Making Way For Younger Men

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 15099, 6 October 1949, Page 2

Making Way For Younger Men

Lord Tedder Retires In December Sir J. Slcssor New Chief Of Air Staff Marshal of the Royal Air Fore.' Lord Tedder, 59-year-old ChieJ ol Air Staff, is to retire at the end ol this year, "to facilitate," he says, "the advancement of younger officers."

He will be succeeded by 52--yeur-old Air Chief Marshal Sir .lohn Slessor, war-time Commander-in-Chief of Coastal Command, and later C.-in-C. of the R.A.F. in the Mediterranean and Middle East, Sir John is now Commandant of the Imperial Defence College, the post he * took over from Field-Marshal Sir William Slim two years ago. Lord Tedder's retirement he

was Deputy Supreme Commander of Allied Forces under General Eisenhower for the invasion of Europe—is not unexpected. He has frequently stressed the' necessity of making the R.A.F. a '-young man's" Service. A Chief of Air Staff normally holds office for three years Lord Tedder was appointed nearly four years ago. His retirement will have no immediate effect on the promotion of lower-ranking R.A.F. officers. But it will moan an immediate step-ping-up in seniority of air vicemarshals. Since Lord Tedder became Chief of Air Staff he has made personal history with his strenuous, and sometimes nor too popular enthusiasm to make the Service an attractive career for young men. He was fine of the firt,i to admit, that the' short-term National Service man was almost useless to the R.A.F. Soon after he took over the position of Chief of Air Staff, he admitted the R.A.F. had been allowed to run down to almost chaotic conditions. Lord Tedder joined the Royal Flying Corps in 1916 and commanded a squadron in France during the 1914-18 war.