F Sykes - Military Career

Military Career

Sykes was the son of Henry Sykes and Margaret Sykes (née Sykes). Following civilian employment as a clerk and after working on a tea plantation in Ceylon, Sykes enlisted as a trooper in the Imperial Yeomanry Scouts regiment of the British Army at the start of the Second Boer War. Following capture, Sykes was forcibly marched across South Africa but was later abandoned and returned to the British forces. In 1900 he was commissioned into Lord Roberts' Bodyguard but suffered a serious wound to the chest which resulted in his being invalided back to Great Britain. On 2 October 1901 he was granted a regular commission as a second lieutenant in the 15th Hussars. He was posted to the West African Regiment and granted the local rank of lieutenant on 7 March 1903. He was promoted to the substantive rank of lieutenant on 29 July 1903.

In 1904, Sykes's interest in aviation was first demonstrated when he obtained his ballooning certificate whilst being attached to the Balloon Section of the Royal Engineers. He was restored to the establishment of the 15th Hussars on 22 September 1904. He joined the Intelligence Staff at Simla in India in 1905 before attending Staff College, Quetta in Autumn 1908. He was promoted to captain on 1 October 1908.

In 1910 Sykes commenced flying lessons at Brooklands which led to him being awarded Royal Aero Club certificate No. 96 in June 1911.

On 25 February 1911 Sykes was posted as a staff officer to the Directorate of Military Operations at the War Office. As a firm believer in the importance of wartime aerial reconnaissance, he was chosen to join the sub-committee of the Committee of Imperial Defence which was given the task of investigating the use of aircraft.

On 13 May 1912 Sykes was appointed Officer Commanding the Military Wing of the Royal Flying Corps with the temporary rank of major. His duties included the recruitment and training of pilots. While in command, Sykes solicited suggestions for a new motto for the Corps: Sykes approved J S Yule's suggestion, Per Ardua ad Astra, and it was this phrase which was subsequently adopted by the Royal Air Force as its motto. On 9 July 1913 his role was restyled as Commandant of the Military Wing of the Royal Flying Corps and he was granted the temporary rank of lieutenant-colonel.

With the outbreak of World War I, Royal Flying Corps squadrons were deployed to France in August 1914. Although the configuration and effectiveness of the deployed forces owed much to Sykes, as a middle-ranking officer he lacked the seniority thought necessary for command in the field. General Henderson became the General Officer Commanding the Royal Flying Corps in the Field and Sykes acted as his Chief of Staff from 5 August 1914.

On 22 November 1914, Henderson was appointed General Officer Commanding the 1st Infantry Division and Sykes took up command of the Royal Flying Corps in the Field. However, Sykes did not spend long in command. The decision to post Henderson and replace him with Sykes was not to Lord Kitchener's liking and he ordered a reversal of the appointments. On 21 December 1914, Henderson resumed command of the Royal Flying Corps in the Field and Sykes was granted the temporary rank of colonel and once again made his Chief of Staff. He was promoted to the substantive rank of brevet lieutenant colonel on 18 February 1915. With the rapid expansion of the Corps, there was a growing debate between those who believed that the Corps should remain under central control and those who believed that its units should be placed under the control of the corps or divisional commanders. Unsurprisingly as Chief of Staff, Sykes took the former view and following increasing arguments, Sykes was posted on 26 May 1915 being placed at the disposal of the Admiralty.

Sykes visited the Dardanelles to investigate the confused air situation and after writing a report he was appointed as the Officer Commanding the Royal Naval Air Service Eastern Mediterranean Station on 24 July 1915 with the rank of colonel commandant in the Royal Marines as well as the rank of Wing Captain in the Royal Naval Air Service. This made Sykes the air commander for the Dardanelles Campaign. During this time he acted on the recommendations of his report, building up his forces which sunk several Turkish ships. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George on 14 March 1916 and mentioned in despatches on 16 March 1916.

Sykes was made Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster-General of the 4th Mounted Division in March 1916 and, having been awarded the Russian Order of St Vladimir, 4th Class on 12 April 1916, he was appointed Assistant Adjutant-General at the War Office with responsibility for organising the Machine Gun Corps and manpower planning on 9 June 1916. He was made Deputy Director of Organisation at the War Office and granted the temporary rank of brigadier-general on 8 February 1917. On 27 November 1917 he became Deputy Adjutant and Quartermaster-General at the War Office in which role he served on the British section of the Allied War Council in Versailles under General Wilson.

Sykes's military career culminated in his appointment as Chief of the Air Staff on 13 April 1918 and, in that role, he did much to establish the new service. However, in January 1919, Winston Churchill was appointed Secretary of State for War and Secretary of State for Air. While Churchill was preoccupied with implementing post-War defence cuts and the demobilization of the Army, Sykes submitted a paper with what were at the time unrealistic proposals for a large air force of the future. Being dissatisfied with Sykes, Churchill decided to reinstate Sir Hugh Trenchard, the previous Chief of the Air Staff. Accordingly on 1 January 1919 Sykes was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath and allowed to take early retirement with the rank of major-general with effect from 31 March 1919.

Sykes was appointed a Commander of the Belgian Order of Leopold on 15 July 1919 and awarded the American Distinguished Service Medal on the same date. He was also granted the rank of air vice marshal when the RAF introduced its own rank structure on 1 August 1919, appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire on 26 August 1919 and appointed an officer of the French Legion of Honour on 18 November 1919.

From 1919 to 1922, Sykes was the Controller of Civil Aviation. He was awarded the Japanese Order of the Rising Sun, 2nd Class on 4 January 1921 and in 1922 he published Aviation in War and Peace, a history of aviation in three chapters which covered pre-War flight, aviation during World War I and both military and civil aviation in peace time.