Sir Arthur 'Bomber' Harris (1892 - 1984)

One of the most controversial figures of World War Two, Harris was in charge of the massive Allied air campaign against Nazi Germany from 1942 to 1945. His technique of 'saturation' or 'area' bombing of German cities, causing countless civilian losses and enormous destruction, has been a matter of contention ever since.

Harris was educated in English public schools, then settled in Rhodesia. During World War I, he served in southern Africa before returning to England and joining the Royal Flying Corps. His experiences as a pilot on the Western Front shaped his opinion of air bombing as preferable to the mass slaughter of the trenches.

In 1918, Harris became a squadron leader in the newly formed RAF, and during the following two decades, he served in a number of locations around the British Empire. In early 1942, he took over as Commander-in-Chief of Bomber Command and was promoted to Air Marshal. At the time, the Allied bombing campaign was in disarray, and Harris set out to implement a new and more efficient strategy.

Using incendiary bombs, the allied planes targeted cities such as Cologne in 'thousand bomber' raids. In February 1945, the obliteration of the historic city of Dresden from the air became one of the most controversial episodes of the allied war effort. The raid was supported by Churchill, but the British prime minister had second thoughts afterwards, and a few weeks later, the Allies halted area bombing.

Harris commanded respect from his subordinates and enormous loyalty from his crews. But the debate about the morality - and indeed efficacy - of the bombing raids was already under way in the closing stages of the war, and to Harris' disappointment, his request for a special campaign medal for the Bomber Command was refused.

In 1946, he retired from the RAF and embarked on a successful business career in South Africa, but later returned to Britain where he was made a baronet. In 1992, eight years after his death, a monument was erected in central London, stirring up the debate about 'Bomber' Harris and his role in the war effort.