Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A Second World War Path Finder’s D.F.C. group of four awarded to Flight Lieutenant L. Roberts, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, a Navigator who was killed in action in a raid on Cologne in October 1944 after completing at least 50 operational sorties

Distinguished Flying Cross, G.VI.R., reverse officially dated 1944; 1939-45 Star; Air Crew Europe Star, clasp, France and Germany; War Medal 1939-45, together with original Air Ministry condolence slip in the name of ‘Flight Lieutenant L. Roberts, D.F.C.’, and a wartime studio portrait photograph, extremely fine (4) £700-900

D.F.C. London Gazette 19 September 1944. The recommendation states:

‘Flying Officer Roberts has completed numerous successful sorties against targets in some of the enemy’s most heavily defended areas. The high standard of navigation he always carries out has contributed largely to the success achieved by his crew. This Officer always displays great enthusiasm to proceed on operations, thereby setting a fine example to his fellow aircrew. In recognition of the reliability and accuracy of his navigation, and his devotion to duty at all times, Flying Officer Roberts is recommended for a non-immediate award of the Distinguished Flying Cross.’

Leslie Roberts, who came from Brierfield in Lancashire, was posted as a Sergeant Navigator to No. 78 Squadron from No. 1665 C.U. in July 1943. Completing his first mission in one of the Squadron’s Halifaxes on the night of 25-26th, against Essen, he went on to fly another 13 sorties against other heavily defended targets by the end of October, among them three Hamburg “Firestorm” outings in late July / early August, in addition to four trips to Hanover and at least one to Berlin.

Commissioned as a Pilot Officer in November 1943, Roberts was posted to No. 35 (Madras Presidency) Squadron in the same month, a famous Lancaster P.F.F. unit that operated out of Graveley. And his operational tour with the Squadron got off to a challenging start, a trip to Berlin on the night of 28 January 1944 being the first of three successive visits to the “Big City” over the coming weeks, quickly followed by other heavily defended German targets, Essen and Karlsruhe among them: his aircraft was badly hit by flak on at least one of these outings (‘Port inner engine hit by flak over target - engine feathered for return - also flak starboard tailfin - fixed aerial shot away’).

At the end of April 1944, No. 35 Squadron embarked on a series of strikes against French targets in readiness for the Normandy landings, a brief that was continued in the following month - on the eve of D-Day Roberts’ aircraft attacked the gunsites at Maisy and on D-Day itself the rail head St. Lo. It was about this time that Roberts flew the first of several missions as Navigator to the Deputy Master Bomber, experienced two bomb “hang ups” over the target area and was successfully recommended for the D.F.C. He had, meanwhile, carried out further raids against German targets, Aachen, Dortmund and Dusiberg among them, and it was to a similar agenda that No. 35 stuck over the coming months, Roberts completing another 15 or so sorties before being killed in action in a raid on Cologne on the night of 28-29 October 1944: no more news was heard from Lancaster PB512-P after a ‘routine message was received from the aircraft some time after the attack’.

Leslie Roberts has no known grave and is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial, Surrey.