Leefe Robinson
Encyclopedia
William Leefe Robinson VC
(14 July 1895 – 31 December 1918) was the first British pilot to shoot down a German airship
over Britain during the First World War. For this he was awarded 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 first person to be awarded the VC for action in the UK.
, India
on 14 July 1895, the youngest son of Horace Robinson and Elizabeth Leefe. Raised on his parent's coffee estate, Kaima Betta Estate, at Pollibetta, in Coorg
, he attended Bishop Cotton Boys' School
, Bangalore, and the Dragon School
, Oxford
, before following his elder brother Harold to St. Bees School
, Cumberland
in September, 1909. While there he succeeded his brother as Head of Eaglesfield House in 1913, played in the Rugby
1st XV and became a sergeant in the school Officer Training Corps.
In August, 1914 he entered the Royal Military College, Sandhurst and was gazetted into the Worcestershire Regiment
in December. In March, 1915 he went to France
as an observer with the (Royal Flying Corps
), to which he had transferred. After having been wounded over Lille he underwent pilot training in Britain, before being attached to No. 39 Squadron RFC, a night-flying squadron at Sutton's Farm
near Hornchurch
in Essex
.
, Hertfordshire
, Lieutenant Robinson, flying a converted B.E.2c
night fighter
, sighted a German airship – one of 16 which had left bases in Germany on a mass raid over England. The airship was actually the wooden-framed Schütte-Lanz SL 11
, although at the time and for many years after, it was misidentified as Zeppelin L 21. Robinson made an attack at an altitude of 11,500 ft approaching from below and closing to within 500 ft, raked the airship with machine-gun bullets. As he was preparing for another attack, it burst into flames and crashed in a field behind the Plough Inn at Cuffley
, killing Commander Wilhelm Schramm and his 15-man crew.
This action was witnessed by thousands of Londoners who, as they saw the airship descend in flames, cheered and sang the national anthem, one even played the bagpipes
. The propaganda value of this success was enormous to the British Government, as it indicated that the German airship threat could be countered. When Robinson was awarded the VC by the King at Windsor Castle
, huge crowds of admirers and onlookers were in attendance. Robinson was also awarded £3,500 in prize money and a silver cup donated by the people of Hornchurch.
Some RFC pilots did consider that shooting down an airship was easier than shooting down an aeroplane over the Western Front
However this attitude should recognise the problems Leefe Robinson had to contend with: his attack took place at night, in an aircraft with minimal modified instrumentation and lighting, at an altitude of 11,500 feet and with no oxygen supply. Additionally there was a high risk of Leefe Robinson crashing on landing, assuming he could even find the nearest airfield in the dark. The BE2c was at its maximum ceiling, at which any aircraft is difficult to control. As with the action in which Reginald Alexander John Warneford
brought down LZ37 the previous year, the blast from the exploding airship may have blown the attacking aircraft out of control. Furthermore, the airship was armed with machine-guns, which opened fire on Leefe Robinson during his attack.
In a memo to his Commanding Officer, Leefe Robinson wrote:
In April 1917, Robinson was posted to France as a Flight Commander with No. 48 Squadron
, flying the then new Bristol F.2 Fighter
. On the first patrol over the lines, Robinson's formation of six aircraft encountered the Albatros DIII fighters of Jasta 11
, led by Manfred von Richthofen
, and four were shot down. Robinson, shot down by Vizefeldwebel Sebastian Festner
, was wounded and captured. He was not well treated by the Germans. He made several attempts to escape but all failed, his health was badly affected during his time as a prisoner. He was imprisoned at Zorndorf and Holzminden
, being kept in solitary confinement at the latter camp for his escape attempts.
Robinson died on 31 December 1918 at the Stanmore
home of his sister, the Baroness Heyking, from the effects of the Spanish flu
pandemic to which his imprisonment had left him particularly susceptible. He was buried at All Saints' Churchyard Extension in Harrow Weald. A memorial to him was later erected near the spot where the airship crashed. This was renovated in 1986 and again in 2009, the latter occasion being to correct movement of the obelisk and surrounding footpath caused by subsidence.
An additional monument was erected in East Ridgeway, unveiled on 9 June 1921, and by a road named after him (Robinson Close) in Hornchurch
, Essex on the site of the former Suttons Farm airfield. A short segment of a wartime newsreel
survives although the location and date of the recorded event being unknown.
He was commemorated by the name of the local Miller & Carter steakhouse just south of the cemetery, the Leefe Robinson VC on the Uxbridge Road, Harrow Weald.
In April 2010, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Great Northern Route
extension that connects Grange Park to Cuffley, the First Capital Connect
rail company named a Class 313 train Captain William Leefe Robinson VC.
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
(14 July 1895 – 31 December 1918) was the first British pilot to shoot down a German airship
Airship
An airship or dirigible is a type of aerostat or "lighter-than-air aircraft" that can be steered and propelled through the air using rudders and propellers or other thrust mechanisms...
over Britain during the First World War. For this he was awarded the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
forces. He was the first person to be awarded the VC for action in the UK.
