RUSSELL Miller will be giving a talk on Sir Hugh Trenchard as part of the ongoing Taunton Literary Festival.

Hugh ‘Boom’ Trenchard was embarrassed by being described as ‘The Father of the Royal Air Force’, thinking others were more deserving.

But the reality was that no man did more to establish the world’s first independent air force and ensure its survival in the teeth of fierce opposition from both the Admiralty and the War Office.

Born in Windsor Lodge, Haines Hill,Taunton in 1873, Trenchard struggled at school, failing entrance examinations to both the Royal Navy and the Army several times. He eventually obtained a commission through the ‘back door’ of the militia.

Quick to recognise the huge potential aircraft offered in future conflicts, he rose rapidly to command the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War.

He believed that mastery of the air could only be achieved by relentless offensive action through strategic bombing. His most enduring legacy was the creation of the finest air force in the world, engendered with the spirit that won the Battle of Britain.

Boom: The Life of Viscount Trenchard, Father of the Royal Air Force, Brendon Books, November 22. To purchase tickets, visit tauntonliteraryfestival.net