Military Digest | Before General Naravane: The World War II hero whose book was banned by Churchill’s government

Evidently, Prime Minister Winston Churchill was unimpressed with Dowding. Nicknamed ‘Stuffy’ for his bluntness, Dowding was known to call a spade a spade, often to the point of being tactless with superiors. Conversely, he was adored by his pilots, whom he affectionately called his “chicks.”

The banned manuscript

Dowding authored a book titled Twelve Legions of Angels, a biblical reference to the Battle of Britain. The Ministry of Defence suppressed it, fearing the ongoing war effort might be compromised by the revelation of vital information to the Germans. The manuscript languished for five years, only seeing publication in 1946.

The book notably explored Dowding’s belief that divine providence played a significant role in the British victory. British newspaper archives from November 1941 highlight the confusion surrounding the ban. An article in the Daily Mail noted:

“The riddle of retirement of Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding… has been intensified. Sir Hugh is not being offered another appointment and, moreover, a book he has written has been banned. The censors found nothing wrong with it, but the Air Ministry saw the manuscript and soon afterward a high-placed Government official asked Sir Hugh Dowding to withdraw the book.”

“I have not been given any reason why the book must be withdrawn and naturally I am very disappointed,” Sir Hugh said then. A friend of Sir Hugh said, “He merely asks to educate the public in the realities of air warfare. The book contains no word of criticism of the Air Ministry. It is entitled, ‘Twelve Legions of Angels’ and implies that Providence had much to do with the victory in the Battle for Britain.”

A life of defiance

Writing a profile of Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding for the RAF website, Squadron Leader Simon Braun says he was the son of a schoolmaster and educated at Winchester School and the Royal Military Academy in Woolwich.

“He joined the Royal Artillery and served as a subaltern in Gibraltar, Ceylon, and Hong Kong before spending six years in India with the Mountain Artillery Troops. Returning to Britain, he learned to fly, and obtained his pilot’s licence in December 1913,” Braun writes.

Dowding soon joined the newly raised Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and fought in France during World War I. On promotion to the rank of Major, he commanded 16 Squadron before taking over 9th Wing during the Battle of the Somme.

During World War I, while commanding the 9th Wing during the Battle of the Somme, Dowding clashed with Brigadier General Hugh Trenchard over the need to rest exhausted pilots. This defiance effectively ended his operational service during that war; he was promoted to Brigadier General but sent back to Britain to manage training.

However, his “finest hour” as head of Fighter Command proved to be his final chapter in active service. Following his retirement, Dowding’s intellectual pursuits took a sharp turn toward the esoteric. He authored books on mysticism and life after death, famously professing a belief in fairies, whom he regarded as elemental beings essential to the natural world.

While General Naravane’s Four Stars of Destiny awaits its fate in a different era, the ghost of Sir Hugh Dowding serves as a reminder that the pens of high-ranking commanders have long been viewed with trepidation.