Edye Rolleston Manning | |
---|---|
Born | Sydney, Australia | 14 February 1889
Died | 26 April 1957 | (aged 68)
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/ |
British Army (1914–18) Royal Air Force (1918–45) |
Years of service | 1914–1935 1939–1945 |
Rank | Air Commodore |
Commands held | No. 221 Group RAF (1941) RAF Manston (1933–36) RAF Hornchurch (1930–33) No. 7 Squadron (1928–29) RAF Northolt (1927–28) No. 6 Squadron (1922–24) No. 6 Stores Depot (1919–20) |
Battles/wars |
First World War Second World War |
Awards |
Commander of the Order of the British Empire Distinguished Service Order Military Cross |
Air Commodore Edye Rolleston Manning CBE DSO MC (14 February 1889 – 26 April 1957) was an Australian-born senior officer in the Royal Air Force. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] In the early days of the Second World War he was tasked with establishing a string of airfields in the Far East from Lashio to Mingladon. [7] [8] [9]
Edye Rolleston Manning was born in Australia on 14 February 1889, the son of William Alexander Manning, a solicitor practising in Sydney, Australia. [4] [10] He was educated at Bedford Modern School in England before going on to study medicine at the University of Edinburgh. [4]
When the First World War broke out, Manning ceased his studies at Edinburgh and joined the cavalry, serving in France and Belgium with the 15th Hussars. [4] [11] Frustrated by the stalemate of trench warfare he transferred to the Royal Flying Corps where he attained RAeC Certificate No. 2253 on 9 October 1916. [12] He was wounded at the Battle of the Somme in July 1916 while serving with No. 3 Squadron. [12]
As Commanding Officer of No. 6 Squadron, Manning was responsible for the evacuation of the British High Commissioner from Suliemanieh in Kurdistan, after which he was made a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order. [12] In 1928 he chose to go on half-pay in order to attempt a flight from England to Australia in a Westland Widgeon he owned privately. [13] [14] He got as far as Tunis before crashing at Lebda; Manning was uninjured but his plane was a write-off and he was forced to abandon the attempt. [12]
After his aborted flight, Manning became Officer Commanding of RAF Hornchurch (1930) [15] and RAF Manston (1933) [16] before retiring in 1935 to become a stockbroker in Sydney. [11] [12] At the advent of the Second World War he was persuaded to return to the Royal Air Force, becoming Officer Commanding No. 221 Group (RAF) as a group captain in March 1941, establishing a "string of airfields stretching from Lashio to Mingladon". [12] [17] In January 1942 he was appointed Air Commodore of the Group. [12]
Manning died on 26 April 1957. [11] There is a photographic portrait of Manning at the National Portrait Gallery, London. [18]
Edye Rolleston Manning | |
---|---|
Born | Sydney, Australia | 14 February 1889
Died | 26 April 1957 | (aged 68)
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/ |
British Army (1914–18) Royal Air Force (1918–45) |
Years of service | 1914–1935 1939–1945 |
Rank | Air Commodore |
Commands held | No. 221 Group RAF (1941) RAF Manston (1933–36) RAF Hornchurch (1930–33) No. 7 Squadron (1928–29) RAF Northolt (1927–28) No. 6 Squadron (1922–24) No. 6 Stores Depot (1919–20) |
Battles/wars |
First World War Second World War |
Awards |
Commander of the Order of the British Empire Distinguished Service Order Military Cross |
Air Commodore Edye Rolleston Manning CBE DSO MC (14 February 1889 – 26 April 1957) was an Australian-born senior officer in the Royal Air Force. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] In the early days of the Second World War he was tasked with establishing a string of airfields in the Far East from Lashio to Mingladon. [7] [8] [9]
Edye Rolleston Manning was born in Australia on 14 February 1889, the son of William Alexander Manning, a solicitor practising in Sydney, Australia. [4] [10] He was educated at Bedford Modern School in England before going on to study medicine at the University of Edinburgh. [4]
When the First World War broke out, Manning ceased his studies at Edinburgh and joined the cavalry, serving in France and Belgium with the 15th Hussars. [4] [11] Frustrated by the stalemate of trench warfare he transferred to the Royal Flying Corps where he attained RAeC Certificate No. 2253 on 9 October 1916. [12] He was wounded at the Battle of the Somme in July 1916 while serving with No. 3 Squadron. [12]
As Commanding Officer of No. 6 Squadron, Manning was responsible for the evacuation of the British High Commissioner from Suliemanieh in Kurdistan, after which he was made a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order. [12] In 1928 he chose to go on half-pay in order to attempt a flight from England to Australia in a Westland Widgeon he owned privately. [13] [14] He got as far as Tunis before crashing at Lebda; Manning was uninjured but his plane was a write-off and he was forced to abandon the attempt. [12]
After his aborted flight, Manning became Officer Commanding of RAF Hornchurch (1930) [15] and RAF Manston (1933) [16] before retiring in 1935 to become a stockbroker in Sydney. [11] [12] At the advent of the Second World War he was persuaded to return to the Royal Air Force, becoming Officer Commanding No. 221 Group (RAF) as a group captain in March 1941, establishing a "string of airfields stretching from Lashio to Mingladon". [12] [17] In January 1942 he was appointed Air Commodore of the Group. [12]
Manning died on 26 April 1957. [11] There is a photographic portrait of Manning at the National Portrait Gallery, London. [18]