Hugh Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard

Marshal of the Royal Air Force Hugh Montague Trenchard (3 February 1873 - 10 February 1956) was a commander of the Royal Flying Corps in the Field and British Chief of the Air Staff during World War I and the 1920s.

We want the man of initiative and the man of action, the methodical man and even the crank. We open our ranks widely to all.

Quotes

• We want the mathematical genius - there is work for him. We want the literary genius - there is work for him, especially in my office. We want the scientific brain - there is more than enough work for him. We want the man of brains and we want the man of common sense and little brain. We want the man of initiative and the man of action, the methodical man and even the crank. We open our ranks widely to all.
  • Speech to the Cambridge University Aeronautical Society, April 1925 in Trenchard, Man of Vision (1962) p. 519

• The development of air power in its broadest sense, and including the development of all means of combating missiles that travel through the air, whether fired or dropped, is the first essential to our survival in war.
  • Given by Trenchard in 1946. As listed on Great Aviation Quotes [1]

'I can't write what I mean, I can't say what I mean.. but I expect you to know what I mean' G. Regan in 'More Military Blunders' Carlton Books (2004) p66

Quotes about Trenchard

• The Great War only produced two things of importance, barbed wire and Trenchard.
  • Field Marshal Haig in Trenchard, Man of Vision (1962) p. 506