RONALD MOXON LEEMING
RONNIE
Extra information courtesy of Brian Leeming
Born: 13th September 1921, Kilburn, London.
Died: 5th February 1945; age: 24; Killed in aircraft accident during a violent thunderstorm whilst training over the Mull of Kintyre.
Residence: 103, Cromer Road, Ipswich.
Employed: Electric Supply & Transport – Ipswich Borough Council.
R.A.F.V.R Enlistment Details: Location: R.A.F. Uxbridge, Hillingdon, London; Date: 26th March 1941 as a Pilot Under Training.
Service:
Passed examinations & promoted to Leading Aircraftman – 3rd October 1941.
13th October 1941 – Left R.A.F Wilmslow, Cheshire for R.A.F. Greenock, Renfrewshire.
17th October 1941 – Departed on the tide at 11.45 pm, on board S.S. ‘Louis Pasteur’ E Deck, 6 Berth.
25th October 1941 – Docked at 3 pm, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
26th October 1941 – Posted to R.A.F. Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, a training base.
17th December 1941 – Posted to Darr Aero Tech, Albany, Georgia, a primary training school.
27th January 1942—Ronnie collided with a tree on landing. He escaped with only a shaking up. The aircraft, a Stearman P 17, was a write-off.
21st February 1942 – Transferred to Pilot School at Macon, Georgia.
30th April 1942 – Left Macon for Dothan, Alabama, for advanced flying training.
3rd July 1942 – Graduated at Dothan and received wings.
20th July 1942 – He returned to the UK.
31st December 1942 – Promoted to Sergeant.
21st July 1942 – 14th February 1943 – General training on twins.
13th April 1943 – 27th November 1944 – Ferry crew, Filton, Bristol.
26th June 1943 – Promoted to Pilot Officer.
26th December 1943 – Promoted to Flying Officer.
28th November 1944 – posted to 105 Operational Training Unit at R.A.F. Bramcote, Warwickshire.
1st January 1945 – New Year’s Honours List published in the London Gazette – Commended for valuable service in the air.
5th February 1945 – Posted as missing – believed killed in aircraft.
Ronnie was selected just before his crash to fly for B.O.A.C.
“Most of his service was served with Transport Command flying Beaufighters to North Africa and probably Italy, for which he received the King’s Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air. He was selected just before his crash to fly for BOAC, and whilst on his training course, his Wellington broke up in a violent thunderstorm over the Mull of Kintyre.”
Rank: Flying Officer; Service Number: 169059.
Regiment: Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve.
Memorial Reference:
Panel 267.
Englefield Green,
Surrey.
Father: Arthur Moxon Leeming, born 1880, Marylebone, Middlesex.
Mother: Rosa Leeming (nee Turner), born 1880, Pimlico, Middlesex.
Ronnie was Arthur & Rosa’s youngest child. They moved to Ipswich in the 1930s and lived at 103, Cromer Road, Ipswich.
On the 27th November 1943, in Ipswich, Ronald married Daphne Barbara Jean Pledger, a shop assistant, born March 1921, Ipswich – daughter of Stanley Harry Pledger, a watch and clockmaker and repairer, and Ivy Victoria Pledger (nee Wright), of 171, Clapgate Lane, Ipswich.
5th February 1945
Aircraft: Wellington Mk; Serial Number: X-LP351. Whilst on a training course, the Wellington broke up in a violent thunderstorm over the Mull of Kintyre.
CREW:
John Benjamin Field; Sergeant/Navigator; age 22; R.A.F.V.R.
Francis Edward Morgan; Flight Sergeant/Wireless Operator; age 23; R.A.F.V.R.
Leslie Thomas Magson Dowding; Flight Sergeant; R.A.F.V.R.
John Field’s body was recovered from the sea and laid to rest at Botley Cemetery, Oxfordshire.
Ronnie is remembered on the war memorial at the Town Hall, Ipswich.
One Comment
Hello, I am an aviation historian currently working on a book detailing aircraft losses on and around the Kintyre Peninsula. One such aircraft was that of Wellington LP351 in which F/O Ronald Leeming as you are aware was the pilot. I would be interested to contact Brian Leeming if you could please pass on my contact details. Kind Regards. David W. Earl.