Air Vice Marshal Air vice-marshal (AVM) is a two-star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes u ...

Sir Victor Hubert Tait, (8 July 1892 – 27 November 1988) was a Canadian-born soldier and airman who served with the Royal Canadian Engineers, the

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

, the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

, and the

Egyptian Air Force The Egyptian Air Force (EAF) ( ar, القوات الجوية المصرية, El Qūwāt El Gawīyä El Maṣrīya), is the aviation branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces that is responsible for all airborne defence missions and operates all mili ...

. He represented

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...

in the

1928 Winter Olympics The 1928 Winter Olympics, officially known as the II Olympic Winter Games (french: IIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver; german: II. Olympische Winterspiele; it, II Giochi olimpici invernali; rm, II Gieus olimpics d'enviern) and commonly known as St. M ...

. In later life he was an executive of

BOAC British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. After the pa ...

Early life

Tait was born in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

, the son of Samuel Tait, and received a Bachelor of Science degree from the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, Tait joined the Royal Canadian Engineers as a sapper before being commissioned into the London Regiment of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

in 1916. He was seconded to the

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

, where he focussed on radio and aerial navigation. Transferring to the new

(RAF) in 1918, he was an instructor at the RAF's Electrical and Wireless School in 1919. After a period of illness Tait served with No. 4 Squadron in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

from 1922 to 1924 as a pilot and wireless specialist. On his return to the United Kingdom, Tait was appointed to signals staff officer duties. By 1930 Tait was back in the Middle East where he continued his work in RAF signals. In 1932 Tait was made the Senior Air Advisor on the British Military Mission in Egypt. At the same time or not long afterwards he was seconded to the

Egyptian Army Air Force The Egyptian Air Force (EAF) ( ar, القوات الجوية المصرية, El Qūwāt El Gawīyä El Maṣrīya), is the aviation branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces that is responsible for all airborne defence missions and operates all milit ...

which he effectively founded, flying eight aircraft to Cario. The Egyptian monarch, King Fuad, was impressed with Tait and granted him the rank of ''kaimachan'' (lieutenant colonel) and, in 1937,

King Farouk Farouk I (; ar, فاروق الأول ''Fārūq al-Awwal''; 11 February 1920 – 18 March 1965) was the tenth ruler of Egypt from the Muhammad Ali dynasty and the penultimate King of Egypt and the Sudan, succeeding his father, Fuad I, in 1 ...

made him a Commander of the Order of the Nile. In 1937 the Egyptian Army Air Force was transferred from British to Egyptian control and the last British Sirdar, Major General Sir Charlton Spinks instructed Tait to relinquish his position. Tait responded by stating that he now only took orders from the Egyptian minister of war and after a meeting with the minister was convened, Tait was made air advisor to the EAAF (a position created especially for him) and promoted to

group captain Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force, where it originated, as well as the air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank i ...

. Returning to the RAF during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, Tait transferred to the RAF's Technical Branch in 1940 and was promoted to air commodore. After a spell as deputy director of signals, he was appointed the director of radio in 1941, the director of RDF in 1942, when he was promoted to

air vice marshal Air vice-marshal (AVM) is a two-star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes u ...

. In August 1942 Tait was made Director-General of Signals, a post he until his retirement from the Air Force in 1946. During the preparations for the D-Day landing and the

invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

, Tait was responsible for planning the attack on German radar stations and spoofing other radar. After the war Tait joined the

British Overseas Airways Corporation British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. After the pass ...

, working as its operations director from 1945 to 1956.

Sportsman

Tait represented

and competed in the

, the British team finishing fourth in the Olympic ice hockey tournament of 1928. Tait was president of the

British Ice Hockey Association Ice Hockey UK (IHUK) is the national governing body of ice hockey in the United Kingdom. Affiliated to the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), IHUK is the internationally recognised umbrella body in the United Kingdom. IHUK was crea ...

from 1958 to 1971.

References

External links

Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Vice-Marshal Sir Victor Tait

profile at olympics.org.uk
* * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Tait, Victor 1892 births 1988 deaths Canadian military personnel of World War I Canadian military personnel of World War II Canadian knights Companions of the Order of the Bath Ice hockey people from Manitoba Ice hockey players at the 1928 Winter Olympics Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Olympic ice hockey players of Great Britain People from Winnipeg Royal Canadian Engineers soldiers Royal Air Force air marshals University of Manitoba alumni