Packed with stories of the “Father of the RAF”, the then Chief of the Air Staff, Sir Dermot Boyle, pays tribute to the first Chief of the Air Staff. Presented less than two years after Trenchard’s death, Sir Dermot outlines Trenchard’s career first in the Army and then in the fledgling RAF and explains how the “giant amongst men” sculpted the new service ready for the challenges that would be brought by World War Two. Boyle’s lecture is peppered with stories illustrating the man’s impishness, kindness and humour.

This recording was of the Inaugural Trenchard Memorial Lecture, which was hosted by the Halton Branch of the Royal Aeronautical Society on 20th February 1958. The podcast was edited by Mike Stanberry FRAeS and it was digitised thanks to a grant from the Royal Aeronautical Society Foundation.