FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jacqline Barnes, (410) 295-1028, jbarnes@usni.org

Sir Robert Brooke-Popham and the Fall of Singapore

This is the first biography of Sir Robert Brooke-
Popham, a key figure in the early development
of airpower, whose significant and varied
achievements have been overlooked because of
his subsequent involvement in the fall of
Singapore. It highlights Brooke-Popham’s role
in developing the first modern military logistic
system, the creation of the Royal Air Force
Staff College and the organizational
arrangements that underpinned Fighter
Command’s success in the Battle of Britain.
Peter Dye challenges longstanding views about
performance as Commander-in-Chief Far East
and, based on new evidence, offers a more
nuanced narrative that sheds light on British and
Allied preparations for the Pacific War, inter-
service relations and the reasons for the
disastrous loss of air and naval superiority that
followed the Japanese attack. “The Man Who
Took the Rap” highlights the misguided
attempts at deterrence, in the absence of a
coordinated information campaign, and the
unprecedented security lapse that betrayed the
parlous state of the Allied defenses.

Praise for “The Man Who Took The Rap”:

“Peter Dye's excellent biography on Sir Robert Brooke-Popham is a much needed addition to the
air power historiography and to the history of the Royal Air Force. It is immaculately researched
and beautifully written. It is a must read for all military historians whether their interest is in the
inter-war years, the Second World War or in particular, the fall of Singapore.” —Dr. Peter Gray,
Senior Research Fellow in Air Power Studies, University of Birmingham

Please accept this enclosed book for review. Speaking engagements and interview opportunities are available with the author. If
you decide to review this book, please send your review to jbarnes@usni.org or mail it to: Jacqline Barnes, Naval Institute
Press, 291 Wood Road, Annapolis, MD 21402
“Robert Brooke-Popham is remembered, if he is remembered at all, for one thing: the fall of
Singapore in 1942. But as Peter Dye shows in this excellent biography, there was much more to
the career of this leading British airman than that. Dye’s judicious scholarship sets the record
straight.” —Gary Sheffield, Professor of War Studies, University of Wolverhampton, UK

“Peter Dye is both a professional disciple of Sir Robert Brooke-Popham and a meticulous
historian who writes clearly and with great authority. This book leaves no doubt about his
admiration for his subject whom he sees as having been unfairly treated but, at the same time, is
balanced and objective.” —Air Vice-Marshal Sandy Hunter CBE AFC DL Former
Commandant RAF Staff College, Editor with Professor Brian Farrell of Sixty Years On and
A Great Betrayal

“This well titled book makes important points that deserve to be noted: a long and productive life
should not be reduced to one sad episode, particularly not when that story is more complicated
than simple scapegoating. Dye rescues an RAF pioneer from scapegoating obscurity with this
fine thoughtful biography.” —Brian P Farrell, Professor of Military History, National
University of Singapore

“This well titled book makes important points that deserve to be noted: a long and productive life
should not be reduced to one sad episode, particularly not when that story is more complicated
than simple scapegoating. Dye rescues an RAF pioneer from scapegoating obscurity with this
fine thoughtful biography.” —Brian P Farrell, Professor of Military History, National
University of Singapore

Peter Dye is a graduate of Imperial College and Birmingham University. He served in the Royal
Air Force for over 35 years and was awarded the Order of the British Empire for his work in
support of the Jaguar Force during the First Gulf War, retiring as an Air Vice-Marshal. He was
appointed Director General of the Royal Air Force Museum in 2008, before retiring six years later
to concentrate on lecturing, research and writing on airpower topics. He is currently an Honorary
Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham.

NAVAL INSTITUTE PRESS

Publication date: 15 October 2018
Aviation
6 x 9 in | 448 pp.
Hardcover & eBook
ISBN: 9781682473580 | $44.95
www.usni.org