Victor Tait

Later Sir Victor Hubert Tait.Victor Tait graduated with a BSc in electrical engineering from the University of Manitoba in his hometown of Winnipeg. In World War I, he first joined the Royal Canadian Engineers and later the Royal Flying Corps. At the end of World War I Tait was granted a permanent commission with the RAF. Specializing in navigation he became instructor at the RAF’s Electrical and Wireless School after the end of the war. From 1922-24 Tait served in Constantinople (now İstanbul) as a pilot and radio communication specialist. After some years in the UK, he returned to the Middle East for the Royal Air Force. In Cairo, he was instrumental in founding the Egyptian Army Air Force. In 1937, King Farouk appointed him to Commander of the Order of the Nile. When the British command was transferred to the Egyptians, Tait became an air advisor to the EAAF. In 1938 he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire.

In 1940, Tait was promoted to Air Commodore after returning to the RAF during World War II. In 1941, he was made Director of Radio, later Director of Radio Direction Finder, and eventually Air Vice- Marshal. His work on the development of navigational aids with the aim of establishing an air defence system which eventually led to the formation of Fighter Command. From 1942 until his retirement in 1945, he held the position of Director-General of Signals. During the invasion of Normandy, Tait was responsible for attacking German radar infrastructure. In 1943 he was appointed Commander of the Order of the Bath and in the following year Knight of the Order of the British Empire for his part in planning the invasion of Normandy making him Sir Victor Tait.

Subsequently,Tait joined the British Overseas Airways Corporation as operations director until 1956. In addition, he was Deputy Chief Executive from 1948-56. Through his work with such organizations as International Aeradio Limited, of which he was chairman from 1946-63, Tait helped find solutions to many of the problems associated with making flying safer at a time when air travel was becoming more popular. He was elected to the board of the Flight Safety Foundation of America in 1959, the first non-American to be appointed to the organization.

Born in Canada like many of his teammates, Tait was a member of the British ice hockey team as player-coach at the 1928 Winter Olympics. From 1958-71 he was president of the British Ice Hockey Association.