Riggs, Leonard Earl
Personal Information
Rank | F/S |
Forename(s) | Leonard Earl |
Surname | Riggs |
Gender | M |
Age | 19 |
Decorations | |
Date of Death | 03-01-1945 |
Next of Kin | son of Albert Thomas Riggs and Mary Angelic Riggs (Blais), of Tatsfield , Saskatchewan, Canada. |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Avro Lancaster III |
Serial Number | PB635 |
Markings | AS-G |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | France |
Burial/Memorial Place | Choloy War Cemetery |
Grave Reference | Coll. grave 1. J. 10. |
Epitaph |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 1 |
Panel Number | 90 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | R/218495 |
Service | Royal Canadian Air Force |
Group | 1 |
Squadron | 166 |
Trade | Air Gunner |
Country of Origin | Canada |
Other Memorials
Location | Riggs Lake, Saskatchewan |
Country | Canada |
Memorial Type | Lake |
Memorial Text |
Location | Terminal Building, Humberside Airport, Lincolnshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Air Ministry WWII Bell & Inscribed Metal Plaques |
Memorial Text | To commemorate the aircrew of 166 Sqn RAF who were killed in action flying from RAF Kirmington during WW2 |
Location | Adjacent to Terminal Building, Humberside Airport, Lincolnshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Info Board & Inscribed Stone Monument |
Memorial Text | In memory of the aircrew from many nations who flew with 166 Sqn RAF who were killed in action flying from RAF Kirmington during WW2 |
Location | Memorial Gardens, Kirmington, Lincolnshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Plaques |
Memorial Text | Memorials to those who served on 166 Sqn flying from RAF Kirminton during WW2, including those who flew on Op MANNA |
Location | St. Helena's Church, Kirmington, Lincolnshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Stained Glass Window, Inscribed Metal Plaque & Roll of Honour |
Memorial Text | In memory of the members of 166 Sqn RAF who flew from RAF Kirmington during WW2 and did not return |
Miscellaneous Information
Leonard was born at Tatsfield , Saskatchewan on 16 September 1925. His father was a farmer born in Ontario and his mother was born in Ottawa. He had four brothers, Mervin, Gordon, Orville and Vernon and a sister Ethel. The schools he attended were Irene, 1931- 1941 (grade IX), followed by Baldwinton 1941-1942, (grade X). His sport interests were softball and hockey and his hobbies model aeroplanes and reading. Leonard worked for Veitch bros., Baldwinton as a truck driver /clerk and then for Albert T. Riggs as a tractor operator 1943 until enlisting at Saskatoon on 7 July 1943. |
After training he embarked from Halifax on 30 March 1944 and was at 3 RCAF PRC on 8 April 1944 He then continued to 30 OTU 9 May 1944, 11 Base 29 July 1944, 166 Squadron 3 October 1944. Sadly Leonard was to lose his life on 3 January 1945, aged only nineteen years. |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1089/51 |
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1089/50 |
Fellow Servicemen
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 02-01-1945 |
End Date | 03-01-1945 |
Takeoff Station | Kirmington |
Day/Night Raid | Night (81% moon) |
Operation | Nurnberg |
Reason for Loss | Hit by Flak (possibly American) and crashed west of Puttelenge, France. |