Les Holden
Leslie Hubert Holden | |
---|---|
Byron Bay, New South Wales | |
Allegiance | Australia |
Service/ | Australian Imperial Force Australian Flying Corps |
Years of service | 1915–19 |
Rank | Captain |
Unit | Australian Light Horse (1915–16) No. 2 Squadron AFC (1917–18) No. 6 Squadron AFC (1918–19) |
Battles/wars | World War I |
Awards | Military Cross Air Force Cross |
Other work | Office manager; commercial pilot |
Leslie Hubert Holden, MC, AFC (6 March 1895 – 18 September 1932) was an Australian fighter ace of World War I and later a commercial aviator. A South Australian, he joined the Light Horse in May 1915, serving in Egypt and France. In December 1916, he volunteered for the Australian Flying Corps and qualified as a pilot. As a member of No. 2 Squadron on the Western Front, he gained the sobriquets "Lucky Les" and "the homing pigeon" after a series of incidents that saw him limping back to base in bullet-riddled aircraft. He was awarded the Military Cross, and went on to achieve five aerial victories flying Airco DH.5s and Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5s.
Promoted to captain, Holden finished the war as an instructor with No. 6 (Training) Squadron in England, where his work earned him the Air Force Cross. After leaving the Australian Flying Corps in 1919, he became a manager at the family firm of Holden's Motor Body Builders and joined the part-time Citizen Air Force, before setting up as a commercial pilot and establishing his own air service. In 1929, he located Charles Kingsford Smith and Charles Ulm in the north-west Australian desert after the pair was reported missing on a flight to England in the Southern Cross. Holden began transport operations in New Guinea in 1931. He was killed the following year in a passenger plane crash in Australia.
Family and early life
Leslie Hubert Holden was born on 6 March 1895 in
World War I
Holden enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 26 May 1915, and was posted to the 4th Light Horse Brigade as a private. He departed for Egypt aboard the transport A29 Suevic on 13 June.[3] Serving as a driver first in the Middle East and then on the Western Front, his mechanical ability and sense of adventure led him to volunteer for the Australian Flying Corps (AFC) in December 1916. After qualifying as a pilot in England, he was commissioned a lieutenant and posted to No. 2 Squadron.[1] Commanded by Major Oswald Watt, No. 2 Squadron's personnel included many former Lighthorsemen, as well as mechanics from the AFC's first combat formation, the Mesopotamian Half Flight. The force trained extensively in England commencing in January 1917, before deploying to the Western Front that September.[4][5] Holden was involved in the AFC's first day of combat in France; just after noon on 2 October, in the vicinity of Saint-Quentin, he and his wingman engaged a German two-seater that managed to escape.[6]
Because its
Lt. Leslie Hubert Holden, F.C.
For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. Whilst on a special mission he dropped a bomb direct on a support trench full of the enemy, causing them to scatter, and another bomb upon a strong point which was holding up our advance. He also bombed a large group of enemy infantry,
and turned his machine gun on them from a height of 100 feet. He rendered very valuable service throughout the operations.
Holden claimed his first aerial victory while No. 2 Squadron was still flying DH.5s, before it began converting to Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5s in December 1917.[12][13] On 18 February 1918, he shared in one of the unit's first two victories in the S.E.5, helping send an Albatros down in a spin.[14] He claimed another three aircraft shot down over the following month, giving him a total of five victories.[2][12] At least one of these took place during the German spring offensive, on 22 March, when all available Allied aircraft were thrown into battle to stem the German advance.[8][15]
Royal Air Force policy required pilots to be rotated to home establishment for rest and instructional duties after nine to twelve months in combat.[16] Promoted to captain in March 1918, Holden was posted to England in May as a flying instructor with No. 6 (Training) Squadron at Minchinhampton.[1][17] His unit was part of the 1st Training Wing, led by Lieutenant Colonel Watt, the former commanding officer of No. 2 Squadron.[18] Holden briefly took command of No. 6 Squadron from 25 July to 11 August.[19] He was awarded the Air Force Cross, promulgated on 3 June 1919, for his skill as an instructor.[1][20]
Post-war career and legacy
No. 6 Squadron was disbanded in March 1919.
