Les Holden
Leslie Hubert Holden, MC, AFC was an Australian fighter ace of World War I. A South Australian, he joined the Light Horse in May 1915, serving in Egypt and France. He went on to achieve five aerial victories flying Airco DH. 5s and Royal Aircraft Factory S. E.5s. He was killed the following year in a passenger plane crash in Australia.
About Les Holden in brief
Leslie Hubert Holden, MC, AFC was an Australian fighter ace of World War I. A South Australian, he joined the Light Horse in May 1915, serving in Egypt and France. In December 1916, he volunteered for the Australian Flying Corps and qualified as a pilot. As a member of No. 2 Squadron on the Western Front, he gained the sobriquets “Lucky Les” and “the homing pigeon” after a series of incidents that saw him limping back to base in bullet-riddled aircraft. He was awarded the Military Cross, and went on to achieve five aerial victories flying Airco DH. 5s and Royal Aircraft Factory S. E.5s. Promoted to captain, Holden finished the war as an instructor with No 6 Squadron in England, where his work earned him the Air Force Cross. He became a manager at the family firm of Holden’s Motor Body Builders and joined the part-time Citizen Air Force, before setting up as a commercial pilot and establishing his own air service. In 1929, he located Charles Kingsford Smith and Charles Ulm in the north-west Australian desert after the pair was reported missing on a flight to England in the Southern Cross.
Holden began transport operations in New Guinea in 1931, but was killed the following year in a passenger plane crash in Australia. He left behind a wife and three children. He is buried in a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia, where he lived with his wife and two daughters. He also leaves behind a son, Edward, who worked for the Adelaide-based firm Holden’s Motor body Builders with his son Edward. Les was the nephew of travelling businessman Hubert William Holden and his wife Annie Maria, who later founded the Adelaide based firm Holden’s. Holden’s was a partner with Nestlé in 1905, and the family moved to Turramurra, New South Wales. Les completed his education at Sydney Church of England Grammar School, and joined Nestle in 1911 as a salesman.
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This page is based on the article Les Holden published in Wikipedia (as of Oct. 29, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
