking German airfields in that sector of the front, along with supply depots and rail lines.[98] Trenchard's close co-operation with the Americans and the French was formalized when his command was redesignated the Inter-Allied Independent Air Force in late October 1918, and placed directly under the orders of Foch.[99] When the November 1918 armistice came, Trenchard sought permission from Foch to return his squadrons to British command, which was granted. Trenchard was succeeded as commander of the Independent Air Force by his deputy Brigadier-General Courtney.[100] Trenchard departed France in mid-November 1918 and returned to England to take a holiday.[101]

After two months on the R.A.F.'s inactive list,[102] Trenchard returned to military duties in mid-January 1919, when Sir William Robertson, the Commander-in-Chief of Home Forces, asked him to get control of around 5000 mutinying soldiers at Southampton Docks, who were protesting about being sent to France with the war being over. Putting on his Army general's uniform Trenchard arrived at the docks with a staff of two, his clerk and Maurice Baring, his aide-de-camp.[103] He initially attempted to speak with the disorderly mob of soldiers, but was heckled and jostled in the process. He then summoned a detachment of two hundred and fifty reliable troops in fighting order to be sent into Southampton to confront the situation. On their arrival he issued them with extra ammunition for their rifles, and ordered them to fix bayonets, and leading them to the dock's sheds where the protesting troops were gathered, summarily threatened the recalcitrant troops with fire being opened upon them if they failed immediately to come back into order, at which they complied.[104]

In early 1919 Churchill was appointed Secretary of State for War and Secretary of State for Air. While Churchill was preoccupied with implementing post-war defence cuts and the demobilization of the Army, the Chief of the Air Staff, Major-General Frederick Sykes, submitted a paper with what were at the time unrealistic proposals for a large air force of the future.[105] Being dissatisfied with Sykes, Churchill began to consider reinstating Trenchard, whose recent performance at Southampton had once more brought him into favour with Churchill.[106]

During the first week in February, Trenchard was summoned to London by official telegram. At the War Office Churchill asked him to come back as Chief of the Air Staff. Trenchard replied that he could not take up the appointment as Sykes was currently in post. After Churchill indicated that Sykes might be appointed Controller of Civil Aviation and made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire, Trenchard agreed to consider the offer. Churchill, not wanting to leave matters hanging, asked Trenchard to provide him with a paper outlining his ideas on the re-organisation of the Air Ministry. Trenchard's briefly written statement of the essentials required met with Churchill's approval, and he insisted that Trenchard take the appointment, Trenchard returning to the Air Ministry in mid-February and formally taking up post as Chief of the Air Staff on 31 March 1919.[39][107]

For most of March he was unable to do much work as he had contracted Spanish flu. During this period he wrote to Katherine Boyle (née Salvin), the widow of his friend and fellow officer James Boyle, whom he knew from his time in Ireland. At his request, Mrs Boyle took on the task of nursing him back to health.[108] Once he had recovered, he proposed marriage to Katherine Boyle, who refused.[109] Trenchard remained in contact with her, and when he proposed marriage again, she accepted. On 17 July 1920, they were married at St. Margaret's Church in Westminster.[110]

Trenchard as Chief of the Air Staff in June 1919

During the summer of 1919 he worked on completing the demobilization of the R.A.F. and establishing it on a peacetime basis. This was a sizable task as the force was budgeted to shrink from 280 squadrons to around 28.[111] It was also during this time that the new RAF officer ranks were decided upon, despite some opposition from members of the Army Council.[112] Trenchard himself was regraded from major-general to air vice-marshal, and then promoted to air marshal a few days later.[95]

By the autumn of 1919 the budgetary effects of Lloyd George's Ten Year Rule were causing Trenchard some difficulty as he sought to develop the institutions of the R.A.F. He had to argue against the view that the Army and Navy should provide all the support services and education, leaving the R.A.F. only to provide flying training. He viewed this idea as a precursor to the break-up of the R.A.F., and in spite of the costs, he wanted its own institutions which would develop airmanship and engender the air spirit.[113] Having convinced Churchill of his case,[114] he oversaw the founding of the RAF (Cadet) College at Cranwell as the world's first military air academy. In 1920 he inaugurated the Aircraft Apprentice system, which provided the R.A.F. with highly technically trained specialist ground-crews for the next 70 years. In 1922 the RAF Staff College at Andover was established to provide air force specific training to the R.A.F.'s middle-ranking officers.[115]

