Flight Lieutenant Haliburton Hume Leech (16 April 1908 – 5 May 1939) was a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

aviator, air racer and test pilot. Leech was born on 16 April 1908 in Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland the son of Joseph William Leech a surgeon and later mayor and member of parliament for Newcastle upon Tyne. Leech joined the Royal Air Force in 1925 as a cadet and on 10 April 1926 gained his Royal Aero Club Aviators Certificate (No. 7993) at the Newcastle upon Tyne Aero Club using a

De Havilland Moth The de Havilland Moths were a series of light aircraft, sports planes, and military trainers designed by Geoffrey de Havilland. In the late 1920s and 1930s, they were the most common civilian aircraft flying in Britain, and during that time ever ...

. Commissioned in 1927 he left the Royal Air Force College Cranwell and was posted to RAF Tangmere in 1927. In 1930 he moved to the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough as a test pilot and he was selected for the High Speed Flight to compete in the Schneider Trophy Race, but after training with too many pilots being selected he returned to Farnborough without joining the team. He was a keen air racer and entered the

King's Cup Race The King's Cup air race is a British handicapped cross-country event, which has taken place annually since 1922. It is run by the Royal Aero Club Records Racing and Rally Association. The King's Cup is one of the most prestigious prizes of the ...

every year between 1929 and 1934, with his experience as a test pilot he performed the first flights of the

RAE Scarab The RAE Scarab was a light single-engined single-seat parasol winged modification of the de Havilland Humming Bird, flying in the United Kingdom in 1932. Only one was built. Development The Aero Club of the Royal Aircraft Establishment built ...

and the

Arrow Active The Arrow Active is a British aerobatic aircraft built in the 1930s. Design and development The Arrow Active is a single-seat biplane of conventional configuration, with single-bay, staggered wings of unequal span and chord, bordering on being ...

. He married in 1937 in Eyke in Suffolk to Ruth Elliot. In September 1938 he retired from the Royal Air Force due to ill-health. Leech died on 5 May 1939 at St Bartholomews Hospital in London, aged 31.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leech, Haliburton Hume 1908 births 1939 deaths English aviators English test pilots Royal Air Force officers Military personnel from Newcastle upon Tyne