Leonard Henry Trent

Group Captain Leonard Henry Trent (14 April 1915 – 19 May 1986) was a New Zealander recipient of the Victoria Cross, the most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Early life
Trent was born in Nelson, New Zealand on 14 April 1915, the son of a dentist. In 1919 the family moved to Takaka, where three years later, after taking a short ride in a Gipsy Moth aircraft, Trent became captivated by flying. He was educated at Nelson College and boarded at the school between 1928 and 1934.

Air force career
After induction training at Taieri near Dunedin, he undertook Royal New Zealand Air Force flight training in Christchurch, gaining his wings in May 1938. A month later he sailed for Britain to join the Royal Air Force.

In September 1939 Trent went to France as part of No. 15 Squadron RAF, flying Bristol Blenheims on high-level photo-reconnaissance missions over enemy territory. The squadron returned to England in December to begin convert to medium bombers. Trent flew numerous combat missions after Germany invaded the Low Countries and France in May 1940.

In July 1940 he received the DFC for his outstanding contribution to the Battle of France. Posted as a training instructor, he married Ursula Elizabeth Woolhouse on 7 August 1940 at Holborn, London. He also test flew the Douglas DB-7 Boston, which he strongly recommended to the RAF.

Trent returned to combat duties in March 1942 and was promoted to Squadron Leader. He had spent six months at Headquarters, No. 2 Group RAF, before assuming command of B Flight in No. 487 Squadron RNZAF, working up on the Lockheed Ventura for daylight raids, a task for which the type was manifestly inadequate. He flew many difficult raids on targets in Holland and the Low countries during the late 1942 and early 1943.

Victoria Cross
He was a 28-year-old squadron leader, Royal New Zealand Air Force, serving with No. 487 Squadron RNZAF, under Royal Air Force control when he was awarded the Victoria Cross.

On 3 May 1943 the squadron was ordered on a Ramrod diversionary bombing attack on the power station in Amsterdam, (the code Ramrod meant a bomber raid escorted by fighters aimed at destruction of a specific target in daylight). No.s 118 Sqn, 167 and 504 Squadrons of the Coltishall Wing were to escort the Venturas, and were to be met by further squadrons of No. 11 Group, Fighter Command over the Dutch coast. The Venturas were to cross the coast at sea level so as not to alert German radar, then climb.

Unfortunately the 11 Gp Mk IXs flying Rodeo 212 ahead of the Venturas arrived early and crossed the coast high&mdash;being anxious to gain a height advantage&mdash;alerting the German defences. They ran low on fuel before the Venturas arrived and had to leave. The Luftwaffe scrambled some 70 fighters in four formations, with Focke-Wulf Fw 190s to deal with the escort and Messerschmitt Bf 109s the bombers.



The escort Wing Leader, Wg Cdr Blatchford, vainly attempted to recall the bombers but they were soon hemmed in by fighters. Under constant attack by II Gruppe, Jagdgeschwader 1, 487 Squadron continued on to its target, the few surviving aircraft completing bombing runs before being shot down. The Squadron was virtually wiped out. Trent shot down a Messerschmitt Bf 109 with the forward machine guns of his plane. Immediately afterwards, his own aircraft (Ventura AJ209) was hit, went into a spin and broke up.

Trent and his navigator were thrown clear at 7,000 feet and became prisoners. Trent, whose leadership was instrumental in ensuring the bombing run was completed, was awarded the Victoria Cross.

Stalag Luft III
After his capture Trent was assigned to Stalag Luft III Sagan, Germany (now Żagań, Poland). He participated in the "Great Escape" of 24 March 1944 although he was recaptured almost immediately. The Gestapo executed 50 recaptured prisoners, but Trent received solitary confinement because of his immediate surrender outside the camp. Trent survived the war in a POW camp.

Trent was liberated by British forces on 2 May 1945. He returned to England and promptly recommenced RAF service, learning that his last combat mission had earned him the Victoria Cross. Quiet and unassuming, Trent disliked the fuss the award caused, especially during its investiture at Buckingham Palace on 12 April 1946, being uncomfortable with the publicity.

Post-war career
Continuing in the Royal Air Force after the war, he trained in jets (having the dubious distinction of having to eject from a de Havilland Vampire and a Gloster Meteor) and later commanded No. 214 Squadron RAF with the, then, new Vickers Valiant. In 1956 he saw further action during the Suez Crisis, and later in the early 1960s, he was promoted to the rank of Group Captain and was appointed an Air Attaché to Washington DC.

Later life
Trent moved to Forrestdale, Western Australia, in 1965, with his wife, Ursula, and three children, and took a job with MacRobertson Miller Airlines. With his wife, he returned to New Zealand to live at Matheson Bay, north of Auckland, in 1977, dying on 19 May 1986 at North Shore Hospital. Trent's ashes were returned to Western Australia, where they were interred at Fremantle Cemetery alongside those of his daughter, Judith, who had died in 1983 at the age of 31.

A biography, Venturer Courageous by James Saunders and Laddie Lucas was published by Hutchinson in 1983.

Other sources

 * For Valour: The Air VCs by Chaz Bowyer (Grub Street. 1992)
 * 2 Group RAF: A complete History 1936-45 by Chaz Bowyer (Faber & Faber 1974).