Late 1919 saw Trenchard created a baronet and granted £10,000 for his war services.[4] Although he had attained a measure of financial security, the future of the R.A.F, was far from assured. He judged that the chief threat to the new service came from the new First Sea Lord, Admiral Beatty. Looking to take the initiative, Trenchard arranged to see Beatty, meeting with him in early December, Trenchard, arguing that the "air is one and indivisible", put forward a case for an air force with its own strategic role which also controlled army and navy co-operation squadrons. Beatty did not accept Trenchard's argument and Trenchard resorted to asking for a 12 months amnesty to put his plans into action. The request appealed to Beatty's sense of fair play, and he agreed to let Trenchard be until the end of 1920.[116][117] Around this time Trenchard indicated to Beatty that control over some supporting elements of naval aviation (but not aircrew or aircraft) might be returned to the Admiralty. Trenchard also offered Beatty the option of locating the Air Ministry staff who worked in connection with naval aviation at the Admiralty. Beatty declined the offer and later, when no transfer of any naval aviation assets occurred, came to the view that Trenchard had acted in bad faith.[118]

During the early 1920s, the continued independent existence of the R.A.F. and its control of naval aviation were subject to a series of Government reviews. The Balfour Report of 1921, the Geddes Axe of 1922, and the Salisbury Committee of 1923 all found in favour of the R.A.F. continued existence, despite lobbying from the Admiralty and opposition in Parliament. On each occasion Trenchard and his staff officers, supported by Christopher Bullock,[119][120] worked to show that the R.A.F. provided good value for money, and was required for the long-term strategic security of the United Kingdom.[121]

Trenchard also sought to secure the R.A.F.'s future by finding a war-fighting role for the new Service. In 1920 he successfully argued that it should take the lead during the 1920 conflict between British forces and Somaliland dervishes. The success of this small air action then allowed him to put the case for the R.A.F.'s air policing of the vast distances of the British Empire.[122] Trenchard particularly argued for it to take the lead in Iraq at the Cairo Conference of 1921,[123] and in 1922 the RAF was given control of all British Forces in Iraq.[124] The R.A.F. also carried out imperial air policing over India's North-West Frontier Province. In early 1920 he suggested that it could even be used to violently suppress if necessary "industrial disturbances, or risings" in the United Kingdom itself, following on from his experience in such matters in successfully quelling the troop mutiny at Southampton Docks in the previous year. Churchill was unsettled at Trenchard's apparent willingness to use lethal military force domestically upon British subjects, and told him by reply not to refer to this proposal again.[125]

By late 1924 the creation of the reserve air force, known as the Auxiliary Air Force, meant that Trenchard was able to modestly expand the R.A.F.'s strength, and over the next two years, 25 auxiliary squadrons were created. It was during this period that he oversaw the introduction of the short-service commission scheme. which proved to be useful in providing some of the regular manning on the new squadrons. He also instigated the University Air Squadron scheme, and in 1925 the first three U.A.S. squadrons were formed at Cambridge, London and Oxford.[126]

Trenchard as a Marshal of the RAF wearing full dress with greatcoat

Since the early 1920s Trenchard had supported the development of a flying bomb, and by 1927 a prototype, code-named "Larynx", was successfully tested. However, development costs were not insignificant and in 1928, when he applied for further funding, the Committee of Imperial Defence and the Cabinet discontinued the project.[127] Following the British failure to win the Schneider Trophy in 1925, Trenchard ensured that finances were available for an R.A.F. team, with which the High Speed Flight was formed in preparation for the 1927 race.[128] After the British won in 1927, he continued to use Air Ministry funds to support the race, including purchasing two Supermarine S.6 aircraft which won the race in 1929. He was criticised for this by figures in HM Treasury for wasting money.[129]

On 1 January 1927, Trenchard was promoted from air chief marshal to marshal of the Royal Air Force,[95] becoming the first person to hold the R.A.F.'s highest rank.[130] The following year he began to feel that he had achieved all he could as Chief of the Air Staff and that he should give way to a younger man, and he offered his resignation to the Cabinet in late 1928, although it was not initially accepted.[131] Around the same time as Trenchard was considering his future the British Legation and some European diplomatic staff based in Kabul were cut off from the outside world as a result of the civil war in Afghanistan. After word of the crisis had reached London, the Foreign Secretary Austen Chamberlain sent for Trenchard, who assured him that the R.A.F. would be able to rescue the stranded civilians. The Kabul Airlift began on Christmas Eve and took nine weeks to rescue around 600 people.[132]

