Inspirational Leaders
Air Chief Marshal the Earl of Bandon would be my choice of an inspirational leader.
First visit to Gan - 1958
When he made his first visit to Gan in 1958 we servicemen had a grievance in that although we met all the requirements we wern't being allowed access to the official R&R flights to Singapore as laid down in QR's or AMO's for personnel stuck at Gan. However we had the opportunity to rectify this when the C-in-C FEAF ACM The Earl of Bandon made his first visit to the island.
A good listener and never one for 'officialdom' he insisted on talking to us over a beer without other officers being present and asked what complaints we had. The main one raised was "why were Gan personnel were not being permitted to take advantage of the R & R indulgence flights to Singapore as laid down in Air Ministry or FEAF Orders?"
He said he'd look into the matter on his return. He was PDQ because about two weeks later our complaints were answered and indulgence flights to Singapore were available and I was one of the many who took advantage of them.
With this sort of attitude he was regarded with a great deal of affection by his men. He was commonly known to those under his command as "The Abandoned Earl", or if you really knew him well as "Paddy".
He was outspoken and got himself 'into hot water' on a number of occasions, one such being in 1957 when as C in C, 2nd Tactical Air Force, he received a reprimand from George Ward, Secretary of State for Air, for stating to the press, without MOD approval that tactical nuclear weapons would soon be issued to forces in Europe.
Yet another reprimand occurred when he omitted to inform Whitehall that he was taking unilateral action to quell an uprising of Maldivians who were against the setting up of the RAF staging post at Gan. Although his action had saved the situation, feelings in the MOD and Whitehall were hurt and he received an enormous reprimand from the CDS, Lord Mountbatten, which came to him in signal form. He promptly had the signal framed and hung it on the wall of his office!
On another occasion as C-in-C FEAF he opened a new service swimming pool by jumping in fully clothed to declare it open!
I wonder how many of our present leaders would do such a thing?
His obituary in The Times concluded: "No other airman has ever held so many operational commands as did Bandon, and no one is ever likely to in the future."