Background
Robinson was born in CoorgKodagu
Kodagu , also known by its anglicised former name of Coorg, is an administrative district in Karnataka, India. It occupies an area of in the Western Ghats of southwestern Karnataka. As of 2001, the population was 548,561, 13.74% of which resided in the district's urban centres, making it the least...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
on 14 July 1895, the youngest son of Horace Robinson and Elizabeth Leefe. Raised on his parent's coffee estate, Kaima Betta Estate, at Pollibetta, in Coorg
Kodagu
Kodagu , also known by its anglicised former name of Coorg, is an administrative district in Karnataka, India. It occupies an area of in the Western Ghats of southwestern Karnataka. As of 2001, the population was 548,561, 13.74% of which resided in the district's urban centres, making it the least...
, he attended Bishop Cotton Boys' School
Bishop Cotton Boys School
Bishop Cotton Boys' School, also referred to as the Eton of the East is an all-boys school for boarders and day scholars in Bangalore, Karnataka, India....
, Bangalore, and the Dragon School
Dragon School
The Dragon School is a British coeducational, preparatory school in the city of Oxford, founded in 1877 as the Oxford Preparatory School, or OPS. It is primarily known as a boarding school, although it also takes day pupils...
, Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, before following his elder brother Harold to St. Bees School
St. Bees School
St. Bees School is a co-educational independent school in the West Cumbrian village of St Bees. Founded in 1583 by the then Archbishop of Canterbury Edmund Grindal as a boys' "free grammar school", today it is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference with around 300 pupils aged...
, Cumberland
Cumberland
Cumberland is a historic county of North West England, on the border with Scotland, from the 12th century until 1974. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....
in September, 1909. While there he succeeded his brother as Head of Eaglesfield House in 1913, played in the Rugby
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
1st XV and became a sergeant in the school Officer Training Corps.
In August, 1914 he entered the Royal Military College, Sandhurst and was gazetted into the Worcestershire Regiment
Worcestershire Regiment
The Worcestershire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army, formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 29th Regiment of Foot and the 36th Regiment of Foot....
in December. In March, 1915 he went to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
as an observer with the (Royal Flying Corps
Royal Flying Corps
The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...
), to which he had transferred. After having been wounded over Lille he underwent pilot training in Britain, before being attached to No. 39 Squadron RFC, a night-flying squadron at Sutton's Farm
RAF Hornchurch
RAF Hornchurch was an airfield in the south of Hornchurch in what is now the London Borough of Havering. Known as Sutton's Farm during the First World War, it occupied of the farm of the same name and was situated east north-east of Charing Cross...
near Hornchurch
Hornchurch
Hornchurch is a large suburban town in England, and part of the London Borough of Havering. Hornchurch is in North-East London .It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan. It comprises a number of shopping...
in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
.
Action
On the night of 2/3 September 1916 over CuffleyCuffley
Cuffley is a village in the Welwyn Hatfield district of south-east Hertfordshire located between Cheshunt and Potters Bar. It has a population of just over 4,000 people. Politically, Cuffley is part of Broxbourne Constituency in the House of Commons, and sends a Councillor to Hertfordshire County...
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, Lieutenant Robinson, flying a converted B.E.2c
Royal Aircraft Factory BE.2
The Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2 was a British single-engine two-seat biplane which was in service with the Royal Flying Corps from 1912 until the end of World War I. The "Bleriot" in its designation refers to the fact that, like the Bleriot types it was of tractor configuration, with the...
night fighter
Night fighter
A night fighter is a fighter aircraft adapted for use at night or in other times of bad visibility...
, sighted a German airship – one of 16 which had left bases in Germany on a mass raid over England. The airship was actually the wooden-framed Schütte-Lanz SL 11
SL 11
The Schütte-Lanz SL 11 was a military dirigible airship built in Germany during 1916.-Operational history:The SL 11 was built by Luftschiffbau Schütte-Lanz and thus, was not classeD as a Zeppelin. Based at Spich and commanded by Hauptmann Wilhelm Schramm, on the early night of September 3, 1916,...
, although at the time and for many years after, it was misidentified as Zeppelin L 21. Robinson made an attack at an altitude of 11,500 ft approaching from below and closing to within 500 ft, raked the airship with machine-gun bullets. As he was preparing for another attack, it burst into flames and crashed in a field behind the Plough Inn at Cuffley
Cuffley
Cuffley is a village in the Welwyn Hatfield district of south-east Hertfordshire located between Cheshunt and Potters Bar. It has a population of just over 4,000 people. Politically, Cuffley is part of Broxbourne Constituency in the House of Commons, and sends a Councillor to Hertfordshire County...
, killing Commander Wilhelm Schramm and his 15-man crew.
Bagpipes
Bagpipes are a class of musical instrument, aerophones, using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. Though the Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe and Irish uilleann pipes have the greatest international visibility, bagpipes of many different types come from...
. The propaganda value of this success was enormous to the British Government, as it indicated that the German airship threat could be countered. When Robinson was awarded the VC by the King at Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
, huge crowds of admirers and onlookers were in attendance. Robinson was also awarded £3,500 in prize money and a silver cup donated by the people of Hornchurch.
