Sir Arthur Travers Harris Biography (1892–1984) (nickname Bomber Harris) Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Arthur Travers Harris, 1st Baronet GCB OBE AFC RAF British airman, born in Cheltenham Gloucestershire, SWC England, UK. He served in the Royal Flying Corps in World War 1, and as commander-in-chief of Bomber Command in World War 2 (1942–5) organized mass bomber raids on industrial Germany. He was knighted in 1942, and created a baronet in 1953.
Bomber Harris started his military career as a bugaler in the infantry as he put it "wandering around south east africa" before he left for England. It was also, Harris, who devised the idea of getting the bomb aimer to lie prone in the nose, that way his sqdn won so many prizes in the bombing competitions. Also, you may have seen in the film, "The Dambusters" where they used lights underneath the aircraft to get the height correct, it was Harris and his sqdn which trialled a similar system back in the 1920s. His treatment at the hands of Churchill, Harris was the only commander -in - chief not be given a honour, was yet another example of the political machinations carrried out by Churchill against those who he disagreed with. Harris, laughed it off by saying he was going back to South Africa and medals were not really worth anything there
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Arthur Travers Harris, 1st Baronet GCB OBE AFC RAF Read more about Sir Arthur Harris here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Travers_Harris
There is also, Bomber Harris - life and times by Air Cdre Henry Probert, is a very good biography of the great man
There were quite a few who were treated rather shabbily for their attention to detail. Winston himself received a dose of that in 1945!
Harris certainly had a way with words. Here are his views on the Bouncing Bombs (From A Most Secret Squadron: The Story of 618 Squadron by Des Curtis DFC)
I have his despatch on the bomber campaign and that makes interesting reading. I also, like the section in the back with a response from the Air ministry staff to some of the stuff that Harris talks about.
