Talk given by Leonard Cheshire in New Zealand to the Royal New Zealand Returned & Services’ Association
Title
Talk given by Leonard Cheshire in New Zealand to the Royal New Zealand Returned & Services’ Association
Description
Description refers to several tapes and talks. However attachment and transcription only refer to the first tape.
Talks of the commonwealth countries vital contribution to the second world war. Looks back on his time in the air force and draws some lessons for current generation. Mentions his first operational tour and his New Zealand crew. Thanks his audience for the help he and his wife had received for their respective organisations. Submitted with caption 'Speeches from Leonard Cheshire's Tour of New Zealand and Australia - 1974 - New Zealand
Tape 1 Part 2: Speech to to the Royal New Zealand Returned & Services’ Association (RSA). He pays tribute to his first Captain in the RAF 'Lofty' Frank Hugh Long, a New Zealand airman who won one of the first DFCs of the war who was killed in action (mentioned in Leonard's book 'Bomber Pilot').
Tape 4 Leonard Cheshire Talk to Scared Heart College. He talks about the Dam Busters, the V1, V2 and V3 weapon sites and marking the Gnome Rhone Factory in Limoges. He then talks about disability activist Hilary Pole and explains disability and his work to the pupils.
Tape 5 October 21st, Adelaide, evening meeting of the sponsors. Leonard Cheshire speech in the presence of Ross Sanford, an ex RAF colleague of Leonard's who helped him and Sue Ryder start their work in Australasia. He talks about his work and joint work with Sue Ryder, with a focus on Raphael'.
Talks of the commonwealth countries vital contribution to the second world war. Looks back on his time in the air force and draws some lessons for current generation. Mentions his first operational tour and his New Zealand crew. Thanks his audience for the help he and his wife had received for their respective organisations. Submitted with caption 'Speeches from Leonard Cheshire's Tour of New Zealand and Australia - 1974 - New Zealand
Tape 1 Part 2: Speech to to the Royal New Zealand Returned & Services’ Association (RSA). He pays tribute to his first Captain in the RAF 'Lofty' Frank Hugh Long, a New Zealand airman who won one of the first DFCs of the war who was killed in action (mentioned in Leonard's book 'Bomber Pilot').
Tape 4 Leonard Cheshire Talk to Scared Heart College. He talks about the Dam Busters, the V1, V2 and V3 weapon sites and marking the Gnome Rhone Factory in Limoges. He then talks about disability activist Hilary Pole and explains disability and his work to the pupils.
Tape 5 October 21st, Adelaide, evening meeting of the sponsors. Leonard Cheshire speech in the presence of Ross Sanford, an ex RAF colleague of Leonard's who helped him and Sue Ryder start their work in Australasia. He talks about his work and joint work with Sue Ryder, with a focus on Raphael'.
Creator
Date
1974
Temporal Coverage
Spatial Coverage
Language
Type
Format
Audio recording 00:08:37
Publisher
Rights
This content is property of the Leonard Cheshire Archive which has kindly granted the International Bomber Command Centre Digital Archive a royalty-free permission to publish it. Please note that it was digitised by a third-party which used technical specifications that may differ from those used by International Bomber Command Centre Digital Archive. It has been published here ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre.
