Benutzer:Shi Annan/Leonard Cheshire

2014-11-21T14:06:11Z

122.49.200.111: /* Later operations */

{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox military person
|name=The Baron Cheshire
|birth_date={{Birth date|df=yes|1917|09|07}}
|death_date={{death date and age|df=yes|1992|07|31|1917|09|07}}
|birth_place= [[Chester]], [[Cheshire]], England
|death_place= [[Cavendish, Suffolk]], England
|placeofburial=Cavendish Churchyard
|image= Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1942-1945. CH9136.jpg
|caption= Group Captain Leonard Cheshire c. 1943
|nickname=
|allegiance={{UK}}
|serviceyears=1940–1946
|rank=[[Group Captain]]
|branch={{air force|United Kingdom}}
|commands= [[No. 76 Squadron RAF]] [[RAF Marston Moor]] [[No. 617 Squadron RAF]]
|unit=[[No. 102 Squadron RAF]] [[No. 35 Squadron RAF]]
|battles= [[World War II]]
|awards= [[Victoria Cross]] [[Member of the Order of Merit]] [[Distinguished Service Order]] & [[Medal bar|Two Bars]] [[Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)|Distinguished Flying Cross]] [[Mentioned in Dispatches]]
|laterwork=Humanitarian
|relations=[[Geoffrey Chevalier Cheshire]] (father) [[Constance Binney]] [[Sue Ryder]]
}}
[[Group Captain]] '''Geoffrey Leonard Cheshire, Baron Cheshire''' [[Victoria Cross|VC]], [[Member of the Order of Merit|OM]], [[Distinguished Service Order|DSO]] & [[Medal bar|Two Bars]], [[Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)|DFC]] (7 September 1917 – 31 July 1992) was a highly decorated British [[Royal Air Force|RAF]] pilot during the [[Second World War]].

Among the honours Cheshire received as a pilot is the [[Victoria Cross]], the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] forces.

He was the youngest [[Group Captain]] in the RAF and one of the most highly decorated pilots of the War but after serving as the British observer on the [[Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki#Nagasaki|Nagasaki nuclear attack]] he resigned from the Air Force. He founded a hospice which grew into the charity [[Leonard Cheshire Disability]] and he became known for his work in conflict resolution; he was created Baron Cheshire in 1991 in recognition of his charitable work.<ref name="Gazette-Peerage">{{cite journal | url=http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/52563/supplements/1 | title=Geoffrey Leonard Cheshire | journal=[[London Gazette]] | year=1991 | issue=14 June}}</ref>

==Early life==
[[File:Birthplace of Leonard Cheshire VC - geograph.org.uk - 675071.jpg|thumb|left|Cheshire's home in Chester, where a blue plaque marks the house in which he lived.]]
Leonard Cheshire was the son of [[Geoffrey Chevalier Cheshire]], [[Doctor of Civil Law|DCL]], LLD, [[Fellow of the British Academy|FBA]], a barrister, academic and influential writer on English law. He had one brother, Christopher Cheshire, also a wartime pilot. Cheshire was born in [[Chester]], but was brought up at his parents' home near [[Oxford]]. Cheshire was educated at the [[Dragon School]], Oxford, [[Stowe School]] and [[Merton College, Oxford]]. Whilst at Oxford he became friends with [[John Niel Randle]]. On one occasion at Oxford he was bet half a [[pint]] of beer that he could not walk to Paris with no more than a few pennies in his pocket, he won his bet.<ref name="Iveson and Milton p. 30">Iveson and Milton 2009, p. 30.</ref> He went to stay in Germany in 1936 with a family in [[Potsdam]] and whilst there, witnessed an [[Adolf Hitler]] rally. Cheshire caused great offence by pointedly refusing to give the Nazi salute.<ref name="Iveson and Milton p. 30"/> Cheshire graduated in [[jurisprudence]] in 1939.

==Military career==
After learning basic piloting skills with the [[Oxford University Air Squadron]], after the outbreak of the Second World War, Cheshire joined the RAF as a Pilot Officer. He was initially posted in June 1940 to [[No. 102 Squadron RAF|102 Squadron]], flying [[Armstrong Whitworth Whitley]] medium bombers, from [[RAF Driffield]]. In November 1940, Cheshire was awarded the [[Distinguished Service Order]] (DSO) for flying his badly damaged bomber back to base.

