Robert Leckie (RCAF officer)
| Robert Leckie | |
|---|---|
| Born |
16 April 1890 Glasgow, Scotland |
| Died |
31 March 1975 (aged 84) Ottawa, Canada |
| Allegiance |
United Kingdom Canada |
| Service/branch |
Royal Navy (1915–18) Royal Air Force (1918–42) Royal Canadian Air Force (1942–47) |
| Years of service | 1915–47 |
| Rank | Air Marshal |
| Commands held |
Chief of the Air Staff (1943–47) RAF Mediterranean (1938–40) RAF Hendon (1933–35) RAF Pembroke Dock (1931–33) No. 210 Squadron (1931–33) RAF Bircham Newton (1929–31) No. 1 Wing RCAF (1919) No. 228 Squadron (1918–19) |
| Battles/wars |
First World War Second World War |
| Awards |
Companion of the Order of the Bath Distinguished Service Order Distinguished Service Cross Distinguished Flying Cross Canadian Forces Decoration Grand Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (Poland) |
Air Marshal Robert Leckie, CB, DSO, DSC, DFC, CD (16 April 1890 – 31 March 1975) was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force and Chief of the Air Staff of the Royal Canadian Air Force from 1944 to 1947.
First World War service
Leckie learned to fly in Toronto and joined the Royal Naval Air Service in 1915.[1] During the First World War he flew anti-submarine patrols over the North Sea. Flying a Curtiss H12 flying boat on reconnaissance, Leckie downed the German zeppelin L22 near Terschelling on 14 May 1917.[1] Fifteen months later, during a nighttime raid on 6 August 1918, a German zeppelin formation under the command of Führer der Luftschiffe (FdL.) (Admiral, 2nd class) Peter Strasser attacked Boston, Norwich, and the Humber estuary. Flying in a DH.4 biplane, Major Egbert Cadbury (pilot) and Leckie (gunner) took part in the interception engagement and were credited with downing Zeppelin L70 just north of Wells-next-the-Sea on the Norfolk coast.[1] FdL. Strasser, head of the Imperial German Navy's zeppelin forces, was on board L70 and did not survive. By the end of the war, Leckie was a wing commander in the Royal Air Force (RAF).[1]
Interwar years and Second World War service
Between the wars, he directed flying operations for the Canadian Air Board, and oversaw the creation of mail and passenger air service throughout Canada. He later returned to the RAF, and by 1940 commanded the British air forces in the Mediterranean Sea from Malta.[1]
As the war expanded later that year, Leckie returned to Canada to take charge of training operations in Canada for the RAF. He was promoted to acting air vice marshal in 1941, and was later made substantive. In 1942 he transferred to the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). In 1944 he became Chief of Air Staff, and was promoted to Air Marshal.[1] After his retirement from the RCAF, Leckie played an active role in the Canadian Air Cadet movement.[1] He died in Ottawa on 31 March 1975.[1]
References
External links
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Paul Maltby |
Air Officer Commanding RAF Mediterranean 1938–1940 |
Succeeded by Forster Maynard |
| Preceded by Lloyd Breadner |
Chief of the Air Staff (RCAF) 1944–1947 |
Succeeded by Wilfred Curtis |