Trafford
Leigh-Mallory was born at Mobberley, Cheshire on November 7th 1892. A well
educated man, having graduated with honours at Cambridge University in
the subject of history. At the outbreak of the First World War in 1914,
he joined the Territorial battalion of the King's Regiment and later was
to receive a commission in the Lancashire Fusiliers, but joined the Royal
Flying Corps in July 1916. Upon the formation of the Royal Air Force on
1st April 1918 and served in France during this war where he was to receive
the DSO. With the RAF, he was given a permanent position with the rank
of Squadron Leader and in 1921 was appointed to the Army Co-operation Unit
and was commander for a period of three years. Attending The School of
Army Co-operation and a further course at the Army Senior Officers School
he was to gain valuable experience in land and air co-operation and extended
this to become an instructor at the Army Staff College at Camberley Surrey.
Leigh-Mallory was
to become the controversial leader and Commander-in-Chief of 12 Group protecting
and being responsible for the fighter coverage of Central England. He was
a soldier during World War One and saw considerable action during that
period, but towards the end of the war was transferred to become a commander
of an aerial reconnaissance squadron. In 1937, he had visions of becoming
the commander of 11 Group a position that he wanted and a position that
many expected him to get, but Hugh Dowding gave the prestigious position
to Keith Park and assigning Leigh-Mallory to 12 Group, a decision that
Leigh- Mallory resented and throughout the Battle of Britain period considerable
bitterness was shown between the three.
One of Leigh-Mallory's
squadron commanders was Douglas Bader, 'tin legs' as he became known, and
both Bader and Leigh-Mallory were firm believers of the 'Big Wing' where
fighters could attack in large formations, in fact the 'Big Wing' theory
was developed by Bader, but Dowding was not in favour if this, believing
that too many aircraft would take too long to disperse and large formations
of fighters would get in each others way. But it was not until towards
the end of the battle where Dowding agreed, and the 'Big Wing' theory was
responsible for many of the enemy aircraft shot down over London. Dowding
would remember this when 12 Group was called upon to assist and protect
the northern fighter bases of 11 Group, Leigh-Mallory employed the 'Big
Wing' theory and it proved to be a failure.
By the time that
all of 12 Groups aircraft had got off the ground, it was too late by the
time that they had arrived to assist 11 Group and the Luftwaffe had sustained
considerable damage to the northern bases. After the Battle of Britain,
Leigh-Mallory seemed to follow Keith Park around, always taking over where
Park had left off. Following Park leaving 11 Group, Leigh-Mallory took
over the group, he had got the position he wanted after all. When Dowding
resigned in 1942, Leigh-Mallory accepted the post of Head of Fighter Command.
In 1943 he became Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Expeditionary Force
controlling the air cover required for the invasion of France in Operation
Overlord. After the invasion of France in November 1944 he was appointed
C-in-C of South-East Asia.
On the morning of
November 18th 1944, newspapers recorded that the Air Chief Marshal had
been killed:
"It
was officially announced last night that the aircraft which Air Chief Marshal
Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory and Lady Leigh-Mallory were travelling to South-East
Asia, and which left this country on November 14th, 1944 did not arrive
at it's destination. The Air Chief Marshal was on his way to take up his
new appointment as Air Commander-in-Chief, South-East Asia Command.
The
London Times November 18th 1944
His aircraft had crashed somewhere in the
French Alps killing all on board.
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