Still hankering after a full-time career in flying, Holden enlisted the help of friends to purchase a de Havilland DH.61 Giant Moth in 1928. He named it Canberra, and used it to start a charter operation out of Mascot Aerodrome in Sydney.[1][2]
Holden became a national celebrity in April 1929. Australian aviation pioneers Charles Kingsford Smith and Charles Ulm set out on a Fokker F.VII trimotor monoplane named Southern Cross from Sydney for England. When radio contact was lost, a search was organised. In April 1929, Australian National Airways[28] or the Sydney Citizens' Relief Committee[1] engaged Holden to join the search. Simply getting to the north-western Australian wilderness was difficult. Before the flight from Sydney to Wyndham, an extra 70-gallon petrol tank and a radio were installed.[29] Even with the additional tank, Holden had to stop and find petrol and oil along the way.[30] On 4 or 5 April 1929, Holden, Aero Club ground engineer F. R. Mitchell, Dr. G. R. Hamilton and wireless operator L. S. W. Stannage set out aboard Canberra.[30] According to one newspaper article, Holden flew a total of 9000 miles (14,500 km) and was in the air for 100 hours,[31] before spotting the missing aircraft on a mud flat near the Gleneig River.[32] The crew of Southern Cross were rescued, though two other searchers, Keith Anderson and Bob Hitchcock, were lost after their aircraft, Kookaburra, crashed. The media of the day later turned on Smith and Ulm, accusing them of staging a publicity stunt, and the Sydney Citizens' Relief Committee withheld payment of Holden's expenses.[1][33]
Holden continued flying commercially, and is credited with making—in September 1931—possibly the first flight from Sydney to New Guinea, where he started an air freight service.[1] Returning to Sydney the following year, he established Holden's Air Transport.[1][2] He also acquired two more aircraft for his New Guinea operations, a Waco and a Moth, to supplement the Canberra.[1][34]
To think that Holden, who had never had a mishap when flying over these dangerous mountains, should be killed when on holiday in Australia, flying to a fishing expedition. It seemed sad to me that I should be taking hospitality in his house, a house like an eagle's eyrie, with a lookout all round such as a flying man would wish for—and his boy continuing to chant his epitaph, "He was a good masta."
Sarah Chinnery on staying at Holden's house in Salamaua, New Guinea, in February 1933.[35]
On 18 September 1932, Holden was travelling as a passenger aboard a
Notes
- ^ ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Newton, Australian Air Aces, pp. 38–39
- ^ "Leslie Hubert Holden". The AIF Project. University of New South Wales. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
- ^ a b Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 16–19
- ^ "2 Squadron AFC". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
- ^ Cutlack, The Australian Flying Corps, p. 178 Archived 10 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c Cutlack, The Australian Flying Corps, pp. 184–185, 191 Archived 21 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b MacDougall, Australians at War, pp. 148–149
- ^ "Recommendation: Military Cross" (PDF). Australian War Memorial. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
- ^ "No. 30507". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 February 1918. p. 1606.
- ^ "No. 30780". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 July 1918. p. 7936.
- ^ a b Franks, SE5/5a Aces of World War 1, pp. 42–43
- ^ Cutlack, The Australian Flying Corps, p. 197 Archived 21 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Wilson, The Brotherhood of Airmen, p. 26
- ^ Cutlack, The Australian Flying Corps, pp. 228–230, 235 Archived 8 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Molkentin, Fire in the Sky, p. 282
- ^ a b "6 (Training) Squadron AFC". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
- ^ Garrisson, Australian Fighter Aces, p. 12
- ^ a b "Captain Leslie Hubert Holden". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
- ^ "No. 31378". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 June 1919. pp. 7032–7033.
