Lt-Col. John Edward Tennant DSO MC (12 October 1890 – 7 August 1941) was a British airman, explorer, banker and

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

politician.

Background

Tennant was the eldest son of Francis John Tennant of Innes,

Morayshire Moray; ( gd, Moireibh ) or Morayshire, called Elginshire until 1919, is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland, bordering Nairnshire to the west, Inverness-shire to the south, and Banffshire to the east. It w ...

. He was educated at

Royal Naval College, Osborne The Royal Naval College, Osborne, was a training college for Royal Navy officer cadets on the Osborne House estate, Isle of Wight, established in 1903 and closed in 1921. Boys were admitted at about the age of thirteen to follow a course lasting ...

and

Royal Naval College, Dartmouth Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

. In 1918 he married Georgina Helen Kirkpatrick. They had one son, Iain Mark Tennant. In 1925 she obtained a divorce. In 1926 he married Victoria Maud Veronica Duff. They had two sons and two daughters.

Early career

Tennant served as a

Midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

, 1908–10. In 1910 he became a 2nd Lieutenant in the

Scots Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642, although it was only placed on the ...

. After the outbreak of war in September 1914 he was seconded to the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

. He served in France, 1914–16, and as OC for the RFC and the RAF in

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...

, 1916–18. He was mentioned in dispatches five times, he was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

, Bt Major in Army,

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

and the

Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

. He was shot down and captured by the Turks while in Mesopotamia, but rescued four days later by armoured cars. From 1918-1919 he was Director of Aeronautics in India. In 1920 he became a senior partner in the firm of Hohler & Co., banking agents. In 1924 he was a member of the Oxford Arctic Expedition to

Nordaustlandet Nordaustlandet (sometimes translated as North East Land) is the second-largest island in the archipelago of Svalbard, Norway, with an area of . It lies north east of Spitsbergen, separated by Hinlopen Strait. Much of Nordaustlandet lies under la ...

. In 1920 he had published ''In the Clouds above Bagdad, Being the Records of an Air Commander''. He carried out Shikar expeditions up the

White Nile The White Nile ( ar, النيل الأبيض ') is a river in Africa, one of the two main tributaries of the Nile, the other being the Blue Nile. The name comes from the clay sediment carried in the water that changes the water to a pale color. ...

, in India, and the

Sinai Peninsula The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai (now usually ) (, , cop, Ⲥⲓⲛⲁ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a l ...

Political career

In 1926 Tennant became prospective Liberal candidate for the Moray and Nairn division and contested the 1929 General Election in which he came third; He did not stand for parliament again.

Later career

He was on the committee of the

National Trust of Scotland The National Trust for Scotland for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, commonly known as the National Trust for Scotland ( gd, Urras Nàiseanta na h-Alba), is a Scottish conservation organisation. It is the largest membership organ ...

. In 1939 Tennant became a Wing-Commander in the RAFVR and then an Acting Group Captain. He was assigned to the Intelligence Staff, of the Air Ministry. He was Personal Air Secretary to the Chief of Air Staff, Sir Charles Portal from 1940–41. He was Commandant for Scotland, Air Training Corps, in 1941. He died in a flying accident in Scotland."Deaths." Times ondon, England9 Aug. 1941: 6. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 6 May 2014.

References

External links

* The Times Obituary: http://find.galegroup.com/ttda/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=TTDA&userGroupName=esusslib&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=BasicSearchForm&docId=CS120404240&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0 * {{DEFAULTSORT:TENNANT, John Edward 1890 births 1941 deaths Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Recipients of the Military Cross People educated at the Royal Naval College, Osborne Royal Navy officers Scots Guards officers Royal Flying Corps officers Royal Air Force wing commanders British Army personnel of World War I Royal Air Force personnel of World War I

John Edward John Edward McGee Jr. (born October 19, 1969) is an American television personality, author and a self-proclaimed psychic medium. After writing his first book on the subject in 1998, Edward became a well-known (and controversial) figure in the ...

Royal Air Force personnel killed in World War II Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II