In 1942 he was sent to America, where he successfully persuaded President Franklin D. Roosevelt to direct the main American war effort against Germany rather than Japan.
[1] Inglis was educated at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, and graduated in 1918, from where he was commissioned into the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry.
[4] After graduating from Sandhurst, Inglis spent three years with the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, reaching the rank of lieutenant, until July 1921, when he was seconded to the Royal Air Force as a flying officer.
[2] In March 1942, he was promoted to director of intelligence (operations), reporting direct to the prime minister, Winston Churchill.
Inglis stayed in the White House and held two meetings with Roosevelt, eventually persuading the president to go against his own advisors and agree to the British viewpoint, that the major American war effort must be directed towards the defeat of Germany first.
According to Inglis's brother-in-law, Air Marshal Sir Victor Goddard,No other war decision by America was more significant for Europe and the World than that one.
23 Group, Flying Training Command[14] (with Air Vice Marshal Sir Thomas Elmhirst succeeding him at RAF Intelligence[13]).
[19] In October 1945, he was conferred with the honour of Commander of the United States Legion of Merit[20] for "exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding service".