New Zealand involvement.
Histories view of Sir Keith Park:
"If any one man won the Battle of Britain, he did. I do not believe it is realized how much that one man, with his leadership, his calm judgement and his skill, did to save, not only this country, but the world." Lord Tedder - Chief of the Air Staff, Royal Air Force February 1947 "A man of great integrity who inspired all who worked with him. This statue, I hope you will agree, is a fitting permanent memorial in our capital city to a man without whom the history of the Battle of Britain could have been so disastrously different" Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton, Chief of the Air Staff, on Sir Keith Park at the unveiling of the permanent statue of Sir Keith in Waterloo Place, London. "This statue commemorates Sir Keith Park's personal courage and leadership that is an enduring reminder of the closeness of the deep and enduring relationship between our two countries, a bond that has been shared and forged in a long history of sacrifice" The Hon. Dr. Wayne Mapp MP, Minister of Defence for New Zealand, speaking at the unveiling of the permanent statue of Sir Keith in Waterloo Place, London. |
Sir Keith ParkSir Kieth Park Overview Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Rodney Park GCB KBE MC DFC CdeG Legion of Merit Officer Commanding 11 Group, RAF Fighter Command. In April 1940, Park assumed command of No. 11 Group, Fighter Command. In June 1940 his Group was tasked with covering the Dunkirk evacuations which they managed to do against great odds. Now on the defensive, Park prepared to repel the inevitable German onslaught to come.It has been stated that Dowding controlled the Battle of Britain from day to day, while Keith Park controlled it hour by hour. Park organized and managed his squadrons and men brilliantly, he was respected and admired by many for this role and was seen as one of if not the most influential member in the eventual victory in the battle of Britain. He tactically ran all of fighter group 11 and his logistical and motivational prowess, was key in one of the most recognizable British victories in modern war. Controversy During the Battle of Britain, Leigh-Mallory and Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park Park had a number of disagreements. Firstly Sir Keith Park, stated that 12 Group was not doing enough to protect the airfields in the south-east. Leigh-Mallory, on the other hand, had devised a massed fighter formation known as the Big Wing, which was used with little success to hunt German bomber formations as well as other attacks. Leigh-Mallory was critical of the tactics of Park and Sir Hugh Dowding, believing that not enough was being done to allow wing-sized formations to operate successfully. (Vincent Orange, ‘Mallory, Sir Trafford Leigh Leigh- (1892–1944)’, first published 2004, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography). As well as this Leigh-Mallory criticized Sir Keith Park as he believed he fought the battle in a defensive manner when it was thought that he should give greater consideration to taking the fight to the Germans in an offensive manner. (Battle of Britain society, Head historian and researcher Nick Hall). The tactical aspect of these opposing perspectives in shown in a quote by Nick Hall, HIstorian for the battle of Britain society http://www.battleofbritain1940.net/0002.html : “In 1937, he had visions of becoming the commander of 11 Group a position that he wanted and a position that many expected him to get,but Hugh Dowding gave the prestigious position to Keith Park and assigning Leigh-Mallory to 12 Group, a decision that Leigh- Mallory resented and throughout the Battle of Britain period considerable bitterness was shown between the three. One of Leigh-Mallory's squadron commanders was Douglas Bader, 'tin legs' as he became known, and both Bader and Leigh-Mallory were firm believers of the 'Big Wing' where fighters could attack in large formations, in fact the 'Big Wing' theory was developed by Bader, but Dowding was not in favour if this, believing that too many aircraft would take too long to disperse and large formations of fighters would get in each other's way. But it was not until towards the end of the battle where Dowding agreed, and the 'Big Wing' theory was responsible for many of the enemy aircraft shot down over London. Dowding would remember this when 12 Group was called upon to assist and protect the northern fighter bases of 11 Group, Leigh-Mallory employed the 'BigWing' theory and it proved to be a failure.” This second quote shows the opposing political views and relationship: “Leigh-Mallory was critical of the tactics of Park and Sir Hugh Dowding, head of Fighter Command, believing that not enough was being done to allow wing-sized formations to operate successfully. He then worked energetically in political circles to bring about the removal of Park from command of 11 Group; the false claims for the Duxford Big Wing successes played a part in this. Throughout the Battle of Britain, his lack of support for Park's 11 Group contributed materially to the damage that the Luftwaffe was able to inflict on 11 Group's airfields.”This being done by historian Vincent Orange, ‘Mallory, Sir Trafford Leigh Leigh- (1892–1944)’, first published 2004 http://www.oxforddnb.com/index/34/101034483/ |
For referencing and research sources and other information please look to the bibliography section.