'If ever any one man won the Battle of Britain, he did. I don't believe it is realized how much that one man, with his leadership, his calm judgment and his skill, did to save not only this country, but the world.' So wrote Marshal of the RAF Lord Tedder in 1947. As commander of No. 11 Group, Fighter Command and responsible for the air defense of London and South-East England, Keith Park took charge of the day-to-day direction of the battle. In spotlighting his thoughts and actions during the crisis, Vincent Orange reveals a man whose unfailing energy, courage and cool resourcefulness won not only supreme praise from Churchill but the lasting respect and admiration of all who served under him. However, few officers in any of the services packed more action into their lives, and this book covers the whole of his career - youth in New Zealand, success as an ace fighter pilot in World War I, postings to South America and Egypt, Battle of Britain, Command of the RAF in Malta 1942/43, and finally Allied Air Commander-in-Chief of SE Asia under Mountbatten in 1945. His contribution to victory and peace was immense and this biography does much to shed light on the Big Wing controversy of 1940 and give insight into the war in Burma, 1945, and how the huge problems remaining after the war's sudden end were dealt with. Drawn largely from unpublished sources and interviews with people who knew Park, and illustrated with maps and photographs, this is an authoritative biography of one of the world's greatest unsung heroes. Professor Vincent Orange was born in the UK, gained a PhD at Hull University, and now lives in New Zealand lecturing in History at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch. He enjoyed the privilege of unrestricted access to Park's papers while writing this book. Park was originally published in hardback by Methuen in 1984. This is the first paperback edition. Orange was born in 1935, in Shildon, County Durham and was educated at St. Mary's Grammar School, in Darlington, and at Hull University. Orange served in the Royal Air Force from 1953 to 1956. In 1962 he went to live in New Zealand and taught History at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch until he retired in 2002. His influence as an air power scholar is well known. His former students include prominent United Kingdom scholars Dr Joel Hayward and Dr Christina Goulter as well as Dr Adam Claasen of Massey University and Dr Andrew Conway of King's College London. Orange is married to Sandra, and has a stepdaughter Sarah. Park: The Biography of Air Chief Marshall Sir Keith Park, GCB, KBE, MC, DFC, DCL By Vincent Orange Grub Street Copyright © 2001 Vincent Orange All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-902304-61-8 Contents Introduction by Christopher Shores, Part One 1892-1936, Prologue: An Undistinguished Young Man, 1892-1914, 1. Artilleryman: Gallipoli and the Western Front, 1915-1916, 2. Fighter Pilot, 1917, 3. 'Major Sparks', 1918, 4. The Hardest Time, 1918-1926, 5. A Little Golden Age, 1926-1934, 6. South American Opportunity, 1934-1936, Part Two 1937-1940, 7. Preparing a Defence, 1937-1940, 8. A 'Possible but Unlikely Evacuation': Dunkirk, 1940, 9. The Battle of Britain: Meeting Them, 10. The Battle of Britain: Big Wings, 11. The Battle of Britain: The Whirligig of Time, Part Three 1941-1946, 12. Flying Training Command, 1941, 13. Malta Besieged, 1942, 14. Malta Offensive, 1943, 15. Egypt, 1944, 16. South-East Asia Command: The Winning Card, 1945, 17. South-East Asia Command: Troubled Days of Peace, 1945-1946, 18. South-East Asia Command: Paper Battles, 1945-1951, Part Four 1946-1975, 19. End of a Career, 1946, 20. Argentina Revisited, 1947, 21. His First, Best Country, 1948-1975, Epilogue: Straight and True, Notes, Bibliography, Index, CHAPTER 1 Artilleryman: Gallipoli and the Western Front 1915 – 1916 In January 1915 the British War Council resolved that the Admiralty 'should prepare for a naval expedition to bombard and take the Gallipoli Peninsula, with Constantinople as its objective.' British, French, Australian and New Zealand troops were required to support this enterprise, under the command of Sir Ian Hamilton. It was supposed that the fall of Constantinople would open a line of supply to Russia, force Turkey out of the war, secure allies in the Balkans and contribute significantly to the defeat of Germany. Purser Park and the Maunganui had returned to New Zealand from Vancouver in 1914, ending their peacetime careers. Early in the new year they set sail once more, bound this time for Egypt, as part of the Third Reinforcements for the New Zealand contribution to the Gallipoli campaign. Both were now in military guise: Park as a Lance-Bombardier, the Maunganui as HMNZ Troopship No. 17. Park was promoted to Corporal on 1 February and transferred to the main body on arrival in Egypt. There he served with the 4th (Howitzer) Battery, commanded by Major N.S. Fa