CAPTAIN G. LEONARD CHESHIRE - COMMEMORATIVE ENVELOPE SIGNED CO-SIGNED BY: MARSHAL JOHN C. SLESSOR - HFSID 153620

LEONARD CHESHIRE and JOHN SLESSOR. Philatelic Envelope signed: "Leonard Cheshire" and "John Slessor/...MRAF", 6½x4¼. British cover commemorating the 60th anniversary of the formation of the 4th Squadron, 3-pence stamp affixed, postmarked British Forces Postal Service, 1972 August 30. Cachet pictures an Armstrong Whitworth Atlas and Harrier 1972 airplanes. GEOFFREY LEONARD CHESHIRE (1917-1992) was a Wing Commander in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, flying 100 missions between 1940-1944. First flying with the 102 Squadron, he also flew with the 76 Squadron before taking command of the 617th Squadron, becoming the youngest (25 years old) group Captain in the RAF. Cheshire, who was awarded the Victoria Cross in 1944, was the official British observer when the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. Later devoting himself to world peace, Cheshire was created Baron Cheshire of Woodhall in 1991. JOHN SLESSOR (1897-1979), who was left lame from polio, was initially rejected by the British Army as "totally unfit for any form of military service", but he received a commission for the Royal Flying Corps in 1917 due to his family's influence. As a member of the 17 Squadron, he saw action in the Sudan during WWI. In 1920, after a brief foray into business, he joined the RAF, serving as Commander of 4 Squadron from 1925-1928. During WWII, Slessor was Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (1942-1943), Commander in Chief of Coastal Command (1943-1944), Commander in Chief of RAF Mediterranean and Middle East (1944-1945). After the war, he was Air Member for Personnel (1945-1947, Marshal of the RAF (1950) and Chief of the Air Staff (1950-1952). Glue stain from removal of address label at lower right margin. Fine condition.