Identifier
SCheshireGL72021v20025-0001, SCheshireGL72021v20025-0001-Transcript
Transcription
Leonard Cheshire Resonate Project
File Title: Talk given by Leonard Cheshire in New Zealand (1974) to the Royal New Zealand Returned & Services’ Association (RSA)
Duration: 8 mins 37 secs
Transcription date: 17/08/20
Archive Number: AV-S 510
Start of Transcription
00:00 [applause] to 00:06
00:07: Leonard Cheshire: President Jim, Mr Mayor (or Woody) – I want to call you Woody Herman, but that’s not right is it? [laughter], ladies and gentlemen. Well I would like to say on behalf of my wife Sue and myself that we count it a very great privilege indeed to be your guests tonight, and to have the opportunity of moving amongst you and just sharing this evening for a little while. I’d also like to say that for us this is the last night of a particular tour. For the last 7 weeks we’ve been touring Australia and New Zealand, with New Guinea in the midst and a short stopover in India on the way. I think every day we’ve had 2, 3 or 4 talks, and tonight is the last. Early in the morning we set off for south east Asia, and for me it could not be a happier occasion than to be amongst you of the RSA. And that I say with all my heart. We in Britain can never forget, and never will forget, what we owe to those from distant lands in the Commonwealth who came to help us in our hour of need. I know that it has been said that Britain stood alone, but really that wasn’t true. There were many countries that stood behind us, and we stood together, and I think we learnt what can be achieved when men and women, whole communities and even nations stand together for a common goal. Of course, then we knew we had to win – there could be no question of losing, because we would have been finished, as you can see tonight from World at War. But nonetheless it was demonstrated what can be achieved by human beings when we stand together. And you in the RSA, like all members of other service organisations I feel have a special message to carry forward with you into the present and into the future. Above all, I think we need to demonstrate that our struggle in the War was not a unique thing, but every generation is struggling in its own way according to the circumstances of the day to try and achieve and maintain peace, and with peace of course freedom, justice and the opportunity for all to lead the kind of lives they want. We as it happened, regretfully, had to go to war. That was not our wish. But today’s generation has no less of a struggle, even though the goal may be more difficult to see, or at any rate its urgency less easy to feel. And when I look back to the days, I spent in the Air Force I remember the lessons that I learnt and the example that was set to me by others. And I think those that I admire most of all are the unknown people, who were never seen, who never received any special honour, but yet went about doing their duty, and often never came through. And I think of all the lessons that we learnt in the war the most significant was how involved we are, one with another, how we depend upon each other. But if one man seems to achieve success, he knows in his heart that it’s due to others, some of whom perhaps he never knew. I would also like in closing to say that, had it not been for my first captain (who was a New Zealander), I don’t think that I would have got through my first tour. In the first place, the day that I arrived at my station – Driffield – I was posted to a crew and then taken off that crew, and that crew went missing that night. And I was then sent to a New Zealand crew, led by a man called Long. He was 6 foot 3 and he was called Long [laughter]. We should have nicknamed him Shortie, but we nicknamed him Lofty. We had a specially high regard for him, because one night (he’d recently been married) he went into the telephone kiosk to telephone his wife. The call was a long time coming through (reminiscent not only of wartime England but modern England), and so he had a few beers. And by the time his call did come through, he was just able to say ‘Hello darling’, and then fell asleep [laughter]. And when he woke up 8 minutes later, his wife was still on the line and he managed to explain the situation away to our utmost admiration. What Lofty did for me was this: those of you who were in the RAF know that when you went out to begin with as a sprog pilot, you sat in the second dicky seat on the right, and your captain flew the aircraft over Germany, and when he got back over the enemy coast he put you in the seat. That was all the experience you had till the day that you went off alone. But Lofty was different. On my third trip he put me into the captain’s seat before we got to the enemy coast and gave me 4 trips in the seat with him in the second dicky position. So I had experience that few other people were given. And that I know is the debt that I owe to Lofty. And being here in New Zealand I remember him very specially. For he won one of the first DFC’s of the war, but was killed a few weeks later. So tonight, on behalf of my wife and myself, I say thank you on 2 counts. I say thank you first because of all the help that we have received in this country for one of our homes in northern India, which looks after disabled people – leprosy sufferers, mentally retarded children, destitute children, TB and hospital. Whereas the other homes finance themselves, this one depends upon outside help. And that help comes entirely from New Zealand and Australia. And over these 10 years we have seen the support groups grow, until today, when full responsibility has been undertaken. So I say thank you first and foremost to you, and through you those who’ve helped us. I also say thank you because this is an ex-servicemen’s night, and a great privilege for me will be my last memory that Sue and I take back with us as we leave your country. So, Jim, thank you ever so much.
08:33 [applause] to 08:37
08:33: End of speech.