In January 1941, Cheshire completed his tour of operations, but then volunteered immediately for a second tour. He was posted to [[No. 35 Squadron RAF|No. 35 Squadron]] with the brand new [[Handley Page Halifax]] and completed his second tour early in 1942, by then, a [[squadron leader]]. August 1942 saw a return to operations as CO of [[No. 76 Squadron RAF]]. The squadron had recently suffered high losses operating the Halifax, and Cheshire immediately tackled the low morale of the unit by ordering an improvement in the performance of the squadron aircraft by removing the mid-upper and nose [[gun turret]]s along with exhaust covers and other weighty non-essential equipment. This allowed the bombers to fly higher and faster. Losses soon fell and morale rose accordingly. Cheshire was amongst the first to note there was very low return rate of Halifax bombers on three engines; furthermore, there were reports the Halifax was unstable in a "corkscrew" which was the manoeuvre used by bomber pilots to escape night fighters. The test pilot Captain [[Eric Brown (pilot)|Eric Brown]], flying uncrewed except for an accompanying flight engineer, undertook risky tests to establish the cause and were told a representative of Bomber Command would fly with them.<ref>Iveson and Milton 2009, p. 219.</ref> Brown remembers "We couldn't believe it, it was Cheshire! We were astonished to say the least. I asked him not to touch (the controls) and to his ever lasting credit he never commented at all, he just sat in the second pilot's seat and raised his eye brows at what we were doing!" The fault was in the Halifax's rudder design and Cheshire became enraged when Handley Page at first declined to make modifications so as not to disrupt production.<ref>Hastings 2010, p. 275.</ref>

During his time as the Commanding Officer of No. 76 Squadron at RAF Linton, Cheshire took the trouble to recognise and learn the name of every single man on the base. He was determined to increase the efficiency of his squadron and improve the chances of survival of its crews, to this end he constantly lectured crews on the skills needed to achieve those aims. The crews knew he was devoted to their interests and when, on an operation to [[Nuremberg]], they were told to cross the French Coast at 2,000 ft (the most dangerous height for light flak) Cheshire simply refused, stating they would fly at 200 ft or 20,000 ft. Typically, Cheshire inspired such loyalty and respect that the ground crews of 76 Squadron were proud to chorus "We are Cheshire cats!".<ref>Hastings 2010, pp. 273–275.</ref>

In 1943, Cheshire published an account of his first tour of operations in his book, ''Bomber Pilot'' which tells of his posting to [[RAF Driffield]] and the story of flying his badly damaged bomber ("N for Nuts") back to base. In the book, Cheshire fails to mention being awarded the DSO for this, but does describe the bravery of a badly burnt member of his crew.

===No. 617 Squadron===
Cheshire became Station Commander [[RAF Marston Moor]] in March 1943, as the youngest [[group captain]] in the RAF, although the job was never to his liking, and he pushed for a return to an operational command. These efforts paid off with a posting as commander of the legendary [[No. 617 Squadron RAF|617 "Dambusters"]] Squadron in September 1943. While with 617, Cheshire helped pioneer a new method of marking enemy targets for Bomber Command's 5 Group, flying in at a very low level in the face of strong defences, using first, the versatile [[de Havilland Mosquito]], then a [[North American P-51 Mustang|North American Mustang]] fighter.

On the morning before a planned raid by 617 squadron to Siracourt, a crated Mustang turned up at [[Woodhall Spa]], it was a gift for Cheshire from his admirers in the US [[Eighth Air Force|8th Air Force]]. Cheshire had the aircraft assembled and the engine tested as he was determined to test the possibilities of the fighter as a marker aircraft. He took off, in what was his first flight in the aircraft, and caught up with 617's Lancasters before they reached the target. Cheshire then proceeded to accurately mark the target (a V-1 storage depot) for the heavies which landed three Tallboys on it. He then flew back and landed the Mustang in the dark.<ref>Otter 1996, p. 298.</ref>

This development work in target marking was the subject of some severe intraservice politics; Cheshire was encouraged by his 5 Group Commander [[Air Vice-Marshal]] [[Ralph Cochrane]], although the 8 Group Pathfinder [[Air Officer Commanding|AOC]] Air Vice-Marshal [[Don Bennett]] saw this work as impinging on the responsibilities of his own command.

