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 als ...

John Leslie Munro, (5 April 1919 – 4 August 2015) was a Royal New Zealand Air Force pilot during World War II and the last surviving pilot of the

Dambusters Raid Operation Chastise or commonly known as the Dambusters Raid was an attack on German dams carried out on the night of 16/17 May 1943 by 617 Squadron RAF Bomber Command, later called the Dam Busters, using special "bouncing bombs" developed by ...

of May 1943.

Early life

Born on 5 April 1919 near Gisborne on New Zealand's East Coast, Munro lived there until he enlisted in the Royal New Zealand Air Force on 5 July 1941. He was originally turned down because of unsatisfactory scholastic ability, but studied by correspondence and was finally accepted. His father was from the woollen mills of Glasgow; at the turn of the century he contracted T.B. and emigrated to New Zealand. He was employed as a shepherd on the isolated Marshlands sheep station (farm) which was 5 miles from the nearest settlement and school and 16 miles from Gisborne. Money was scarce, so Les gave up high school; working on a dairy farm and then a mixed sheep and cropping farm. He had a younger sister and brother; Ian joined the Army in 1940. But Les wanted to be a pilot not aircrew, so he took a correspondence course in mathematics to qualify. He was accepted for the

Empire Air Training Scheme The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), or Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS) often referred to as simply "The Plan", was a massive, joint military aircrew training program created by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zea ...

and left for advanced training in Canada in October 1941. Being conservative he chose to be a bomber pilot though being a fighter pilot was more popular.

Military career

Munro learned to fly in

Tiger Moth The de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s British biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and other operators as a primary trainer aircraft. ...

s at the RNZAF's Flying Training School at Bell Block near New Plymouth, and on graduation chose to fly bombers so was posted to Canada for initial bomber training. He trained on twin-engine aircraft in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...

RCAF Station Saskatoon RCAF Station Saskatoon was a World War II British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) base operated by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). It was located North of the City of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. World War II (1940-5) On 16 Septemb ...

, the present-day John G. Diefenbaker International Airport in Canada. He moved to England in October 1941 for further training, and joined 97 Squadron at

Woodhall Spa Woodhall Spa is a former spa Village and civil parish in Lincolnshire, England, on the southern edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds, south-west of Horncastle, Lincolnshire, Horncastle, west of Skegness, east-south-east of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Li ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

. There, he flew Avro Manchesters and then Avro Lancasters in 1942/43 and while there his Distinguished Flying Cross was gazetted, on 11 June 1943. On 25 March 1943, Munro, along with Flight Lieutenant

Joe McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarthy became the most vis ...

and Squadron Leader

David Maltby Squadron Leader David John Hatfeild Maltby, (10 May 1920 – 15 September 1943) was a bomber pilot in the Royal Air Force, best known for his part in the Operation Chastise, Dambusters raid. He had successfully completed over 30 operations bef ...

, were transferred to

617 Squadron Number 617 Squadron is a Royal Air Force aircraft squadron, originally based at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire and currently based at RAF Marham in Norfolk. It is commonly known as "''The Dambusters''", for its actions during Operation Chastis ...

to be part of the secretive

Dambusters raid Operation Chastise or commonly known as the Dambusters Raid was an attack on German dams carried out on the night of 16/17 May 1943 by 617 Squadron RAF Bomber Command, later called the Dam Busters, using special "bouncing bombs" developed by ...

forming at

RAF Scampton Royal Air Force Scampton or RAF Scampton is a Royal Air Force station located adjacent to the A15 road near to the village of Scampton, Lincolnshire, and north-west of the city of Lincoln, England. RAF Scampton stands on the site of a Firs ...

. The squadron was created to attack the dams of the Ruhr in an effort to wreck the industrial capacity of Germany. It was initially called Squadron "X", as the speed of its formation outstripped the RAF process for naming squadrons. Twenty-one bomber crews were selected from existing squadrons in 5 Group. These crews included RAF personnel of several different nationalities, as well as members of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF), who were frequently attached to RAF squadrons under the

. Munro (the only RNZAF pilot in the squadron) took part in the Upkeep trials on 12 May; flying ED921. In

Operation Chastise Operation Chastise or commonly known as the Dambusters Raid was an attack on Nazi Germany, German dams carried out on the night of 16/17 May 1943 by No. 617 Squadron RAF, 617 Squadron RAF Bomber Command, later called the Dam Busters, using sp ...

