Douglas Evill - Between The Wars

Between The Wars

Evill remained in the fledgling RAF after the war and in 1919 he was placed in command of flying boat units, granted a permanent commission in the RAF in the rank of squadron leader and awarded the Air Force Cross. On 20 February 1920, he was appointed to the staff of the School of Naval Co-operation and Aerial Navigation and later that year on 8 October he married Henrietta Hortense, the daughter of Sir Alexander Drake Kleinwort (the first of the Kleinwort Baronets).

Evill spent much of 1921 at the British Army's Staff College at Camberley. On 1 January 1922 Evill was posted to the headquarters of Coastal Area working on the technical aspects of aircraft carriers.

Late 1923 saw Evill return to operational duties. From September to October he probably completed a refresher flying course at No. 4 Flying Training School. On 12 October he was appointed Officer Commanding No. 70 Squadron, flying Vernons from the Hinaidi Cantonment in Baghdad, Iraq.

With promotion to wing commander and following his return to Great Britain in early 1925, Evill was appointed to the Directing Staff of the RAF Staff College in May. After nearly four years of instructing, Evill was posted to the RAF College, Cranwell as the Assistant Commandant where he remained until he was succeeded by Philip Babington in late 1931.

After departing Cranwell, Evill was promoted to group captain in the new year. After a period of illness and time as a supernumerary which occupied most of 1932, Evill attended the Imperial Defence College in 1933.

In the five years leading up to World War II Evill held a number of air officer staff and administrative appointments. In April 1934, he was sent to the Air Ministry and served as Deputy Director of War Organization. He was promoted to air commodore on the last day of 1935; this promotion may have coincided with his elevation to Director of War Organization. Evill left the Air Ministry in September 1936 for Headquarters Bomber Command where he served as the Senior Air Staff Officer. In January 1937, whilst on the staff of Bomber Command, Evill accompanied Air Vice-Marshal Christopher Courtney (the RAF's Director of Operations and Intelligence) as a member of the RAF mission to Germany on a tour of inspection of the Luftwaffe. On 1 January 1938 Evill was promoted to air vice-marshal, three months later he was appointed Air Officer in charge of Administration at Bomber Command.

In the spring of 1939, during the debate concerning airfield deception, Evill argued for the construction of fake aerodromes designed to deceive the enemy. He was in favour of the creation of dummies of all satellite airfields which would be designed to mislead during day and night raids. He also favoured the building of decoy airfields for primary large-scale bases but only to the extent that they would be effective against night operations. Despite some disagreement from other senior RAF commanders, Evill's view was adopted as policy in June.

Just before the outbreak of World War II, Evill briefly served as the British air deputy on the Anglo-French Supreme War Council.