Post by Diarist on May 8, 2018 16:06:48 GMT 1
Early life
Trafford Leigh-Mallory was born in Mobberley, Cheshire, the son of Herbert Leigh Mallory, (1856–1943), Rector of Mobberly, who legally changed his surname to Leigh-Mallory in 1914. He is the younger brother of George Mallory, the noted mountaineer. He was educated at Haileybury and at Magdalene College, Cambridge where he was a member of a literary club and where he made the acquaintance of Arthur Tedder, the future marshal of the Royal Air Force. He passed his Bachelor of Laws degree and had applied to the Inner Temple in London to become a barrister when, in 1914, war broke out.
Trafford married Doris Sawyer in 1915; the couple have two children.
The Great War
Leigh-Mallory immediately volunteered to join a Territorial Force battalion of the King's (Liverpool Regiment) as a private. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant on 3 October 1914 and transferred to the Lancashire Fusiliers though officer training kept him in England when his battalion embarked. In the spring of 1915, he went to the front with the South Lancashire Regiment and was wounded during an attack at the Second Battle of Ypres. He was promoted to lieutenant on 21 June 1915.
After recovering from his wounds, Leigh-Mallory joined the Royal Flying Corps in January 1916 and was accepted for pilot training. On 7 July 1916, he was posted, as a lieutenant in the RFC, to No. 7 Squadron, where he flew on bombing, reconnaissance and photographic operations during the Battle of the Somme.
He was then transferred to No. 5 Squadron in July 1916 before returning to England. He was promoted to temporary captain on 2 November 1916.
Leigh-Mallory's first combat command was No. 8 Squadron in November 1917. In the period after the Battle of Cambrai, No. 8 Squadron was involved in army cooperation, directing tanks and artillery. At the Armistice, Leigh-Mallory was mentioned in despatches and awarded the Distinguished Service Order.
Post-war years
After the war, Leigh-Mallory thought of re-entering the legal profession, but with little prospect of a law career, he stayed in the recently created Royal Air Force (RAF), with promotion to major on 1 August 1919 (the rank was renamed "squadron leader" on the same date), and command of the Armistice Squadron.
Promoted to wing commander on 1 January 1925, Leigh-Mallory passed through the RAF Staff College in 1925 and received command of the School of Army Cooperation in 1927 before eventually being posted to the Army Staff College, Camberley in 1930. He was now a leading authority on army cooperation and in 1930, lectured at the Royal United Services Institute on air cooperation with mechanised forces.
Promoted to group captain on 1 January 1932, Leigh-Mallory received a posting to the Air Ministry in 1932 and was then assigned to the British delegation at the Disarmament Conference in Geneva under the auspices of the League of Nations, where he made many contacts. After the collapse of the conference, he returned to the Air Ministry and attended the Imperial Defence College, the most senior of the staff colleges. However, lack of senior command experience meant a spell as commander of No. 2 Flying School and station commander at RAF Digby before serving as a staff officer overseas. On 1 February 1936 Leigh-Mallory was appointed commander TRADOC HQ.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trafford_Leigh-Mallory
Trafford Leigh-Mallory was born in Mobberley, Cheshire, the son of Herbert Leigh Mallory, (1856–1943), Rector of Mobberly, who legally changed his surname to Leigh-Mallory in 1914. He is the younger brother of George Mallory, the noted mountaineer. He was educated at Haileybury and at Magdalene College, Cambridge where he was a member of a literary club and where he made the acquaintance of Arthur Tedder, the future marshal of the Royal Air Force. He passed his Bachelor of Laws degree and had applied to the Inner Temple in London to become a barrister when, in 1914, war broke out.
Trafford married Doris Sawyer in 1915; the couple have two children.
The Great War
Leigh-Mallory immediately volunteered to join a Territorial Force battalion of the King's (Liverpool Regiment) as a private. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant on 3 October 1914 and transferred to the Lancashire Fusiliers though officer training kept him in England when his battalion embarked. In the spring of 1915, he went to the front with the South Lancashire Regiment and was wounded during an attack at the Second Battle of Ypres. He was promoted to lieutenant on 21 June 1915.
After recovering from his wounds, Leigh-Mallory joined the Royal Flying Corps in January 1916 and was accepted for pilot training. On 7 July 1916, he was posted, as a lieutenant in the RFC, to No. 7 Squadron, where he flew on bombing, reconnaissance and photographic operations during the Battle of the Somme.
He was then transferred to No. 5 Squadron in July 1916 before returning to England. He was promoted to temporary captain on 2 November 1916.
Leigh-Mallory's first combat command was No. 8 Squadron in November 1917. In the period after the Battle of Cambrai, No. 8 Squadron was involved in army cooperation, directing tanks and artillery. At the Armistice, Leigh-Mallory was mentioned in despatches and awarded the Distinguished Service Order.
Post-war years
After the war, Leigh-Mallory thought of re-entering the legal profession, but with little prospect of a law career, he stayed in the recently created Royal Air Force (RAF), with promotion to major on 1 August 1919 (the rank was renamed "squadron leader" on the same date), and command of the Armistice Squadron.
Promoted to wing commander on 1 January 1925, Leigh-Mallory passed through the RAF Staff College in 1925 and received command of the School of Army Cooperation in 1927 before eventually being posted to the Army Staff College, Camberley in 1930. He was now a leading authority on army cooperation and in 1930, lectured at the Royal United Services Institute on air cooperation with mechanised forces.
Promoted to group captain on 1 January 1932, Leigh-Mallory received a posting to the Air Ministry in 1932 and was then assigned to the British delegation at the Disarmament Conference in Geneva under the auspices of the League of Nations, where he made many contacts. After the collapse of the conference, he returned to the Air Ministry and attended the Imperial Defence College, the most senior of the staff colleges. However, lack of senior command experience meant a spell as commander of No. 2 Flying School and station commander at RAF Digby before serving as a staff officer overseas. On 1 February 1936 Leigh-Mallory was appointed commander TRADOC HQ.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trafford_Leigh-Mallory