===Victoria Cross===
Cheshire was nearing the end of his fourth tour of duty in July 1944, having completed a total of 102 missions, when he was awarded the [[Victoria Cross]]. His citation remarked on the entirety of his operation career, noting:

{{Quote|In four years of fighting against the bitterest opposition he maintained a standard of outstanding personal achievement, his successful operations being the result of careful planning, brilliant execution and supreme contempt for danger – for example, on one occasion he flew his Mustang in slow 'figures of eight' above a target obscured by low cloud, to act as a bomb-aiming mark for his squadron. Cheshire displayed the courage and determination of an exceptional leader.<ref name="Citation">{{London Gazette |issue=36693 |date=5 September 1944 |startpage=4175 |supp=y|url=http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/36693/supplements/4175/page.pdf }}</ref>}}

It also gave special mention to a raid against Munich on 24/25 April 1944, in which he had marked a target while flying a Mosquito at low level against "withering fire".

When Cheshire went to [[Buckingham Palace]] to receive his VC from King [[George VI]], he was accompanied by [[Norman Jackson]] who was also due to receive his award on that day. Cheshire insisted that despite the difference in rank (Group Captain and Warrant Officer), they should approach the King together. Jackson remembers that Cheshire said to the King, "This chap stuck his neck out more than I did – he should get his VC first!" The King had to keep to protocol, but Jackson commented he would "never forget what Cheshire said."<ref>Iveson and Milton 2009, p. 230.</ref>

===Later operations===
[[File:Dropping of the Atomic Bomb on Japan, August 1945 CH13626.jpg|thumbnail|right|A portrait of Chesire in 1945]]
One of Cheshire's missions was to use new 5,400 kilograms (12,000 lb) "[[Tallboy bomb|Tallboy]]" deep-penetration bombs to destroy [[V-3 cannon|V3 long-range cannons]] located in underground bunkers near [[Fortress of Mimoyecques|Mimoyecques]] in the Pas-de-Calais region of northern France. These were powerful guns able to fire a 500 lb shell into London every minute. They were protected by a concrete layer. The raid was planned so the bombs hit the ground next to the concrete to destroy the guns from underneath. Although considered successful at the time, later evaluations confirmed that the raids were largely ineffectual.<ref>Braddon 1954, p. 129.</ref>

Cheshire was, in his day, both the youngest group captain in the service and, following his VC, the most decorated.<ref>Lawrence, Alenka. "Introduction" to Cheshire 1991, pp. 10–11.</ref> In his book, ''Bomber Command'' (2010), Sir Max Hastings states "Cheshire was a legend in Bomber Command, a remarkable man with an almost mystical air about him, as if he somehow inhabited a different planet from those about him, but without affectation or pretension". Cheshire would always fly on the most dangerous operations, he never took the easy option of just flying on the less risky ops to France, a habit which caused some COs to be referred to derisively as "François" by their men. Cheshire had no crew but would fly as "Second Dickey", with the new and nervous to give them confidence.

Cheshire had strong feelings on any crew displaying LMF (Lack of Moral Fibre, a [[euphemism]] for cowardice) when subject to the combat stress of Bomber Command's sorties (many of which had loss rates of 50% or more). Even as a brilliant and sympathetic leader, he wrote "I was ruthless with LMF, I had to be. We were airmen not [[psychiatrists]]. Of course we had concern for any individual whose internal tensions meant that he could no longer go on but there was a worry that one really frightened man could affect others around him. There was no time to be as compassionate as I would like to have been." Thus Cheshire transferred LMF cases out of his squadron almost instantaneously (like every other RAF squadron did at the time).<ref>Iveson and Milton 2009, p. 143.</ref> This was also because he argued that a man who thought he was doomed would collapse or bail out when his aircraft was hit, whereas Cheshire thought if he could survive the initial shock of finding his aircraft damaged, he had more of a chance of survival.<ref>Hastings 2010, p. 280.</ref>

On his 103rd mission, Cheshire was the official British observer of the [[Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki|nuclear bombing]] of [[Nagasaki, Nagasaki|Nagasaki]].<ref name="nyt1992">"Lord Cheshire, World War II Hero Who Founded Homes for Sick, 74," ''The New York Times.'' 2 August 1992.</ref> His vantage point was in the support B-29 ''[[Big Stink (B-29)|Big Stink]]''. He did not witness the event as close up as anticipated due to aircraft commander James Hopkins' failure to link up with the other B-29s. Hopkins was meant to join with the others over Yakushima, but he circled at 39,000 ft instead of the agreed height of 30,000 ft. He tried to justify this by the need to keep the VIP passengers out of danger, but Cheshire thought that Hopkins was "overwrought".

