Les Holden
Australian First World War flying ace / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Leslie Hubert Holden, MC, AFC (6 March 1895 – 18 September 1932) was an Australian fighter ace of World War I and later a commercial aviator. A South Australian, he joined the Light Horse in May 1915, serving in Egypt and France. In December 1916, he volunteered for the Australian Flying Corps and qualified as a pilot. As a member of No. 2 Squadron on the Western Front, he gained the sobriquets "Lucky Les" and "the homing pigeon" after a series of incidents that saw him limping back to base in bullet-riddled aircraft. He was awarded the Military Cross, and went on to achieve five aerial victories flying Airco DH.5s and Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5s.
Leslie Hubert Holden | |
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Nickname(s) | "Lucky Les"; "the homing pigeon" |
Born | (1895-03-06)6 March 1895 East Adelaide, South Australia |
Died | 18 September 1932(1932-09-18) (aged 37) Byron Bay, New South Wales |
Allegiance | Australia |
Service/ | Australian Imperial Force Australian Flying Corps |
Years of service | 1915–19 |
Rank | Captain |
Unit | Australian Light Horse (1915–16) No. 2 Squadron AFC (1917–18) No. 6 Squadron AFC (1918–19) |
Battles/wars | World War I |
Awards | Military Cross Air Force Cross |
Other work | Office manager; commercial pilot |
Promoted to captain, Holden finished the war as an instructor with No. 6 (Training) Squadron in England, where his work earned him the Air Force Cross. After leaving the Australian Flying Corps in 1919, he became a manager at the family firm of Holden's Motor Body Builders and joined the part-time Citizen Air Force, before setting up as a commercial pilot and establishing his own air service. In 1929, he located Charles Kingsford Smith and Charles Ulm in the north-west Australian desert after the pair was reported missing on a flight to England in the Southern Cross. Holden began transport operations in New Guinea in 1931. He was killed the following year in a passenger plane crash in Australia.