Victor Hubert Tait

Sir Victor Hubert Tait
Tait in Egyptian uniform
Born	(1892-07-08)July 8, 1892 Winnipeg, Manitoba
Died	November 27, 1988(1988-11-27) (aged 96)
Service/branch	Royal Air Force
Years of service	1917-1945
Rank	Air Vice-Marshal
Awards	OBE (1938), CB (1943), KBE (1944)
Other work	President of the British Ice Hockey Association, 1958-1971

Air Vice Marshal Sir Victor Hubert Tait, KBE, CB (July 8, 1892 – November 27, 1988) was a Canadian-born soldier and airman who served with the Royal Canadian Engineers, the Royal Flying Corps, the Royal Air Force, and the Egyptian Air Force. He represented Great Britain at ice hockey in the 1928 Winter Olympics. In later life he was an executive of BOAC.

Early life

Tait was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the son of Samuel Tait, and received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Manitoba.^[1]

Military career

With the outbreak of World War I, Tait joined the Royal Canadian Engineers as a sapper before being commissioned into the London Regiment in 1916. He was seconded to the Royal Flying Corps where he focussed on radio and aerial navigation. Tranferring to the new Royal Air Force in 1918 he was an instructor at the RAF's Electrical and Wireless School in 1919. After a period of illness Tait served on No. 4 Squadron in Constantinople 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 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 made him a Commander of the Order of the Nile.^[2] 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.^[3]

Returning to the RAF, during World War II, 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. In August 1942 Tait was made Director-General of Signals,^[4] a post he until his retirement from the Air Force in 1945. During the preparations for the D-Day landing and the invasion of Normandy, Tait was responsible for planning the attack on German radar stations and spoofing other radar.

After the War he joined the British Overseas Airways Corporation, working as its operations director from 1945 to 1956.

Sportsman

Tait represented Great Britain at ice hockey and competed in the 1928 Winter Olympics, the British team finishing fourth in the Olympic ice hockey tournament of 1928.

He was president of the British Ice Hockey Association from 1958 to 1971.

Selected honours

• 1937 - Commander of the Order of the Nile
• 1938 - Officer of the Order of the British Empire
• 1943 - Commander of the Order of the Bath
• 1944 - Knight of the Order of the British Empire "in recognition of services in planning the landings in Normandy".

References

• Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation - Air Vice-Marshal Sir Victor Tait
• profile at olympics.org.uk
• "The Papers of Air Vice Marshal Sir Victor Hubert Tait". 
• "Air Force Association of Canada".