Leslie Thomas Manser

Leslie Thomas Manser was a young pilot of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, a Flying Officer with No. 50 Squadron based at RAF Skellingthorpe in Lincolnshire. He flew the troublesome twin-engined Avro Manchester, the underpowered forerunner of the Lancaster.

On the night of 30/31 May 1942, Bomber Command launched the first “Thousand Bomber” raid, against Cologne. Manser was captain of Manchester L7301, coded ‘D for Dog’. Over the target his aircraft was caught by searchlights and hit by anti-aircraft fire; he bombed successfully from well below the briefed height, but the Manchester was badly damaged, the rear gunner wounded and the cabin filling with smoke. On the way home the port engine caught fire and the aircraft began to lose height. Manser fought to keep it flying long enough to give his crew a chance, holding it level as they baled out one by one. When a crew member offered him a parachute he waved it away, unwilling to let go of the controls while the aircraft was still a danger to those leaving it. The Manchester crashed and Manser was killed; all six of his crew survived, several of them reaching safety through the Belgian and French escape lines.

He was 20 years old, and was buried at Heverlee War Cemetery near Leuven in Belgium — the same cemetery in which Donald Garland VC lies. Manser was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross in October 1942 for an act of self-sacrifice that saved his entire crew.