Private Papers of Group Captain Leonard Cheshire VC OM DSO** DFC

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All Rights Reserved except for Fair Dealing exceptions otherwise permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

Accepted Non-commercial Use

Permitted use for these purposes:

Personal use for non-commercial research and private study and other uses under the UK’s exceptions to copyright and those exceptions to copyright in place where the user is located.

Use on websites that are primarily information-led, research-oriented and not behind a paywall.

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Non-Commercial educational use for the purpose of teaching and instruction, including internal training.

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Use this image under fair dealing.

All Rights Reserved except for Fair Dealing exceptions otherwise permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

Accepted Non-commercial Use

Permitted use for these purposes:

Personal use for non-commercial research and private study and other uses under the UK’s exceptions to copyright and those exceptions to copyright in place where the user is located.

Use on websites that are primarily information-led, research-oriented and not behind a paywall.

Use on personal social media accounts, provided the individuals are not promoting themselves commercially.

Non-Commercial educational use for the purpose of teaching and instruction, including internal training.

Downloading audio-visual for non-commercial offline listening or viewing.

Free exhibitions held in venues, which do not charge an entry fee.

If you would like to use IWM collections materials in a way that is not covered above, require a commercial licence, high-resolution copies, or have manipulation requests, please contact the Media Sales & Licensing Team.
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If you are interested in the full range of licenses available for this material, please contact one of our collections sales and licensing teams.
Use this image under fair dealing.

All Rights Reserved except for Fair Dealing exceptions otherwise permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

Accepted Non-commercial Use

Permitted use for these purposes:

Personal use for non-commercial research and private study and other uses under the UK’s exceptions to copyright and those exceptions to copyright in place where the user is located.

Use on websites that are primarily information-led, research-oriented and not behind a paywall.

Use on personal social media accounts, provided the individuals are not promoting themselves commercially.

Non-Commercial educational use for the purpose of teaching and instruction, including internal training.

Downloading audio-visual for non-commercial offline listening or viewing.

Free exhibitions held in venues, which do not charge an entry fee.

If you would like to use IWM collections materials in a way that is not covered above, require a commercial licence, high-resolution copies, or have manipulation requests, please contact the Media Sales & Licensing Team.
Purchase & License

If you are interested in the full range of licenses available for this material, please contact one of our collections sales and licensing teams.
Use this image under fair dealing.

All Rights Reserved except for Fair Dealing exceptions otherwise permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

Accepted Non-commercial Use

Permitted use for these purposes:

Personal use for non-commercial research and private study and other uses under the UK’s exceptions to copyright and those exceptions to copyright in place where the user is located.

Use on websites that are primarily information-led, research-oriented and not behind a paywall.

Use on personal social media accounts, provided the individuals are not promoting themselves commercially.

Non-Commercial educational use for the purpose of teaching and instruction, including internal training.

Downloading audio-visual for non-commercial offline listening or viewing.

Free exhibitions held in venues, which do not charge an entry fee.

If you would like to use IWM collections materials in a way that is not covered above, require a commercial licence, high-resolution copies, or have manipulation requests, please contact the Media Sales & Licensing Team.
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2 flying log books covering his flying training with the Oxford University Air Squadron (October 1936 - June 1940), at No 9 Flying training School, RAF Hullavington, Wiltshire (October 1939 - April 1940), at No 10 Operational Training Unit RAF Abingdon, Oxfordshire (April - June 1940), his first tour of operations flying Whitley Bombers with No 102 Squadron RAF at RAF Driffield, RAF Leeming, RAF Linton-on-Ouse and RAF Topcliffe, Yorkshire (June 1940 - January 1941), then having volunteered for a second tour, flying the new Halifax four engined bombers with No 35 Squadron RAF, based at RAF Linton-on-Ouse (January 1941 - February 1942), a period which included flights with the Atlantic Ferry Pool (ATFERO) during a break from operations (May - July 1941), then after completing his second tour, a brief period as a flying instructor with No 1652 Heavy Conversion Unit based at RAF Marston Moor, taking part in the thousand bomber raid on Cologne in May (February - August 1942), a third tour, as Commanding Officer, with No. 76 Squadron RAF at RAF Linton-on-Ouse (August 1942 - April 1943), as station commander at RAF Marston Moor, Yorkshire (May - September 1943) before being placed in command of No. 617 Squadron and developing their role as a precision bombing unit using low flying Mosquitos to mark targets for their Lancaster bombers (October 1943 - July 1944), with South East Asia Command (ACSEA) (October - December 1944) and then in the USA at the British Joint Staff Mission in Washington DC, (January - August 1945) and as one of two British observers during the dropping of the second atomic bomb on Nagasaki (8 August 1945). The log books are accompanied by 4 volumes (February - May 1944) containing briefing details, crew lists, detailed operational reports, target maps and aerial photographs compiled by Cheshire immediately after No 617 Squadron's raids on the Gnome and Rhone aero-engine factory at Limoges and the viaduct at Antheor (February 1944), aircraft and aero-engine factories near Albert, the needle bearing works at St Etienne, an aero-engine works at Woippy, a tyre factory near Clermont Ferrand, the Poudrerie Nationale at Bergerac and at Angouleme and an aero-engine factory at Lyons (March 1944), an aircraft repair plant near Toulouse, the signals equipment depot at St Cyr and marshalling yards at Juvisy and at La Chapelle (April 1944), the cities of Brunswick and Munich (April 1944) and the military barracks at Mailly-le-Camp (May 1944).