Air Vice Marshal Air vice-marshal (AVM) is a two-star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes u ...

Leigh Forbes Stevenson, (24 April 1895 – 3 March 1989) was a senior commander in the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Early in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he served in the trenches on the Western Front before becoming a pilot in the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

. After the war he joined the fledgling

Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environme ...

. Stevenson remained in Air Force service when in 1924 the Royal Canadian Air Force was founded and served throughout the inter-war years. On 16 October 1940 Stevenson was appointed Air Officer Commanding the RCAF in Great Britain (changed to Air Officer-in-Chief the RCAF in Great Britain on 6 November) at the

RCAF Overseas Headquarters The Royal Canadian Air Force Overseas Headquarters, often abbreviated to RCAF Overseas, was responsible for Canadian airmen serving outside Canada during and just after World War II. The headquarters was established on 1 January 1940 and it was ba ...

in London. In 1942 he returned to Canada to take command of

Western Air Command , colors= , colors_label= , battles= 1962 Sino-Indian War, 1971 India-Pakistan War, Operation Meghdoot , anniversaries= , commander1= Air Marshal Sreekumar Prabhakaran, AVSM, VM , commander1_label= Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief(AOC-in-C) , n ...

. In 1946, he was elected to represent

Vancouver-Point Grey Vancouver-Point Grey is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada. It was first contested in the general election of 1933. It was created out of parts of Richmond-Point Grey, South Vancouver and ...

in the

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is the deliberative assembly of the Parliament of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The Legislative Assembly meets in Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria. Members ar ...

as a member of the Coalition government; he served until 1952. He died at his home in Vancouver in 1989.Obituary
/ref>

References

External links

A Century of Aviation in New Brunswick – Air Vice Marshal Leigh "Stevie" Stevenson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevenson, Leigh Forbes 1895 births 1989 deaths Canadian Expeditionary Force officers Commanders of the Legion of Merit Companions of the Order of the Bath Royal Flying Corps officers Royal Canadian Air Force air marshals of World War II