At a press conference on 9 August, Mountbatten paid generous tribute to Park, ‘who has brought with him the fighting spirit which he showed in the Battle of Britain and the Battle of Malta.’ The campaign certainly turned round the Mountbatten-Slim axis. Men with little in common save ‘the power of commanding affection while communicating energy’, they har-nessed and drove the Allied forces to victory. However, the contribution of air power to the defeat of the Japanese in that theatre was crucial and Park’s part in directing it in the final stages was proficient and enthusiastic.