08:37: End of recording
End of transcription
File Title: Talk given by Leonard Cheshire in New Zealand (1974) to the Royal New Zealand Returned & Services’ Association (RSA)
Duration: 8 mins 37 secs
Transcription date: 17/08/20
Archive Number: AV-S 510
Start of Transcription
00:00 [applause] to 00:06
00:07: Leonard Cheshire: President Jim, Mr Mayor (or Woody) – I want to call you Woody Herman, but that’s not right is it? [laughter], ladies and gentlemen. Well I would like to say on behalf of my wife Sue and myself that we count it a very great privilege indeed to be your guests tonight, and to have the opportunity of moving amongst you and just sharing this evening for a little while. I’d also like to say that for us this is the last night of a particular tour. For the last 7 weeks we’ve been touring Australia and New Zealand, with New Guinea in the midst and a short stopover in India on the way. I think every day we’ve had 2, 3 or 4 talks, and tonight is the last. Early in the morning we set off for south east Asia, and for me it could not be a happier occasion than to be amongst you of the RSA. And that I say with all my heart. We in Britain can never forget, and never will forget, what we owe to those from distant lands in the Commonwealth who came to help us in our hour of need. I know that it has been said that Britain stood alone, but really that wasn’t true. There were many countries that stood behind us, and we stood together, and I think we learnt what can be achieved when men and women, whole communities and even nations stand together for a common goal. Of course, then we knew we had to win – there could be no question of losing, because we would have been finished, as you can see tonight from World at War. But nonetheless it was demonstrated what can be achieved by human beings when we stand together. And you in the RSA, like all members of other service organisations I feel have a special message to carry forward with you into the present and into the future. Above all, I think we need to demonstrate that our struggle in the War was not a unique thing, but every generation is struggling in its own way according to the circumstances of the day to try and achieve and maintain peace, and with peace of course freedom, justice and the opportunity for all to lead the kind of lives they want. We as it happened, regretfully, had to go to war. That was not our wish. But today’s generation has no less of a struggle, even though the goal may be more difficult to see, or at any rate its urgency less easy to feel. And when I look back to the days, I spent in the Air Force I remember the lessons that I learnt and the example that was set to me by others. And I think those that I admire most of all are the unknown people, who were never seen, who never received any special honour, but yet went about doing their duty, and often never came through. And I think of all the lessons that we learnt in the war the most significant was how involved we are, one with another, how we depend upon each other. But if one man seems to achieve success, he knows in his heart that it’s due to others, some of whom perhaps he never knew. I would also like in closing to say that, had it not been for my first captain (who was a New Zealander), I don’t think that I would have got through my first tour. In the first place, the day that I arrived at my station – Driffield – I was posted to a crew and then taken off that crew, and that crew went missing that night. And I was then sent to a New Zealand crew, led by a man called Long. He was 6 foot 3 and he was called Long [laughter]. We should have nicknamed him Shortie, but we nicknamed him Lofty. We had a specially high regard for him, because one night (he’d recently been married) he went into the telephone kiosk to telephone his wife. The call was a long time coming through (reminiscent not only of wartime England but modern England), and so he had a few beers. And by the time his call did come through, he was just able to say ‘Hello darling’, and then fell asleep [laughter]. And when he woke up 8 minutes later, his wife was still on the line and he managed to explain the situation away to our utmost admiration. What Lofty did for me was this: those of you who were in the RAF know that when you went out to begin with as a sprog pilot, you sat in the second dicky seat on the right, and your captain flew the aircraft over Germany, and when he got back over the enemy coast he put you in the seat. That was all the experience you had till the day that you went off alone. But Lofty was different. On my third trip he put me into the captain’s seat before we got to the enemy coast and gave me 4 trips in the seat with him in the second dicky position. So I had experience that few other people were given. And that I know is the debt that I owe to Lofty. And being here in New Zealand I remember him very specially. For he won one of the first DFC’s of the war, but was killed a few weeks later. So tonight, on behalf of my wife and myself, I say thank you on 2 counts. I say thank you first because of all the help that we have received in this country for one of our homes in northern India, which looks after disabled people – leprosy sufferers, mentally retarded children, destitute children, TB and hospital. Whereas the other homes finance themselves, this one depends upon outside help. And that help comes entirely from New Zealand and Australia. And over these 10 years we have seen the support groups grow, until today, when full responsibility has been undertaken. So I say thank you first and foremost to you, and through you those who’ve helped us. I also say thank you because this is an ex-servicemen’s night, and a great privilege for me will be my last memory that Sue and I take back with us as we leave your country. So, Jim, thank you ever so much.
08:33 [applause] to 08:37
08:33: End of speech.
08:37: End of recording
End of transcription
Collection
Citation
G L Cheshire, “Talk given by Leonard Cheshire in New Zealand to the Royal New Zealand Returned & Services’ Association,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed June 14, 2025, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/collections/document/40184.
Item Relations
| Item: Recording of several events during a tour of New Zealand and Australia. Oct/Nov 1974 | dcterms:relation | This Item |
| Item: Recording of several events during a tour of New Zealand and Australia. Oct/Nov 1974 | dcterms:relation | This Item |