Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Charles Portal

Charles Frederick Algernon Portal was born in Hungerford, England, in 1893. One of seven brothers, Portal developed a fierce competitive streak and a steely determination from an early age. Known by all who knew him as ‘Peter’, Portal enlisted in the Army at the outbreak of the First World War as a dispatch rider, being mentioned in General French’s very first dispatch.Portal’s abilities were quickly recognized, and he gained a commission in short order. It was in the air that Portal saw his fut