- ^ "Airmen return". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 20 June 1919. p. 9. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
- ^ Australian Military Forces (1914–20). "Holden, Arthur Hubert". p. 36. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
- ^ "The late Col. Watt: Tributes in church and cemetery". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 24 May 1921. p. 8. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
- ^ Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, pp. 226–226
- ^ Gillison, Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 712–713 Archived 23 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Coulthard-Clark, Third Brother, pp. 134–135
- ^ Roylance, Air Base Richmond, p. 123
- ^ "Air Liner Canberra On Way To Broken Hill To Join In The Search". The Barrier Miner. 5 April 1929.
- ^ "Air Liner's Search: Feverish Preparations". Daily News. 4 April 1929.
- ^ a b "Arrival At Broken Hill". The Advertiser. 6 April 1929.
- ^ "Wonderful Feeling. Capt. Holden Interviewed". The Advocate. 29 April 1929.
- ^ "Canberra Returns. How Holden Discovered Southern Cross". The Sydney Morning Herald. 29 April 1929.
- ^ Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, pp. 297–303
- ^ Idriess, Gold-Dust and Ashes, p. 169
- ^ Fortune, Malaguna Road, pp. 70, 77
- Defence Science and Technology Organisation. Archivedfrom the original on 10 June 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
- ^ a b "Memorial Windows: Shore Grammar School". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 29 December 1934. p. 6. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
- ^ "Air Crash Victims: Memorial Service". The Canberra Times. Canberra: National Library of Australia. 21 September 1932. p. 2. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
- ^ "The Late Mr. Hubert William Holden". The Sydney Mail. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 16 January 1935. p. 57. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
- ^ "Street names G to L". Randwick City Council. Archived from the original on 20 June 2014. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
References
- Coulthard-Clark, Chris (1991). The Third Brother: The Royal Australian Air Force 1921–39. North Sydney: ISBN 0-04-442307-1. Archived from the originalon 16 December 2013.
- Cutlack, F.M. (1941) [1923]. The Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918 (11th edition): Volume VIII – The Australian Flying Corps in the Western and Eastern Theatres of War, 1914–1918. Sydney: OCLC 220900299.
- Franks, Norman (2007). SE5/5a Aces of World War 1. Oxford: ISBN 978-1-84603-180-9.
- Garrisson, A.D. (1999). Australian Fighter Aces 1914–1953. Fairbairn, Australian Capital Territory: Air Power Studies Centre. ISBN 0-642-26540-2. Archived from the originalon 24 November 2016.
- Gillison, Douglas (1962). Australia in the War of 1939–1945: Series Three (Air) Volume I – Royal Australian Air Force 1939–1942. Canberra: OCLC 2000369.
- Fortune, Kate, ed. (1998). Malaguna Road: The Papua and New Guinea Diaries of Sarah Chinnery. Canberra: ISBN 0-642-10687-8.
- Idriess, Ion Llewellyn (1964). Gold-Dust and Ashes: The Romantic Story of the New Guinea Goldfields. Sydney: Angus & Robertson. OCLC 12336859.
- MacDougall, A.K. (2007) [1991]. Australians at War: A Pictorial History. Rowville, Victoria: Five Mile Press. ISBN 978-1-74178-957-7.
- Molkentin, Michael (2010). Fire in the Sky: The Australian Flying Corps in the First World War. Crows Nest, New South Wales: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 978-1-74237-072-9.
- Newton, Dennis (1996). Australian Air Aces. Fyshwyck, Australian Capital Territory: Aerospace Publications. ISBN 1-875671-25-0.
- Stephens, Alan (2006) [2001]. The Royal Australian Air Force: A History. London: ISBN 0-19-555541-4.
- Wilson, David (2005). The Brotherhood of Airmen. Crows Nest, New South Wales: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-74114-333-0.
Further reading
- Sinclair, James Patrick (1978). Wings of Gold: How the Aeroplane Developed New Guinea. Sydney: Pacific Publications. ISBN 978-0-85807-033-2.