Hello, I'm Roger Morehouse.

And I'm Patrick Bishop.

Welcome to Heroes or Villains, the new Battleground series that examines controversial figures from the 20th century's military history

and asks you, our listeners, to decide in which category you think we should place them.

Well, few have aroused more heated debate than Air Marshal Sir Arthur Harris of the Royal Air Force.

Bomber Harris, as he was known to the public.

Butch Harris, short for butcher,

as he was known to the air crews flying the Lancaster's and Halifax heavy bombers.

He commanded.

This was a reference, of course, to the staggering losses they suffered following his orders.

Now, for much of the war, Harris directed the RAF's strategic bombing campaign to the staggering losses they suffered following his orders.

Now, for much of the war, Harris directed the RAF's strategic bombing campaign as chief of bomber command.

From 1942, he oversaw an ever more effective program of bombing German war industry in German cities, with an unflinching zeal and determination that made him a fearsome

figure both of his peers and his contemporaries. Even Winston Churchill decided it was safer

to leave him to his own devices, rather than interfere a policy which, as we shall hear,

arguably weakened the effectiveness of the Allied Air War.

Now, to some extent, Harris seemed to revel in his notoriety and loved to use blunt language

that made no apology for the vengeance that his men were reeking, all of which might help

to explain why he and bomber command's part in Britain's war were rather shoved to the sidelines

when the history started to be written in the years after 1945.

Patrick, can you tell us something about Bomber Harris's upbringing and how perhaps this

might have shaped his character and his actions in later life?

...