Robert Brooke-Popham

Air Chief Marshal Sir Henry Robert Moore Brooke-Popham, (18 September 1878 – 20 October 1953) was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force. During the First World War he served in the Royal Flying Corps as a wing commander and senior staff officer. Remaining in the new Royal Air Force (RAF) after the war, Brooke-Popham was the first commandant of its Staff College at Andover and later held high command in the Middle East. He was Governor of Kenya in the late 1930s. Most notably, Brooke-Popham was Commander-in-Chief of the British Far East Command until being replaced a few weeks before Singapore fell to Japanese troops.

Family life and education

thumb|left|Haileybury College where Brooke-Popham was educated

Brooke-Popham was born in England in the Suffolk village of Mendlesham on 18 September 1878. His parents were Henry Brooke, a country gentleman of Wetheringsett Manor in Suffolk, and his wife Dulcibella who was the daughter of Robert Moore, a clergyman.

Brooke-Popham's education was not atypical of a man entering the British officer class. He attended South Lodge School in Lowestoft from 1885 to 1891. After his school years at Haileybury and his officer training at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, he was commissioned into the British Army in 1898. In January 1926, Brooke-Popham married Opal Mary, the daughter of Edgar Hugonin. They later had a son and a daughter.

During his time there he served in the Orange Free State, the Transvaal, the Orange River Colony, and Cape Colony. He was promoted captain on 9 November 1904. By 1910 Brooke-Popham had returned to Great Britain.

Military aviation before the First World War

thumb|Brooke-Popham, front row third from left, with British military aviation pioneers

Brooke-Popham was attached to Air Battalion Royal Engineers during its manoeuvres of 1911, after which he decided to learn to fly. He attended the flying school at Brooklands and gained Royal Aero Club certificate number 108 in July 1911.

However, in early 1912, he transferred to the Air Battalion, taking up duties as a pilot in March. The next month, he was appointed Officer Commanding of the Battalion's Aeroplane Company. a technique was developed whereby troops on the ground could send messages to aviators by laying strips of white cloth on the ground. These strips are referred to as "Popham strips" in a novel set in the period.

thumb|right|Brooke-Popham as Director of Aircraft Research in 1919

With the establishment of the Royal Air Force in April 1918, Brooke-Popham was transferred to the newly created Air Ministry in London. He served as the Controller of Aircraft Production for the remainder of the War and for some months afterwards. In 1919, he served as Director of Aircraft Research.

RAF service during the inter-war years

Post-war honours

Following the end of the First World War, Brooke-Popham was decorated for his contributions to the war effort. In January 1919 he was awarded the Air Force Cross and made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George. Later in the same year he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath and was given a permanent commission in the Royal Air Force as a colonel. He was rapidly promoted to air commodore when the Air Force introduced its own rank system in August 1919.

The start of 1931 saw Brooke-Popham promoted to air marshal

They had two children, Diana M in Q4 1926 in Marylebone and Francis P in Q3 1928 in Uxbridge.

In Q1 1948 in Westminster Diana married Robert H H Barton, and they had Margaret H, born Q4 1948 in Ploughley, Francis C H born Q3 1951 in Halstead, and Joanna M H , born Q4 1953 in Oxford.

In Q1 1957 in Greenwich, Francis married Susan C Fry; they had three daughters, Jane E in Q1 1960 in Gosport, Catherine A in Q1 1962 in Portsmouth and MARY L in Q3 1964 in Islington.

In 1986 in Taunton, he married Diana J Michael.

Governor of Kenya

Following Italy's occupation of Ethiopia, the British Government wanted a military man to hold the post of Governor of Kenya. Brooke-Popham was appointed Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Kenya in 1937 making him responsible for defence matters in Singapore, Malaya, Burma and Hong Kong. This was a considerably more demanding undertaking than any of Brooke-Popham's many previous appointments. The Command was new and Brooke-Popham was the first RAF officer to be appointed Commander-in-Chief of a joint command during a world war.

Although it had been agreed in London that Brooke-Popham should be replaced as commander-in-chief on 1 November 1941, the change was not made because of the critical situation. With the war with Japan now unfolding, many believed that Brooke-Popham was near to a nervous collapse. The cabinet envoy Duff Cooper urged his replacement and London agreed. On 27 December, at the height of the Battle of Malaya, Brooke-Popham handed over command to Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Pownall.

Papers

Papers relating to Brooke-Popham's service are held in the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives at King's College London.