"Many assumed that it was Nagasaki which emptied him; as Cheshire kept pointing out, however, it was the war as a whole. Like Britain herself, he had been fighting or training for fighting since 1939."<ref>Morris 2000, p. 225.</ref> He was earlier quoted as saying: "... then I for one hold little brief for the future of civilization".<ref>BBC scrapbook ''1945'', Fontana, 463 016 FDL</ref>

==Postwar==
Cheshire had been brought up a Christian in the [[Church of England]], but had lapsed. In 1945, in the Vanity Fair club in Mayfair, he joined a conversation about religion. "It was absurd," he said, "to imagine that God existed, except as a convenient figure of speech. Man had invented God to explain the voice of conscience, but it was doubtful whether right or wrong existed outside the human mind. They were words affixed like labels to customs and laws which man had also invented to keep social order." To Cheshire's surprise, as he sat back, "pleased with his worldly wisdom," he was roundly rebuked for "talking such rot" by a woman friend who "was one of the last persons on earth he would have credited with" religious convictions.<ref>Boyle, Andrew. ''No Passing Glory''. London: [[The Reprint Society]], 1957, pp. 274–275.</ref> After the war, Joan Botting (widow of Dam Busters pilot Norman Botting) lived with Cheshire at the "VIP (for ''Vade in Pacem'' – Go in Peace) Colony" he established for veterans and war widows at Gumley Hall, Leicestershire – one of several new ventures he started after leaving the RAF in 1946. Joan followed him to Le Court, near [[Petersfield]], Hampshire (a mansion which Cheshire had bought from his aunt) where, with three children of her own, Joan took charge of the nursery (Joan is not mentioned by name in "The Face of Victory") .<ref>Leonard Cheshire, ''The Face of Victory'' (London: Hutchinson, 1961), p. 69</ref> Cheshire and Joan Botting subsequently investigated many religions, from [[Seventh-day Adventist Church|Seventh-day Adventist]] to [[Methodism|Methodist]] to "High Anglo-Catholic" – but none of them provided the answers they were looking for.<ref>''The Face of Victory'' pp. 47, 55–57, 69, 102–107</ref>

Cheshire's aim in establishing the VIP Colony was to provide an opportunity for ex-servicemen and women and their families to live together, each contributing to the community what they could, to help their transition back into civilian life. He hoped that training, prosperity and fulfilment would result from united effort and mutual support. He saw the community as one way of continuing to work towards world peace. The community, however, did not prosper and the project came to an end in 1947.<ref>Cheshire 1981, p. 16.</ref>

At the beginning of 1948, Cheshire heard about the case of Arthur Dykes, who had been one of Cheshire's original "VIP" community at Le Court, and was suffering from cancer. Dykes asked Cheshire to give him some land to park a caravan until he recovered, but Cheshire discovered that Dykes was terminally ill and that this diagnosis was concealed from him. He told Dykes the real position and invited him to stay at Le Court. Cheshire learned nursing skills and was soon approached to take in a second patient, the 94-year-old bedridden wife of a man who had just been taken off to hospital after suffering a stroke. She was followed by others, some coming to stay and others to help. Although Le Court had no financial support, and his situation was financially perilous most of the time, money somehow always seemed to arrive in the nick of time to stave off disaster. Dykes died in August 1948. After completing the arrangements for his funeral, Cheshire idly picked up a book a friend had sent him. It was ''One Lord, One Faith'' by Vernon Johnson, a former [[High church|High Anglican]] clergyman who, against every cherished instinct and prejudice, had converted to Roman Catholicism because, as he put it, "I could not resist the claim of the Catholic Church to be the one true Church founded by Our Lord Jesus Christ to guard and teach the truth ... She alone possesses the authority and unity necessary for such a Divine vocation."<ref>Quoted in Cheshire 1961, p. 136.</ref> In the meantime, Joan Botting had converted to [[Jehovah's Witnesses]].<ref>[[Gary Botting]], "Preface", Gary and [[Heather Botting]], ''The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses'' (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1984), pp. ix–xii</ref>

On Christmas Eve, 1948, Cheshire was received into the Catholic Church.

