Edgar Ludlow-Hewitt, the son of a clergyman, was born in County Cork on 9th June 1886. Educated at Radley School and Sandhurst Military Academy he was commissioned into the Royal Irish Rifles in 1905 but transferred into the Royal Flying Corps in August 1914.
On the outbreak of the First World War Ludlow-Hewitt was sent to France where he saw action over the Western Front and was eventually promoted to wing commander. Mentioned in dispatches six times and won the Military Cross in 1916 and the Legion of Honour in 1918. By the end of the war Ludlow-Hewitt was Chief Staff Officer at the RAF Headquarters in France.
Ludlow-Hewitt remained in the Royal Air Force after the war and served as Commandant of the RAF Staff College (1926-30), Director of Operations and Intelligence at the Air Ministry (1933-35) and Chief Air Officer in India (1935-37) before being appointed Commander in Chief of Bomber Command in 1937.
During the Second World War senior figures in the Air Ministry became increasingly critical of Ludlow-Hewitt's performance as head of Bomber Command and in February 1940 he was replaced by Charles Portal. For the rest of the war Ludlow-Hewitt served as Inspector-General of the RAF.
After retiring from the RAF in 1945 Ludlow-Hewitt was appointed Chairman of the Board of Governors of the College of Aeronautics and served as Deputy Lieutenant for Wiltshire. Edgar Ludlow-Hewitt died on 15th August 1973.
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