LEGGATT, Edward Wilmer
| Service Number: | 251694 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Squadron Leader |
| Last Unit: | Not yet discovered |
| Born: | Bareilly, United Provinces, India, 12 February 1892 |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 2 Aug 1945: | Discharged Royal Australian Air Force, Squadron Leader, 251694 | |
|---|---|---|
| Date unknown: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Squadron Leader, 251694 |
Help us honour Edward Wilmer Leggatt's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by James Coleman
Having cut his teeth as an Observer in RFC No. 6 Squadron in the summer of 1915, he qualified as a pilot and returned to the fray in No. 10 Squadron in early 1916, winning an immediate M.C. before being downed and taken prisoner
Leggatt was subsequently among those who participated in the sensational 'first Great Escape', emerging from the tunnel at Holzminden Camp in the summer of 1918 and making a successful 'home run' to England; it is worthy of mention that of some 8,000 officers held in captivity in Germany, just 40 or 50 made a successful bid for freedom
Post-war he forged a successful career 'down under' teaching the famous aviatrix Millicent Bryant, together with a generation of Australian aviators in his capacity as Chief Instructor of the Aero Club of New South Wales before returning home to Nutwood Cottage, Hindhead Road, Godalming, Surrey
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