==Charitable life==
{{main|Leonard Cheshire Disability}}

In 1948, Cheshire founded the charity now styled [[Leonard Cheshire Disability]], which provides support to disabled people throughout the world. It is now one of the top 30 British charities.<ref>[http://www.charitiesdirect.com/CharitiesSearchTop500.asp?sortby=E "Charities Direct."] ''charitiesdirect.com''. Retrieved: 3 April 2010.</ref> At the beginning of 1949, eight patients were staying at Le Court.<ref>Cheshire 1961, p. 152.</ref> Six months later, there were 28.<ref>Cheshire 1961, p. 158.</ref> Cheshire dedicated the rest of his life to supporting disabled people, combining this with lecturing on conflict resolution.<ref>Richard Morris, ''Cheshire: The Biography of Leonard Cheshire, VC, OM'' (London: Viking, 2000), pp. 408–432</ref>

Other organisations set up by Leonard Cheshire are:
*The Ryder-Cheshire Foundation,<ref>[http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/registeredcharities/showcharity.asp?remchar=&chyno=285746 Charity Commission for England and Wales: Charity Number 285746]</ref> set up by Leonard Cheshire and his wife [[Sue Ryder]] at the time of their marriage in 1959. It now mainly operates in two fields: the rehabilitation of disabled people, through ENRYCH <ref>[http://www.enrych.org.uk "Registered Charity No. 1088623."] ''ENRYCH''.</ref> and the prevention and treatment of [[tuberculosis]], through Target Tuberculosis.<ref>[http://www.targettb.org.uk/ "Registered Charity No. 1098752."] ''Target Tuberculosis''. Retrieved: 3 April 2010.</ref>

In 1953, Cheshire founded the '''Raphael Pilgrimage''' to enable sick and disabled people to travel to [[Lourdes]].<ref>[http://www.raphael.org.uk/ "Raphael: Registered Charity No. 1098328."] ''Pilgrimage Charity''. Retrieved: 3 April 2010.</ref>

The '''Leonard Cheshire Disability & Inclusive Development Centre''' is a joint project by Leonard Cheshire Disability and [[University College London]] (originally set up in 1997 as the Leonard Cheshire Centre of Conflict Recovery).<ref>[http://www.ucl.ac.uk/lc-ccr/ "Development Centre website."] ''ucl.ac.uk''. Retrieved: 3 April 2010.</ref>

Cheshire founded the Memorial Fund for Disaster Relief, a UK charity in whose benefit the [[Roger Waters]] concert ''[[The Wall - Live in Berlin]]'' was held. Cheshire opened this concert by blowing a Second World War whistle.

Cheshire was also concerned about future remembrance and was influential in the concept of the [[National Memorial Arboretum]], founded by David Childs. The amphitheatre at the Arboretum is dedicated to the memory of Leonard Cheshire.

==Return to Nagasaki==
In 1985, Cheshire featured in a documentary titled ''Nagasaki – Return Journey''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2b6e912f7a |title=Nagasaki – Return Journey }}</ref><ref>http://archive.spectator.co.uk/article/3rd-august-1985/31/television</ref>

==Private life==
On 15 July 1941, Cheshire married the American actress [[Constance Binney]] (21 years his senior), but the marriage was short-lived and childless, their divorce being ratified in January 1951.<ref name=odnb>{{cite book|title=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Volume 11|year=2004|publisher=Oxford University Press|page=321|isbn=0-19-861361-X}}Article by Christopher Foxley-Norris.</ref>

On 5 April 1959, in [[Bombay]]'s Roman Catholic Cathedral, he married [[Sue Ryder]], also a Roman Catholic convert and humanitarian. He and Baroness Ryder were one of the few couples to both hold titles in their own right. They had two children, Jeromy and Elizabeth Cheshire, and lived in [[Cavendish, Suffolk]].

==Death==
Cheshire, aged 74, died of [[motor neurone disease]] on 31 July 1992.

