 When he heard that on 14 May 1940, forty of the seventy-one British bombers that had taken off did not return, he is said to have cried.He continued his war service as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at Army Co-operation Command in November 1940 and Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at Technical Training Command in 1943.His last appointment was as Inspector-General of the RAF in 1945, in which capacity he took part in the Victory Parade in June 1946 before retiring in 1947.