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Auction: 25112 - Orders, Decorations and Medals - e-Auction
Lot: 733

An early Second World War D.F.M. awarded to Flight Lieutenant J. Leslie, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, late Auxiliary Air Force, who was decorated for a tour of operations as a Wireless Operator in Hampdens of No. 49 Squadron in 1940-41

Distinguished Flying Medal, G.VI.R. (802554 Sgt. J. Leslie, R.A.F.), officially re-engraved naming, very fine

D.F.M. London Gazette 24 October 1941, the original recommendation states:

'Sergeant Leslie has completed some 197 hours operational flying, involving 28 flights. These flights have in many instances been long ones and a variety of targets were attacked, including Berlin (2), Bordeaux, Kiel (3), Mannheim, Brest and many in the Ruhr.

Sergeant Leslie is a first-class operator who will never give up trying, no matter how great the difficulties. For instance, on the night of 16 December 1940, when returning from a sortie to Mannheim, very adverse weather conditions were encountered, and the aircraft was flying continuously through electrical storms. The navigator was in urgent need of a fix and this Sergeant Leslie succeeded in obtaining, although his hand was badly burnt by an electrical discharge when he was working the set.

Sergeant Leslie's keenness to take part in operational flights is evidenced by the fact he was always one of the first to volunteer when it was necessary to employ crews on two successive nights. On 16 April 1941, he was on a flight from Bremen, and on the 17th he went back to Berlin. On 5 July, Sergeant Leslie took part in a flight to Osnabruck, and on the 6th to Brest.

In all his operational flying Sergeant Leslie has shown outstanding ability and coolness both under fire and in difficult weather conditions. His enthusiasm for all branches of his work, and his keenness in all activities of the Squadron, have been an outstanding example and an excellent influence on the other N.C.O.s of the Squadron.'

John Nicholson Leslie was a pre-war member of the Auxiliary Air Force and joined the strength of No. 49 Squadron at R.A.F. Scampton as a wireless operator in October 1940. Thus ensued a busy tour of operations in the unit's Hampdens, his first outing being a 'gardening' trip to Brest in the same month. In Bomber Command, Max Hastings described the Hampden thus:

'It was the most urgent candidate for replacement: cruising at only 155 m.p.h., 10 m.p.h. slower than the other two [the Wellington and Whitley], this grotesque-looking flying glasshouse could stand little punishment, lacked power-operated turrets, and could only carry a 4000-lb. maximum bomb load.'

Notwithstanding such deficiencies, Leslie went on to complete his tour of operations, including four sorties to Kiel, three to Cologne and two apiece to Berlin, Bremen and Hamburg, in addition to trips to Dusseldorf, Frankfurt and Mannheim. Tour expired in August 1941, he was awarded the D.F.M. and posted to an operational training unit at R.A.F. Finningley.

Commissioned in August 1943, Leslie was serving as a Flight Lieutenant in post-war Germany when killed in a road accident on 7 February 1946. He was buried with full military honours in Hamburg Cemetery; sold with copied letter of condolence addressed to his widow.

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Sold for
£1,400

Starting price
£550