==Honours and tributes==
[[File:Cheshire, Leonard (VC) closeup2 - Copy.jpg|thumb|Cheshire's medal group on display at the [[Imperial War Museum]].]]
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|[[File:UK Victoria Cross ribbon bar.svg|50px]] || [[Victoria Cross]] (VC) || July 1944
|-
|[[File:Galó de l'Orde del Mèrit (UK).png|50px]] || [[Order of Merit|Member of the Order of Merit]] (OM) || 1981<ref name="nyt1992"/>
|-
|[[File:DSO with 2Bars.png|50px]] || [[Companion of the Distinguished Service Order|Companion of the Distinguished Service Order and Two Bars]] (DSO & 2 Bars) ||
|-
|[[File:United Kingdom Distinguished Flying Cross ribbon.svg|50px]] || [[Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)|Distinguished Flying Cross]] (DFC) ||
|-
|[[File:39-45 Star BAR.svg|50px]] || [[1939–45 Star]] ||
|-
|[[File:Air Crew Europe BAR.svg|50px]] || [[Air Crew Europe Star]] || With 1 clasp ''Atlantic''
|-
|[[File:Burma Star BAR.svg|50px]] || [[Burma Star]] ||
|-
|[[File:Defence Medal BAR.svg|50px]] || [[Defence Medal (United Kingdom)|Defence Medal]] ||
|-
|[[File:War Medal 39-45 BAR MID.png|50px]] || [[War Medal 1939–1945]] with Palm for [[Mentioned in Dispatches]] ||
|-
|[[File:UK Queen EII Coronation Medal ribbon.svg|50px]] || [[Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal]] || (1953)
|-
|[[File:Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal ribbon.png|50px]] || [[Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal]] || (1977)
|}

* Cheshire was the subject of ''[[This Is Your Life (UK TV series)|This Is Your Life]]'' in 1960 when he was surprised by [[Eamonn Andrews]] in central London.
* On 17 July 1991, Cheshire was created a [[life peer]] as '''Baron Cheshire''' of [[Woodhall, Lincolnshire|Woodhall]] in the County of Lincolnshire,<ref name="nyt1992"/><ref>{{London Gazette |issue=52608 |date=22 July 1991 |startpage=11147}}</ref> sitting as a [[cross-bencher]].
* [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Queen Elizabeth II]] paid personal tribute to him in her [[Royal Christmas Message]] in December 1992. In the 2002 [[British Broadcasting Corporation|BBC]] poll to find the [[100 Greatest Britons]], Cheshire attained position number 31. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the [[Imperial War Museum]], London.
* A house at [[Xavier College]], a leading private school in Melbourne, Australia, is named after Cheshire. St Ignatius College, a private school in Sydney, Australia, also has a house named after Cheshire.
* Leonard Cheshire is acknowledged on the Roger Waters album [[The Wall Concert in Berlin|''The Wall – Live in Berlin'']]. Former [[Pink Floyd]] member [[Roger Waters]] once described Cheshire as "the only true Christian I've ever met."

==Publications by Leonard Cheshire==
* ''Bomber Pilot''. London: Hutchinson & Co, 1943; St. Albans, Herts, UK: Mayflower, 1975. ISBN 0-583-12541-7; London: Goodall Publications ISBN 0-907579-10-8
* ''The Holy Face: An Account of the Oldest Photograph in the World'' (16-page [[pamphlet]]). Newport, Monmouthshire, UK: R. H. Johns, 1954.
* ''Pilgrimage to the Shroud''. London: Hutchinson & Co, 1956.
* ''The Story of the Holy Shroud''. [[Associated Television]] Ltd: ATV Library, 1957. Text of broadcast.
* ''The Face of Victory''. London: Hutchinson & Co, 1961.
* ''Death'' (22-page pamphlet). London: [[Catholic Truth Society]], 1978.
* ''The Hidden World: An Autobiography and Reflections by the Founder of the Leonard Cheshire Homes''. London: Collins, 1981. ISBN 0-00-626479-4.
* ''The Light of Many Suns: The Meaning of the Bomb''. London: Methuen, 1985. ISBN 0-413-59240-5
* ''Where Is God in All This?'' (Interview by Alenka Lawrence). Slough, Berks, UK: St Paul Publications, 1991. ISBN 0-85439-380-3
* ''Crossing the Finishing Line: Last Thoughts of Leonard Cheshire VC'' (Edited by [[Reginald C. Fuller]]). London: St. Pauls, 1998. ISBN 0-85439-527-X.

