Trafford Leigh-Mallory
| Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory | |
|---|---|
Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory c.1944
|
|
| Born |
11 July 1892 Mobberley, Cheshire, England |
| Died | 14 November 1944 (aged 52) French Alps |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/branch |
British Army (1914–18) Royal Air Force (1918–44) |
| Years of service | 1914–44 |
| Rank | Air Chief Marshal |
| Commands held |
Allied Expeditionary Air Force (1943–44) Fighter Command (1942–43) No. 11 Group (1940–42) No. 12 Group (1937–40) No. 2 Flying Training School (1934–35) School of Army Co-operation (1927–29) No. 8 Squadron (1917–18) No. 15 Squadron (1917) |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards |
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Distinguished Service Order & Bar Mentioned in Despatches (3) Commander's Cross with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta (Poland) Order of Kutuzov, 1st Class (USSR) Chief Commander of the Legion of Merit (United States) |
Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory, KCB, DSO & Bar (11 July 1892 – 14 November 1944) was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force. Leigh-Mallory served as a Royal Flying Corps pilot and squadron commander during the First World War. Remaining in the newly formed RAF after the war, Leigh-Mallory served in a variety of staff and training appointments throughout the 1920s and 1930s.
During the pre-Second World War build-up, he was Air Officer Commanding (AOC) No. 12 (Fighter) Group and shortly after the end of the Battle of Britain, took over command of No. 11 (Fighter) Group, defending the approach to London. In 1942 he became the Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of Fighter Command before being selected in 1943 to be the C-in-C of the Allied Expeditionary Air Force, which made him the air commander for the Allied Invasion of Normandy.
In November 1944, en route to Ceylon to take up the post of Air Commander-in-Chief South East Asia Command, his aircraft crashed in the French Alps and Leigh-Mallory, his wife and eight others were killed. He was one of the most senior British officers and the most senior RAF officer to be killed in the Second World War.
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