Munro was in Wave 2 in ED921 W. Of the 19 Lancasters that flew on that full-moon night, only 11 returned. Munro, as pilot of W-Willie, was scheduled to bomb the Sorpe dam. Over the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, his aircraft was damaged by flak which knocked out all communications, so it turned back to land in Lincolnshire, still carrying its mine. His

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

was awarded while he was with 617, on 28 March 1943. Munro was promoted to squadron leader on 14 February 1944 and was posted to command 1690 BDTF Squadron (Bomber Defence Training Flight) on 13 July 1944. His logbook shows that when departing Scampton to bomb Bremen with four 500 lb general-purpose bombs, his aircraft crashed and burned shortly after takeoff, but the crew escaped. Munro took part in Operation Taxable in conjunction with the

D Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

landings in

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

in which the Lancasters flew precise, elongated circuits dropping

Window A window is an opening in a wall, door, roof, or vehicle that allows the exchange of light and may also allow the passage of sound and sometimes air. Modern windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparent or translucent mat ...

(aluminium strips), to convince German radar installations that a huge flotilla of ships was approaching Cap d'Antifer. The ruse was successful and the last of No. 617 Squadron Window droppers witnessed German shore batteries firing on the "Ghost" convoy. Munro described the operation in his logbook as: Munro's co-pilot on this operation was Wing Commander

Leonard Cheshire Geoffrey Leonard Cheshire, Baron Cheshire, (7 September 1917 – 31 July 1992) was a highly decorated Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot and group captain during the Second World War, and a philanthropist. Among the honours Cheshire received as ...

, the squadron's commanding officer who later was awarded the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

. When Cheshire was stood down, Cochrane also stood down 617's three flight commanders Dave Shannon from Australia,

from Canada, and Les Munro. Munro was "not happy" as he had flown 59 ops and said: So Munro was released from the Royal Air Force on 5 February 1946, and retired from flying. He was known (sarcastically) as "Happy" or "Smiler" because he was famed for his dour demeanour. In a 2006 interview, Munro said of his war experiences that he "...would be the first to admit that I was pretty lucky. Most blokes who survived even a couple of operational tours would say that luck was on their side."

Later life

Following his career in the military, Munro returned to New Zealand where he worked as a property valuer for a time and then on farms in the

King Country The King Country (Māori: ''Te Rohe Pōtae'' or ''Rohe Pōtae o Maniapoto'') is a region of the western North Island of New Zealand. It extends approximately from the Kawhia Harbour and the town of Otorohanga in the north to the upper reaches of ...

before establishing his own farm near Te Kuiti. For some time he was involved in local politics as a councillor, and served as Mayor of

Waitomo District Waitomo District is a territorial authority, located in the Waikato region, at the north of the King Country area in the North Island of New Zealand. A small part of the district, the locality of Tiroa, however, lies in the Manawatū-Whanganui ...

Council from 1978 to 1995. On retirement, he moved to live in

Tauranga Tauranga () is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty region and the fifth most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of , or roughly 3% of the national population. It was settled by Māori late in the 13th century, colonised by ...

. In the 1991 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was made a

Companion of the Queen's Service Order The Queen's Service Order, established by royal warrant of Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, is used to recognise "valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to the Crown or similar services within the pu ...

for public services, and in the

1997 Queen's Birthday Honours The 1997 Birthday Honours were announced on 14 June 1997 for the United Kingdom and on 2 June 1997 for New Zealand.New Zealand list: Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in the United King ...

, he was appointed a

Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

, for services to local government and the community. Munro attended the 60th Anniversary commemoration of the Dambusters raid, along with the

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

and the Duke of Edinburgh in May 2003 at

RAF Lossiemouth Royal Air Force Lossiemouth or more commonly RAF Lossiemouth is a military airfield located on the western edge of the town of Lossiemouth in Moray, north-east Scotland. Lossiemouth is one of the largest and busiest fast-jet stations in the R ...

