Leslie Manfield DFC (10 November

1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". *January 1 ...

– 2 November

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

international. He was the second oldest Welsh international of all time, and at the time of his death, aged 91, the oldest living man to have played as a forward for Wales.

Rugby career

Manfield was born in

Mountain Ash Mountain ash may refer to: * ''Eucalyptus regnans'', the tallest of all flowering plants, native to Australia * Mountain-ashes or rowans, varieties of trees and shrubs in the genus ''Sorbus'' See also * Mountain Ash, Rhondda Cynon Taf Mountai ...

, the son of a railway worker, and went to school there. He played for the Welsh under-15 side on 1 March 1930 and played for

Cardiff RFC Cardiff Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Caerdydd) is a rugby union club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876Parry-Jones (1989), pg 59 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, shortly after ...

. After studying physics and chemistry at

University College Cardiff , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...

, he won his first senior international cap in 1939 against Scotland. He had been chosen as a trialist for England that year, following the award of a Yorkshire cap. When the Welsh selectors chose him for a Welsh trial, he chose Wales, being the country of his birth Manfield played several internationals after

World War II 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 ...

, one of only four men to have played for Wales both before and after the war. He retired from the international game at the age of 34, having won seven caps for his country,''Fields of Praise, The Official History of the Welsh Rugby Union 1881-1981'', David Smith, Gareth Williams (1980) pg469 and taught at Mountain Ash Grammar School until forced to retire through ill-health. He died at

Aberdare Aberdare ( ; cy, Aberdâr) is a town in the Cynon Valley area of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, at the confluence of the Rivers Dare (Dâr) and Cynon. Aberdare has a population of 39,550 (mid-2017 estimate). Aberdare is south-west of Merthyr Tyd ...

Hospital of complications after a fall.

International matches played

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

1947 *

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

1948 *

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

1948 * 1939, 1948 *

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

1939, 1948

Military career

With the outbreak of the Second World War all organised rugby was suspended. In 1940 Manfield volunteered for the

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 ...

, and was sent to RAF training centres in

Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. Situated west-northwest of Charing Cross, it is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Uxbrid ...

and Cosford, training alongside soccer international

George Male Charles George Male (8 May 1910 – 19 February 1998) was an English footballer. Playing career Born in West Ham, Essex, Male trialled with West Ham United before playing with non-league Clapton. He joined Arsenal as an amateur in November 1 ...

. After completing his training he was posted to St Athan near Cardiff before training as an air observer in Scotland. In 1942, now a flying officer, Manfield was posted to active service in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

and spent three years in the Middle East flying

Wellingtons The Wellington boot was originally a type of leather boot adapted from Hessian (boot), Hessian boots, a style of military riding boot. They were worn and popularised by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. The "Wellington" boot became ...

with 102 Squadron, rising to the rank of

squadron leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also ...

. Manfield was hit by flak twice whilst flying over Tobruk. While navigating an

SOE SOE may refer to: Organizations * State-owned enterprise * Special Operations Executive, a British World War II clandestine sabotage and resistance organisation ** Special Operations Executive in the Netherlands, or Englandspiel * Society of Opera ...

operation to Crete his plane crash landed in the sea after the engines failed. Manfield and three other crewmen survived at sea for two days before being picked up by a motor torpedo boat. On 4 April 1943, Manfield was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his work in a Special Operations Unit. He left 282 Wing Cairo in 1945 and returned to Britain as a course commander at the Empire Air Navigation School in Shawbury.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manfield, Leslie 1915 births 2006 deaths Alumni of Cardiff University Alumni of Leeds Beckett University Barbarian F.C. players Bridgend RFC players British Special Operations Executive personnel British World War II bomber pilots British World War II pilots Cardiff RFC players London Welsh RFC players Mountain Ash RFC players Neath RFC players Otley R.U.F.C. players Penarth RFC players Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Rugby union number eights Rugby union players from Mountain Ash, Wales Shot-down aviators Wales international rugby union players Welsh airmen category:Welsh schoolteachers Welsh rugby union players