The forgotten career of Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory, 1892-1937 : a social and cultural history of leadership development in the inter-war Royal Air Force
This thesis examines how an officer with so many perceived detractors reached senior leadership positions in the Royal Air Force of the Second World War; that officer is Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory. Utilising prosopography as a methodology, and grounded in an understanding of leadership theory, though recognising the limitations of applying modern language to historical analysis, this thesis surveys the development processes used by the RAF to nurture officers for senior positions. Furthermore, this thesis argues that the RAF, bounded by the Serviceâs culture and ethos, took an interest in the leadership development of its officer class as it had a stake in producing able leaders capable of defending its independence. This was done through modern conceptions, such as socialisation, job assignments, action learning and nurturing. These concepts formed the basis of nurtured officers shared experiences, and this thesis illustrates how Leigh-Mallory was representative of the type of officer the RAF wanted to lead the Service. The experiences outlined in this thesis focus on training, education and job assignments, which included aspects, such as the importance of Staff College attendance, command
Mahoney, Ross Wayne
CT Biography ; D204 Modern History
The forgotten career of Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory, 1892-1937 : a social and cultural history of leadership development in the inter-war Royal Air Force. This thesis examines how an officer with so many perceived detractors reached senior leadership positions in the Royal Air Force of the Second World War; that officer is Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory. Utilising prosopography as a methodology, and grounded in an understanding of leadership theory, though recognising the limitations of applying modern language to historical analysis, this thesis surveys the development processes used by the RAF to nurture officers for senior positions. Furthermore, this thesis argues that the RAF, bounded by the Serviceâs culture and ethos, took an interest in the leadership development of its officer class as it had a stake in producing able leaders capable of defending its independence. This was done through modern conceptions, such as socialisation, job assignments, action learning and nurturing. These concepts formed the basis of nurtured officers shared experiences, and this thesis illustrates how Leigh-Mallory was representative of the type of officer the RAF wanted to lead the Service. The experiences outlined in this thesis focus on training, education and job assignments, which included aspects, such as the importance of Staff College attendance, command
forgotten career air chief marshal sir social_cultural history leadership development inter_war royal_air_force examines officer many perceive reach senior leadership position royal_air_force second_world_war officer air chief marshal sir utilising prosopography ground leadership theory though recognise limitation apply modern_language historical_analysis survey development process use raf nurture officer senior position furthermore argue raf bound service culture ethos take interest leadership development officer class stake produce able leader capable defend independence modern conception socialisation job assignment action learn concept form_basis officer share_experience illustrate representative type officer raf want lead service experience outline focus training education job assignment include aspect importance staff college attendance command