Les Dobinson’s own story

—oOo-

“P-Squared” posts > I regret to inform the Forum that “Dr D” – Les Dobinson – died recently, aged 96. The notification came through the RAF Fighter Control Association of which Les was an honorary member.

[“P-Squared” is a former RAF Fighter Controller (1981-2013). He holds a BA(Hons) in History, and an MA in Second World War studies.]

The obituary, as posted on the site, is as follows:

“It is with great sadness that I have to post another notice about the death of one of our special WW2 veterans, Dr Les Dobinson, who died on 20th May 2021.

“Les Dobinson was a radar/signals technician who was posted to an MSSU which supported a number of ASAC units which took part in Operations Neptune and Overlord. Les landed on “Bloody” Omaha Beach on D+3 to discover that 21 BDS and 15082 GCI had suffered very heavy casualties and lost a great deal of their equipment in the landing. One of the dead was a particular friend of his. Les served with the MSSU for the whole campaign to defeat the German tyranny in Europe.

“After the war, Les followed a career in engineering attaining a PhD in Applied Science. Les was bemused as to why the story of the RAF landings on Omaha Beach had been lost in the mist of time.  Especially the ultimate price paid by so many RAF personnel, and the courage and fortitude that had been shown by members of the units that resulted in a number of awards for valour. He single-handedly took it upon himself to enlist the help of the local town and French organisations dedicated to preserving the history of D-Day to raise a memorial at Vierville-sur-Mer. The memorial was unveiled in June 2012 and remains the only RAF memorial in the assault area. It was for this work that Les was admitted to the Association as an honorary member. I had the privilege to be with Les throughout the celebrations for the 75th anniversary of D-Day, where he was the guest of honour at a moving ceremony at Vierville-sur-Mer.

“Les was a lovely man who dedicated a lot of time and effort to ensuring the story of 21 BDS and 15082 GCI would live on and for this as well as his vital role in maintaining the operational equipment we owe him a great deal.”

—-oOo—-

“WolgarstonSchool” writes > On the 3rd September 1939, the 2nd World War was declared. Leslie Dobinson was just a 14-year old boy when this life changing event was declared.

(Decades later) Les recalls some of his unusual experiences that relate to the momentous events of that time. As a result of the war, the London schools, including the one which Les attended, were forced to close, resulting in Les being moved to the countryside with his infant sister Olive to live with his Aunt. After months of working as a poultry farmer, Les moved back to London to work with his father in his butcher’s shop. In a move to improve his lot, Les got a job working in a stockbrokers’ office in the City of London, but eventually became fully engaged in the Civil Defence Organisation at the control centre which was situated in the basement of Leyton Town Hall. This then led to his full-time employment there as a local Government Officer. As well as being a non-commissioned officer in the Air Training Corps since its inauguration, he had joined the Home Guard with his father, who consequently was a Sergeant.

It is from here that one of Les’ interesting stories comes from. On being given a lift home, from a night-time drill during an air raid, Les arrived just as a shower of incendiary bombs was falling. One of these landed a yard away from the stationary vehicle. He leapt out to take cover under the truck, before realising the folly of his action. When his father jumped out to deal with the bomb, Les rolled out just as the driver took off, narrowly missing him.

Eventually, Les joined the RAF for training as a Wireless Mechanic since defective colour vision prevented him from his intended enlistment as aircrew. He was soon to join the Second Tactical Air Force serving on a Mobile Signals Servicing Unit, which landed on Omaha Beach in support of the Americans shortly after D-Day.

One day which sticks in his memory is the 4th July 1944, American’s Independence Day. This was taken as an excuse for the well-sheltered GI’s to use all available armaments to attack a German reconnaissance aircraft, which was well out of range. The resultant fall-out included shell fragments against which the canvas tents afforded no protection, resulting in his adjacent bedmate losing a foot.

His service continued as the front advanced successively liberating cities in France, Belgium, Holland and through to the occupation of Germany. Following the cessation of hostilities he liaised with the French air force in the sale of redundant communications equipment.

(In 2004) Les attended the 60th anniversary of D-Day commemorations at the American Cemetery above Omaha Beach and, as the sole RAF Veteran present, was entertained in the VIP area, a few rows from the podium from which George Bush and Jaques Chirac made their presentations, with Tom Hanks (“Private Ryan”) in the front row.  He was also introduced to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, a number of Senators and all senior ranks present from 4-star to 1-star Generals, none of whom were aware of any British participation in the D-Day landings on Omaha Beach.

Les Dobinson wrote about the 2004 commemorations > “As an 80-year old ex-RAF WW2 Veteran, who landed on Omaha Beach during the 1944 Normandy landings, I was privileged to be the only British Normandy veteran to attend the ceremony to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of D-day, that was conducted by Presidents Bush and Chirac at the Normandy American Cemetery on 6th June 2004.

“In the VIP enclosure I took the opportunity to talk to American veterans and a number of 3 and 4-Star Generals, and with Senators and Congressmen. I was astonished to find that none of these VIPs had any idea that British Forces personnel had participated directly in the D-day landings on Omaha Beach, in support of the Americans.

“The RAF Mobile Radar Unit (15082 GCI), with which I was associated, landed there that day and sustained substantial casualties. They were there to provide forward Radar coverage facilities, that the US forces lacked, to locate hostile aircraft and to direct RAF fighter aircraft to intercept and attack them to maintain allied air superiority over and beyond the invasion beaches.

“Since some of the Radio and Radar Technicians had roomed with me at RAF Signals Schools during our technical training, I felt obliged to see that their sacrifice would no longer go unrecorded. To this end I arranged, through the Mayor of Vierville-sur-Mer, for local school children to regularly visit these RAF graves in the Bayeux Commonwealth Cemetery. I returned home to seek related records and publications, with such little success that I decided to donate a perpetual shield in their memory to my local Air Training Corps (Cadet) Squadron. Even the RAF’s official website, and others (mainly US) detailing the units engaged on Omaha Beach, fail to mention this and other RAF Mobile Signals unit involvement there.”

—-oOo—-

Peter Best writes > “Les was a diligent, forceful man who was instrumental in getting the RAF memorial funded and built in Vierville-sur-Mer, and raised the awareness of 21 BDS in high places. We owe him a debt of gratitude for all he did.  Apart from the ceremony in 2012 in Vierville, I met him on a few occasions at his home in Penkridge in Staffordshire. I knew he was a scientist and a doctorate. He was widowed by then but I think he had a daughter. We worked quite well together and I was always grateful for all his efforts to get the memorial done.  May he rest in peace.”

—-oOo—-

David Heathcote adds > “Les spent his final years in a nursing home near Stafford. It may be over-romanticising things, but I believe he was determined not to die until he had done all he could to perpetuate the memory of his comrades who fell on Omaha Beach. He did not land till D+3, so he was in a unique (but hardly enviable) position to observe the carnage of the previous 48 hours.

“He carried out what he saw as his duty admirably.”