. He was also present, along with

Richard Todd Richard Andrew Palethorpe-Todd (11 June 19193 December 2009) was an Irish-British actor known for his leading man roles of the 1950s. He received a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer – Male, and an Academy Award for Best Actor n ...

, the actor who played Wing Commander

Guy Gibson Wing Commander Guy Penrose Gibson, (12 August 1918 – 19 September 1944) was a distinguished bomber pilot in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. He was the first Commanding Officer of No. 617 Squadron, which he led in the "Dam ...

in the 1955 '' The Dam Busters'' film, for the 65th anniversary commemoration held at

Derwent Reservoir (Derbyshire) Derwent Reservoir is the middle of three reservoirs in the Upper Derwent Valley in the north of Derbyshire, England. It lies approximately from Glossop and from Sheffield. The River Derwent flows first through Howden Reservoir, then Derwen ...

on 16 May 2008. As the last living pilot of the strike team, Munro joined the production crew in Masterton as technical adviser on a remake of the film. Munro's signature was appended to two sets of souvenir first day covers issued in Britain to commemorate the 65th anniversary of Operation Chastise. One, postmarked "Scampton, 17th May 2008", was signed by the six surviving crew members who flew on the raid, and the other, postmarked '’617 squadron, Scampton'’ was signed by Munro alone. In 2009, Munro took part in filming for the documentary '' Into the Wind'', directed by Steven Hatton. The film, a feature-length documentary about the veterans of Bomber Command, was released on 30 November 2011. He has a street named in Te Kuiti, Les Munro Place. In 2014, his portrait was painted by

Richard Stone Sir John Richard Nicholas Stone (30 August 1913 – 6 December 1991) was an eminent British economist, educated at Westminster School and Gonville and Caius College and King's College at the University of Cambridge. In 1984, he was awarded ...

, an artist famous for his paintings of royals, including Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

and

the Queen Mother ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

. In March 2015, Munro intended to sell his war medals and flight logbook at auction to raise funds for the upkeep of the

RAF Bomber Command Memorial The Royal Air Force Bomber Command Memorial is a memorial in The Green Park, London, commemorating the crews of RAF Bomber Command who embarked on missions during the Second World War. The memorial, on the south side of Piccadilly, facing Hyde ...

in London. The auction was withdrawn after

Lord Ashcroft Michael Anthony Ashcroft, Baron Ashcroft, (born 4 March 1946) is a British-Belizean businessman, pollster and politician. He is a former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party. Ashcroft founded Michael A. Ashcroft Associates in 1972 and is ...

donated £75,000 to the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund towards the upkeep, with a further

NZ$ The New Zealand dollar ( mi, tāra o Aotearoa; sign: $, NZ$; code: NZD) is the official currency and legal tender of New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue, the Ross Dependency, Tokelau, and a British territory, the Pitcairn Islands. Within New ...

19,500 donated by the

Museum of Transport and Technology The Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT) is a science and technology museum located in Western Springs, Auckland, New Zealand. It is located close to the Western Springs Stadium, Auckland Zoo and the Western Springs Park. The museum has l ...

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

, where the medals will go on display. On 14 April 2015, he was one of eight New Zealand servicemen who were awarded the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

by the French Ambassador to New Zealand. The Dambusters pilot withdrew his war medals from auction, and agreed to give them to a museum in exchange for philanthropist's donations. Les Munro accepted the offer of British philanthropist Lord Ashcroft to donate $150,000 to assist in the upkeep of the Bomber Command Memorial in London and gave the medals to Auckland's Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT). Andrew Howard Barnes also set up a fund and donated an initial $30,000 to help preserve the historical legacy of Bomber Command in New Zealand. The fund was opened to donation from all New Zealanders. Munro died on 4 August 2015 in hospital at

, New Zealand, at the age of 96, after being ill with heart problems.

References

External links

*
Video: Les Munro interviewed in May 2013 by the BBC as part of its coverage of the 70th Anniversary of the Dams Raid

Imperial War Museum Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Munro, Les 1919 births 2015 deaths New Zealand Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit Companions of the Queen's Service Order Mayors of places in Waikato New Zealand farmers New Zealand justices of the peace New Zealand recipients of the Légion d'honneur New Zealand World War II pilots People from Te Kuiti Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Royal New Zealand Air Force personnel New Zealand people of Scottish descent