Geoffrey Leonard Cheshire, Baron Cheshire, VC, OM, DSO & Two Bars, DFC (7 September 1917 – 31 July 1992) was a highly decorated Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot and group captain during the Second World War, and a philanthropist.
Among the honours Cheshire received as a pilot was the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He was the youngest group captain in the RAF and one of the most highly decorated pilots of the war.
After the war he founded a nursing home that grew into the charity Leonard Cheshire Disability. He became known for his work in conflict resolution. In 1991 he was created a life peer in recognition of his charitable work.
Click on the links below to read in more detail his amazing story.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Cheshire
https://vcgca.org/our-people/profile/141/Geoffrey-Leonard-CHESHIRE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JihH2VSiqU
Over Europe June 1940-July 1944
June 1940-July 1944
With Wing Commander G Gibson VC and Squadron Leader H B Martin, Wing Commander G L Cheshire was one of the three outstanding RAF bomber pilots of the Second World War. All belonged to No 617 Squadron. British bombing of Germany had begun in May 1940. Cheshire was awarded the VC for his gallantry in four tours of duty between June 1940 and July 1944. He was a leading advocate and pioneer of the method of flying low to mark the target. The Citation makes particular reference to his participation in the raid on Munich on the night of 24 April 1944.
Death
After his diagnosis with Motor Neurone Disease, Leonard Cheshire and Sue Ryder made a final trip to Raphael in India, a place special to both as it was the project that cemented their marriage and their work together.[138] This journey was documented by Sir David Puttnam and Anglia TV in the film 'Indian Summer'.[139]
Cheshire was determined to be present at the unveiling of Arthur "Bomber" Harris's memorial on the 31 May 1992 and attended against the advice of his doctors. He said "I would have gone even if I had to be carried on a stretcher".[140] Cheshire died two months later at his home in the Sue Ryder Care Home at Cavendish, Suffolk on 31 July 1992. He was 74 years old.[24]
Leonard Cheshire is buried in the graveyard at St Mary's Church in Cavendish. Sue Ryder was interred in the same grave after her death in 2000. They are surrounded by graves of the people they lived with at the Sue Ryder Home, including holocaust survivors from the Second World War.[141] A memorial to both can be found inside the church.[142]