Trenchard continued as Chief of the Air Staff until 1 January 1930. Immediately after he had relinquished his appointment, he was created Baron Trenchard, of Wolfeton in the County of Dorset,[133] entering the House of Lords, becoming the RAF's first peer.[134] Looking back over Trenchard's time as Chief of the Air Staff, while he had successfully preserved the fledgling R.A.F., his emphasis on the Air Force providing defence at a comparatively low cost had led to a stagnation and even deterioration in the quality of the service's fighting equipment.[135]

Trenchard as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police

After he retired from the military, he worked as a director of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, largely disappearing from public life. However, in March 1931, Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald asked him to take the post of Metropolitan Police Commissioner, which after initially declining, he accepted in October 1931.[136][137] He served as head of the Metropolitan Police until 1935. During his tenure he instigated several reforms, including limiting membership of the Police Federation, introducing limited terms of employment,[138] and the creation of separate career paths for the lower and higher ranks akin to the military system of officer and non-commissioned career streams. The recruitment base was broadened, and persons with university degrees were encouraged to apply. Perhaps Trenchard's most well-known achievement during his time as Commissioner was the establishment of the Hendon Police College, which originally was the institution from which Trenchard's junior inspectors graduated before following a career in the higher ranks.[139] He retired in November 1935,[140] in his final few months as Police Commissioner having been awarded the Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order.[141]

During his time as Metropolitan Police Commissioner, he maintained a keen interest in military affairs. In 1932, he aroused the Government's displeasure by submitting an unsolicited private paper outlining his idea for the air defence of Singapore. His ideas were rejected and the Cabinet Secretary, Maurice Hankey, who chaired the Committee of Imperial Defence, was angered by Trenchard's intervention.[142] Later that year, when the Government was considering entering into an international treaty that would have banned all bomber aircraft, Trenchard wrote to the Cabinet outlining his opposition to the idea. Ultimately the idea was dropped.[143]

Trenchard developed a negative view of Hankey, whom he saw as being more interested in maintaining unanimity among the service heads than dealing with weaknesses in British defence arrangements. He began to speak privately against Hankey who, for his part, had no liking for Trenchard in return.[144] By 1935, Trenchard privately lobbied for Hankey's removal on the grounds that the nation's security was at stake.[145] Following his departure from the Metropolitan Police, he was free to speak publicly. In December 1935 he wrote in The Times that the Committee of Imperial Defence should be placed under the chairmanship of a politician. Hankey responded by accusing Trenchard of "trying to stab him in the back."[146] By 1936 the idea of bolstering the Committee of Imperial Defence had become a popular point of debate and Trenchard presented his arguments in the House of Lords. In the end the Government conceded and Sir Thomas Inskip was appointed as the Minister for Coordination of Defence.[147]

With Hankey and his ban on inter-service disputes gone, the Navy again campaigned for their own air service. The idea of transferring the Fleet Air Arm from Air Ministry to Admiralty control was raised and although Trenchard opposed the move in the Lords, in the Press and in private conversations, he now lacked the influence to prevent the transfer, which took place in 1937.[148] Beyond politics, he took on the Chairmanship of the United Africa Company, with its attendant financial income,[149] which had sought out Trenchard because of his West African knowledge and experience.[150] In 1936 he was upgraded from Baron to Viscount Trenchard.[151][152]

From late 1936 to 1939 he spent much of his time travelling overseas on behalf of the companies who employed him as a director. During one visit to Germany in the summer of 1937 he was hosted at a dinner by Hermann Göring, the Commander-in-Chief of Nazi Germany's newly created Luftwaffe. Although the evening started in a cordial fashion, it ended in a confrontation, with Göring announcing that "one day German might will make the whole world tremble". Trenchard replying that Göring "must be off his head".[153] In 1937 Newall was appointed Chief of the Air Staff and Trenchard did not hesitate in criticising him. As an ardent supporter of the bomber, Trenchard found much to disagree with in the air expansion programme, its emphasis on defensive fighter aircraft, and he wrote about it directly to the Cabinet. Trenchard offered his services to the Government on at least two occasions but they were not accepted.[154]