Leslie Thomas Manser,
VC (11 May 1922 – 31 May 1942) was a British bomber pilot and a recipient of 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 ...
, which was awarded posthumously following an attack on the German city of
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
.
Early life
Leslie Thomas Manser was born in
New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
, India, during his father's employment as an engineer with the Post and Telegraph Department and, when the family returned to Britain, they settled in
Radlett
Radlett is a village in Hertfordshire, England, between Elstree and St Albans on Watling Street, with a population of 8,042. It is in the council district of Hertsmere in the south of the county, and is covered by two wards; Aldenham East and ...
,
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...
. He was a pupil of Victoria Boys' School, Kurseong,
Darjeeling
Darjeeling (, , ) is a town and municipality in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nepal, ...
and
Aldenham School,
Elstree
Elstree is a large village in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire, England. It is about northwest of central London on the former A5 road, that follows the course of Watling Street. In 2011, its population was 5,110. It forms part of the ...
, Hertfordshire.
Royal Air Force
Manser was accepted by 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 ...
(RAF) in August 1940, and was commissioned as a
pilot officer
Pilot officer (Plt Off officially in the RAF; in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly P/O in all services, and still often used in the RAF) is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countri ...
in May 1941. After a navigational course and final operational training at
No. 14 Operational Training Unit,
RAF Cottesmore, he was posted to
No. 50 Squadron operating the
Handley Page Hampden at
RAF Swinderby,
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a 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-west, Leicestershire ...
, on 27 August.
Two days after joining his squadron, Manser experienced his first operation: as a second pilot, he took part in a bombing raid on
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
. During the next two months he flew six more sorties against targets including
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
,
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
and
Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...
, before being posted to No. 25 Operational Training Unit, Finningley on 7 November and a month later posted back to
No. 14 Operational Training Unit as an instructor.
Manser served briefly with
No. 420 Squadron RCAF (Hampdens) from March to April 1942 when he rejoined No. 50 Squadron then operating from
RAF Skellingthorpe, and converted to the new
Avro Manchester
The Avro 679 Manchester was a British twin-engine heavy bomber developed and manufactured by the Avro aircraft company in the United Kingdom. While not being built in great numbers, it was the forerunner of the famed and vastly more successful ...
medium bomber. He piloted one of the new aircraft during a leaflet drop over Paris, and flew a further five sorties during April and May. Manser was promoted to
flying officer on 6 May.
Participating in
Operation Millenium, a bombing raid on
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
on the night of 30 May 1942, Manser was captain and first pilot of
Avro Manchester
The Avro 679 Manchester was a British twin-engine heavy bomber developed and manufactured by the Avro aircraft company in the United Kingdom. While not being built in great numbers, it was the forerunner of the famed and vastly more successful ...
bomber 'D' for Dog. As he came over the target, his aircraft was caught in searchlights and although he bombed the target successfully from it was hit by flak. In an effort to escape the anti-aircraft fire he took violent evasive action, this reduced his altitude to only but he did not escape the flak until he was clear of the city. By this time the rear gunner was wounded, the front cabin full of smoke and the port engine overheating. Rather than abandon the aircraft and be captured, Manser tried to get the aircraft and crew to safety. The port engine then burst into flames, burning the wing and reducing airspeed to a dangerously low level. The crew made preparations to abandon the aircraft, by then barely controllable and with a crash inevitable. The aircraft was by now over Belgium, and Manser ordered the crew to bail out but refused the offer of a parachute for himself. He remained at the controls and sacrificed himself in order to save his crew. As the crew parachuted down they saw the bomber crash in flames into a dyke at
Bree, Belgium
Bree (; french: Brée, ) is a City status in Belgium, city in the Flanders, Flemish province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg, Belgium. In December 2021, Bree had a total population of 16,097. The total area is which gives it a population density of ...
, north east of
Genk.
Pilot Officer Barnes was taken prisoner, but Sergeant Baveystock, Pilot Officer Horsley, Sergeant King, Sergeant Mills and Sergeant Naylor all evaded capture and made their way back to the United Kingdom. The testimonies of the five evaders were instrumental in the posthumous award of 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 ...
for Manser. The citation for the award read:
Manser is buried at the
Heverlee War Cemetery in
Leuven
Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic ...
, Belgium.
Manser was the brother-in-law of British Army captain
John Neil Randle, who was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross in 1944.
Legacy
On part of the old RAF Skellingthorpe airfield from which Manser flew his last sortie, a new primary school was built. It was opened in 1981 and named the Leslie Manser Primary School.
City of Lincoln Council – Lincolnonline
On 31 June 2004 a Memorial to Manser was unveiled in natural domain the "Zig", Stamprooierbroek near Molenbeersel, Kinrooi
Kinrooi (; li, Kinder) is a municipality in the Belgian province of Limburg, between Maaseik and Bree. On January 1, 2006, Kinrooi had a total population of 11,978. The total area is 54.76 km², which gives a population density of 219 inhab ...
in the north-east of Belgium.
Manser's Victoria Cross is on display in the Lord Ashcroft Gallery at the Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...
, London.
References
External links
CWGC entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manser, Leslie Thomas
1922 births
1942 deaths
British World War II recipients of the Victoria Cross
Royal Air Force recipients of the Victoria Cross
Royal Air Force officers
Royal Air Force pilots of World War II
British World War II bomber pilots
Aviators killed by being shot down
Royal Air Force personnel killed in World War II
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II
People from New Delhi
People educated at Aldenham School
People from Radlett
Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in Belgium
Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1942
Burials at Heverlee Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery
British people in colonial India
Military personnel of British India