==References==

===Notes===
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography===
{{Refbegin}}
* Boyle, Andrew. ''No Passing Glory: The Full and Authentic Biography of Group Captain Cheshire, V.C., D.S.O, D.F.C.''. London: Fontana Books, 1955.
* Braddon, Russell. ''Cheshire, V.C.'' London: Evans Brothers Ltd., 1954.
* Brickhill, Paul. ''[[The Dam Busters (book)|The Dam Busters]]''. London: Pan Books, 1983. ISBN 0-330-28083-X.
* Harvey, David. ''[[Monuments to Courage]]''. Uckfield, East Sussex, UK: Naval & Military Press Ltd., 1999. ISBN 1-84342-356-1.
* Hastings, Sir Max. ''Bomber Command'' (Pan Military Classics) London: Pan Books, 2010. ISBN 978-0-330-51361-6.
* Iveson, Tony and Brian Milton. ''Lancaster: The Biography.'' London: Andre Deutsch Ltd, 2009. ISBN 978-0-233-00270-5.
* Laffin, John. ''British VCs of World War 2: A Study in Heroism''. Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK: Sutton Publishing Limited, 1997, ISBN 0-7509-1026-7.
* Morris, Richard. ''Cheshire: The Biography of Leonard Cheshire, VC, OM''. London: Viking Press, 2000. ISBN 0-670-86735-7.
* "Obituary for Prof. G.C. Cheshire." ''[[The Times]]'', 28 October 1978.
* Otter, Patrick. ''Lincolnshire Airfields in the Second World War.'' Newbury, Berkshire, UK: Countryside Books, 1996. ISBN 978-1-85306-424-1.
* ''[[The Register of the Victoria Cross]]''. London: ''This England'', 1997. ISBN 0-906324-27-0.
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Leonard Cheshire}}
*[http://www.homeusers.prestel.co.uk/stewart/suffolk.htm Location of grave and VC medal] ''(Suffolk)''
*[http://www.leonard-cheshire.org/?lid=19 History of the Leonard Cheshire charity]
*[http://www.ryder-cheshire.org Ryder Cheshire]
*[http://www.victoriacross.org.uk/vcgpches.jpg Image of Cheshire's Medals]
*[http://www.julianlewis.net/cheshire-vc-and-the-cnd Cheshire VC and the CND]
*[http://www.richarddnorth.com/journalism/culture/sueryder.htm Sue Ryder of Cavendish] – Richard North
*[http://www.bigredbook.info/leonard_cheshire.html Leonard Cheshire's appearance on This Is Your Life]

{{s-start}}
{{s-mil}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Harold Brownlow Martin|H B Martin]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Officer Commanding [[No. 617 Squadron RAF|No. 617 Squadron]]|years=November 1943 – July 1944}}
{{s-aft|after=[[James Brian Tait|J B Tait]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Authority control|VIAF=162245991}}

{{Persondata 
| NAME = Cheshire, Leonard
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = Recipient of the Victoria Cross
| DATE OF BIRTH = 7 September 1917
| PLACE OF BIRTH = Chester, England
| DATE OF DEATH = 31 July 1992
| PLACE OF DEATH = Cavendish, Suffolk
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheshire, Leonard}}
[[Category:1917 births]]
[[Category:1992 deaths]]
[[Category:Alumni of Merton College, Oxford]]
[[Category:British philanthropists]]
[[Category:British World War II pilots]]
[[Category:British World War II recipients of the Victoria Cross]]
[[Category:Converts to Roman Catholicism from atheism or agnosticism]]
[[Category:Crossbench life peers|Cheshire, Leonard Cheshire, Baron]]
[[Category:Deaths from motor neurone disease]]
[[Category:English Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:Members of the Order of Merit]]
[[Category:People educated at The Dragon School]]
[[Category:People educated at Stowe School]]
[[Category:People from Chester]]
[[Category:People from Oxford]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic activists]]
[[Category:Royal Air Force officers]]
[[Category:Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Royal Air Force recipients of the Victoria Cross]]
[[Category:People associated with the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki]]

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Benutzer:Shi Annan/Leonard Cheshire