Air Vice Marshal Sir Leonard Monk Isitt (27 July 1891 – 21 January 1976) was a New Zealand military aviator and senior air force commander. In 1943 he became the first New Zealander to serve as the Chief of the Air Staff of the Royal New Zealand Air Force, a post he held until 1946. At the close of World War II, Isitt was the New Zealand signatory to the

Japanese Instrument of Surrender The Japanese Instrument of Surrender was the written agreement that formalized the surrender of the Empire of Japan, marking the end of hostilities in World War II. It was signed by representatives from the Empire of Japan and from the Allied n ...

. After the war, following retirement from the Air Force, he worked as chairman of Tasman Empire Airways.

Early life

Leonard Monk Isitt was born on 27 July 1891 in Christchurch, New Zealand, the son of the Methodist minister, member of parliament and prohibitionist Leonard Monk Isitt and Agnes Martha Caverhill. Leonard Monk Isitt junior was educated at Mostyn House, Cheshire, England and

Christchurch Boys' High School , motto_translation = I Seek Higher Things , type = State school, Day and Boarding school , gender = Boys , song = The School We Magnify , colours = Blue and Black , established = , address = 71 Straven Ro ...

. He had one brother, Willard Whitmore Isitt (1894–1916), who was a Rifleman in the New Zealand Rifle Brigade in World War I and was killed in France on 31 October 1916.

World War I and air force service

Following the outbreak of

World War I 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 enlisted in April 1915 in the New Zealand Army and was assigned to the New Zealand Rifle Brigade. After service in Egypt he then moved to the Western Front where he was wounded in the head during the New Zealand Division's participation in the

Battle of Flers–Courcelette The Battle of Flers–Courcelette (, 15 to 22 September 1916) was fought during the Battle of the Somme in France, by the French Sixth Army and the British Fourth Army and Reserve Army, against the German 1st Army, during the First World War. ...

. The scalp wound resulted in him being sent to England to recover, where he was discharged from the NZEF in March 1917. On 10 May 1917 he was granted a probationary commission in the Royal Flying Corps as a second lieutenant, which was confirmed a month later. He was assigned as a pilot to a reconnaissance squadron with most of his duties involving artillery cooperation. During his period he shot down a single enemy aircraft, before being transferred back to England to serve as a flying instructor. After volunteering for frontline service he was assigned to 98 squadron in October 1917, flying the DH.9 on bombing missions. Based at Abscon airfield he flew his first mission on 9 October when 10 aircraft attacked Mons railway station. During the raid they were attacked by 15 Fokkers and Pfalzes. Two other major raids followed on 14 and 23 October. The later raid, was on the Hirson railway station, which saw two aircraft of the squadron shot down. In addition to these bombing flights he was also undertaking aerial reconnaissance. In 1918 he was transferred to 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) an ...

.Officers of the NZPAF
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Inter-war years

At the close of World War I, New Zealand had no military air organisation of any sort. On the request of the New Zealand government, the British

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...

sent Colonel (later Group Captain) A. V. Bettington to New Zealand to advise on the establishment of an air service. Bettington brought four aircraft with him and they were based at Sockburn airfield (later to become

RNZAF Station Wigram Wigram Aerodrome is located in the Christchurch suburb of Sockburn, later to be split-suburb of Wigram and now split again as Wigram Skies. It was gifted by Sir Henry Wigram for the Canterbury (NZ) Aviation Company on 20 September 1916 and o ...

). It was to this embryonic state of affairs that Isitt was to return. In 1919 Isitt, then a captain, was posted back to New Zealand where he was sent to Sockburn airfield to take care of the four aircraft and serve as commanding officer. Additionally Isitt served as the liaison officer to the Canterbury Aviation Company on behalf of the government. Between the wars, one of Isitt's responsibilities was pilot flight training and he served in the Air Ministry, the New Zealand Permanent Air Force (NZPAF) and the

RNZAF The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) ( mi, Te Tauaarangi o Aotearoa, "The Warriors of the Sky of New Zealand"; previously ', "War Party of the Blue") is the aerial service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed from New Zeal ...

. In 1937, the RNZAF was made independent of the New Zealand Army and at that time Isitt was promoted to

wing commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...

and appointed as the Air Member for Personnel. In the pre-World War II build up this was a key post and Isitt was soon promoted again to group captain.

World War II

Continuing as Air Member for Personnel at the start of World War II, in March 1940 Isitt went to Canada as he had been appointed as New Zealand's representative on the board of

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 ...

, a massive aviation training programme. In May 1942 Isitt was sent to London to establish the RNZAF's Overseas Headquarters, receiving a promotion to air commodore at the same time. Having accomplished his task, under a year later Isitt was back in New Zealand and in March 1943 Isitt became the New Zealand's Deputy Chief of Air Staff working under the then Chief of the Air Staff, Air Commodore

Victor Goddard Air Marshal Sir Robert Victor Goddard, (6 February 1897 – 21 January 1987) was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Goddard is perhaps best known for his interest in paranormal phenomena; he claimed to have ...

, a British officer on secondment. Around four months later on 19 July 1943 Isitt was appointed Chief of Air Staff of the Royal New Zealand Air Force in the rank of

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 ...

. He was the first New Zealander to hold his Service's senior appointment and the first to hold one of the air marshal ranks. In addition to securing a significant role for his Air Force in the South Pacific, Isitt represented New Zealand at conferences in London, Washington and Ottawa during

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 opposing ...

. He was the New Zealand signatory to the

on the USS Missouri marking the formal surrender of Japanese forces, so ending

Post war

Isitt retired in 1946 as Chief of the Air Staff and he became chairman of Tasman Empire Airways (

TEAL alt=American teal duck (male), Green-winged teal (male) Teal is a greenish-blue colour. Its name comes from that of a bird — the Eurasian teal (''Anas crecca'') — which presents a similarly coloured stripe on its head. The word is oft ...

) in 1947. He continued as TEAL chairman until 1963 when he was succeeded by Sir Andrew McKee. Following his retirement as chairman of NAC and TEAL he served as chairman of Standard–Triumph New Zealand, Motor Assemblies Limited and then Leyland Motors of New Zealand until his final retirement in 1966. Together with Ronald Bannerman and Keith Caldwell he was instrumental in establishing the New Zealand 1914–1918 Airmen's Association in 1960. He died at Lower Hutt on 21 January 1976.

Personal life

Isitt married Elsie Gladys Caverhill (1896–1970) at Wellington on 26 April 1920. They had two daughters.

Honours

In 1935, he was awarded the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal. He was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in the 1940 King's Birthday Honours, and a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1946 New Year Honours. His medals are held at the Air Force Museum of New Zealand.

Notes

References

External links

Biography in 1966 Encyclopaedia of NZ
accessed 14 June 2008 * ttp://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/3677 Sustained effort : the life of Sir Leonard IsittDoctoral Thesis, Devon Sutcliffe, 2011 , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Isitt, Leonard Monk 1891 births 1976 deaths New Zealand Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Royal Flying Corps officers Royal Air Force officers Royal New Zealand Air Force air marshals New Zealand military personnel of World War II New Zealand military personnel of World War I People educated at Christchurch Boys' High School Air marshals of World War II People from Christchurch Isitt–Caverhill family