Arthur William Tedder from Glenguin, Scotland, started his military career in a reserve commission while attending University in Cambridge. He then entered the Colonial Service and served his time in Fiji, but later returned to his original regiment in Britain.
As a result of a knee injury during World War I, Tedder was no longer able to serve in the infantry and was transferred to the Royal Flying Corps in 1916. While serving in France, he became a squadron commander; and after serving in Egypt, became commander of the School of Navigation and Bomb Dropping. Following the war, Tedder accepted a permanent commission in the new Royal Air Force as squadron leader for two different squadrons. At the onset of World War II, Tedder and his department were transferred to the Ministry of Aircraft Production. In 1940, Tedder became Deputy Air Officer Commander in Chief of the Royal Air Force. He gained temporary rank of Air Marshal in 1941, which later became a permanent post in 1942. Tedder was not Churchill’s first choice, but when his Air Vice-Marshal was captured, Tedder was then appointed to the position.
Tedder was involved in planning the invasions of Sicily and of France. He served as Deputy Supreme Commander beneath US General Dwight D. Eisenhower and was involved in the planning of D-Day and assisted in The Battle of the Bulge. Tedder was knighted in 1942 and granted a peerage at the war’s end.
Even though Arthur Tedder’s military career did not lead him into areas of high decoration, he became Marshal of the Royal Air Force and a highly honored British commander during World War II, receiving many foreign awards from such countries as France, Belgium, the United States, and others.
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