Some RFC pilots did consider that shooting down an airship was easier than shooting down an aeroplane over the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
However this attitude should recognise the problems Leefe Robinson had to contend with: his attack took place at night, in an aircraft with minimal modified instrumentation and lighting, at an altitude of 11,500 feet and with no oxygen supply. Additionally there was a high risk of Leefe Robinson crashing on landing, assuming he could even find the nearest airfield in the dark. The BE2c was at its maximum ceiling, at which any aircraft is difficult to control. As with the action in which Reginald Alexander John Warneford
Reginald Alexander John Warneford
Reginald Alexander John Warneford, VC was a Royal Naval Air Service officer who received the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Background:Warneford was born in Darjeeling, India,...
brought down LZ37 the previous year, the blast from the exploding airship may have blown the attacking aircraft out of control. Furthermore, the airship was armed with machine-guns, which opened fire on Leefe Robinson during his attack.
In a memo to his Commanding Officer, Leefe Robinson wrote:
Capture and death
No. 48 Squadron RAF
No. 48 Squadron was a Royal Air Force squadron that saw service in both World War I and World War II.-First World War:No. 48 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps was formed at Netheravon, Wiltshire, on 15 April 1916. The squadron was posted to France in March 1917 and became the first fighter...
, flying the then new Bristol F.2 Fighter
Bristol F.2 Fighter
The Bristol F.2 Fighter was a British two-seat biplane fighter and reconnaissance aircraft of the First World War flown by the Royal Flying Corps. It is often simply called the Bristol Fighter or popularly the "Brisfit" or "Biff". Despite being a two-seater, the F.2B proved to be an agile aircraft...
. On the first patrol over the lines, Robinson's formation of six aircraft encountered the Albatros DIII fighters of Jasta 11
Jasta 11
Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 11 was founded on 28 September 1916 from elements of 4 armee's Keks 1, 2 and 3 and mobilized on 11 October as part of the German Air Service's expansion program, forming permanent specialised fighter squadrons, or "Jastas"...
, led by Manfred von Richthofen
Manfred von Richthofen
Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen , also widely known as the Red Baron, was a German fighter pilot with the Imperial German Army Air Service during World War I...
, and four were shot down. Robinson, shot down by Vizefeldwebel Sebastian Festner
Sebastian Festner
Sebastian Festner was an air ace of the Luftstreitkräfte during World War I, with 12 victories. He reached the rank of Vizefeldwebel....
, was wounded and captured. He was not well treated by the Germans. He made several attempts to escape but all failed, his health was badly affected during his time as a prisoner. He was imprisoned at Zorndorf and Holzminden
Holzminden
Holzminden is a town in southern Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Holzminden. It is located directly on the river Weser, which here is the border to North Rhine-Westphalia.-History:...
, being kept in solitary confinement at the latter camp for his escape attempts.
Robinson died on 31 December 1918 at the Stanmore
Stanmore
Stanmore is a suburban area of the London Borough of Harrow, in northwest London. It is situated northwest of Charing Cross. The area is home to Stanmore Hill, one of the highest points of London, high.-Toponymy:...
home of his sister, the Baroness Heyking, from the effects of the Spanish flu
Spanish flu
The 1918 flu pandemic was an influenza pandemic, and the first of the two pandemics involving H1N1 influenza virus . It was an unusually severe and deadly pandemic that spread across the world. Historical and epidemiological data are inadequate to identify the geographic origin...
pandemic to which his imprisonment had left him particularly susceptible. He was buried at All Saints' Churchyard Extension in Harrow Weald. A memorial to him was later erected near the spot where the airship crashed. This was renovated in 1986 and again in 2009, the latter occasion being to correct movement of the obelisk and surrounding footpath caused by subsidence.
An additional monument was erected in East Ridgeway, unveiled on 9 June 1921, and by a road named after him (Robinson Close) in Hornchurch
Hornchurch
Hornchurch is a large suburban town in England, and part of the London Borough of Havering. Hornchurch is in North-East London .It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan. It comprises a number of shopping...
, Essex on the site of the former Suttons Farm airfield. A short segment of a wartime newsreel
survives although the location and date of the recorded event being unknown.
He was commemorated by the name of the local Miller & Carter steakhouse just south of the cemetery, the Leefe Robinson VC on the Uxbridge Road, Harrow Weald.
In April 2010, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Great Northern Route
Great Northern Route
The Great Northern Route is the name of the suburban rail services run on the southern end of Britain's East Coast Main Line and associated branches. Services operate to or from and in London...
extension that connects Grange Park to Cuffley, the First Capital Connect
First Capital Connect
First Capital Connect is a passenger train operating company in England that began operations on the National Rail network on 1 April 2006...
rail company named a Class 313 train Captain William Leefe Robinson VC.
External links
- Biography on First World War.com
- Location of grave and VC medal (Middlesex)
- VC on display at Spinks part of Lord Ashcroft's VC collection