[1][2][3] He campaigned for substantial reform of Britain's approach to air strategy following the First World War, in particular for an immediate expansion of the RAF to parity with the largest European force within striking distance.

He was an advocate of the aerial "knock out blow": the possibility of ending a war in its early stages by launching a massive attack on the enemy's centres of gravity.

[9] The war in South Africa ended in May 1902, and he returned home later that year, on the SS Kildonan Castle in December 1902.

[1][7] Between 1916 and 1918, he was Chief of Staff, Royal Flying Corps, in the Middle East "which then embraced four theatres of war".

[7] Based on his experiences on active service, Groves realised that Britain needed to radically rethink its approach to air strategy.

[1] His opinions attracted the interest of Viscount Northcliffe and in 1922 a series of articles on "Our Future in the Air" were published in The Times.

[11] In terms of his military thinking, Groves was a proponent of the aerial "knock out blow": the possibility of ending a war in its early stages by launching a massive attack on the enemy's centres of gravity.