Trafford Leigh-Mallory

Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory KCB, DSO and Bar (11 July 1892 - 14 November 1944) was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force in World War II and the highest-ranking British officer to die in the war.

Early life and career

Trafford Leigh-Mallory was born in Mobberley, Cheshire, the son of a rector. He was the younger brother of George Leigh Mallory, the noted mountaineer. He was educated at Haileybury and Cambridge University. At Magdalene College, Cambridge he was a member of a literary club where he met Arthur Tedder the future Marshal of the Royal Air Force. He passed his Bachelor of Law degree and had applied to the Inner Temple in London to become a barrister when war broke out.

Related Topics:
George Leigh Mallory - Haileybury - Cambridge University - Magdalene College, Cambridge - Arthur Tedder

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In 1914, on the outbreak of World War I Leigh-Mallory volunteered to join the King's Liverpool Regiment of the Territorial Army as a private. He was soon commissioned and transferred to the Lancashire Fusiliers, though officer training kept him in England when his battalion embarked. In Spring 1915 Leigh-Mallory went to the front with the South Lancashire Regiment and was wounded during an attack at the Battle of Ypres. Back in England he married Doris Sawyer, with whom he was to have two children.

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After recovering he joined the Royal Flying Corps in January 1916 and was accepted for pilot training. In July 1916 he was posted to No. 7 Squadron, where he flew bombing, reconnaissance and photographic missions during the Battle of the Somme. He was then transferred to No. 5 Squadron before returning to England for promotion to Squadron Commander.

Related Topics:
Royal Flying Corps - 1916

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Leigh-Mallory's first combat command was No. 8 Squadron, and he was appointed in November 1917. In the period after the Battle of Cambrai, No. 8 Squadron was involved in Army cooperation, directing tanks and artillery. Leigh-Mallory was noted for his energy and efficiency, although his men thought him somewhat remote and pompous.

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At the Armistice Leigh-Mallory was mentioned in dispatches and awarded the Distinguished Service Order. After the war Leigh-Mallory thought of re-entering the legal profession, but with little prospect of a law career he stayed in the recently-created Royal Air Force (RAF), taking command of the Armistice Squadron. Subsequent promotions saw him pass through RAF Staff College and commanding the School of Army Cooperation, eventually being posted to the Army Staff College, Camberley. He was now a leading authority on Army cooperation and in 1930 lectured at the Royal United Services Institute on air cooperation with mechanised forces.

Related Topics:
Mentioned in dispatches - Royal Air Force - 1930 - Royal United Services Institute

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A posting to the Air Ministry in 1932 saw Leigh-Mallory assigned to the British delegation at the Disarmament Conference in Geneva under the auspices of the League of Nations, where he made many contacts. After the collapse of the conference he returned to the Air Ministry and attended the Imperial Defence College, the most senior of the staff colleges. However, lack of senior command experience meant a spell as commander of No. 2 Flying School before serving as a staff officer overseas. He was posted to the RAF in Iraq in Christmas 1935 and was present during the coup d'etat of 1936, during which we was responsible for base security and at one point had to put down a rebellion by bluff. In December 1937 Leigh-Mallory, now a Group Captain, returned to England to be appointed commander of No. 12 Group, Fighter Command.

Related Topics:
1932 - League of Nations - 1935 - 1936

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