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Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Alan Arnett McLeod

In memory of:

Lieutenant Alan Arnett McLeod

November 6, 1918

Military Service

Age:

19

Force:

Air Force

Unit:

Royal Air Force

Citation(s):

An extract from The London Gazette,' dated May 1, 1918, records the following:
Whilst flying with his observer (Lt. A. W. Hammond, M.C.), attacking hostile formations by bombs and machine-gun fire, he was assailed at a height of 5,000 feet by eight enemy triplanes, which dived at him from all directions, firing from their front guns. By skilful manoeuvring he enabled his observer to fire bursts at each machine in turn, shooting three of them down out of control. By this time Lt. McLeod had received five wounds, and whilst continuing the engagement a bullet penetrated his petrol tank and set the machine on fire. He then climbed out on to the left bottom plane, controlling his machine from the side of the fuselage, and by side-slipping steeply kept the flames to one side, thus enabling the observer to continue firing until the ground was reached. The observer had been wounded six times when the machine crashed in "No Man's Land," and 2nd Lt. McLeod, not withstanding his own wounds, dragged him away from the burning wreckage at great personal risk from heavy machine-gun fire from the enemy's lines. This very gallant pilot was again wounded by a bomb whilst engaged in this act of rescue, but he persevered until he had placed Lt. Hammond in comparative safety, before falling himself from exhaustion and loss of blood. Victoria Cross

Honours and Awards:

Victoria Cross

Additional Information

Son of Dr. A. N. MacLeod and Margaret Lillian MacLeod, of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Lived in Stonewall, Manitoba. The Canadian Daily Record of December 6, 1918 notes that the London Gazette has officially announced that Lieutenant A. A. McLeod had died of wounds. In the December 17, 1918 issue, it stated that he had died of influenza.

Commemorated on Page 590 of the First World War Book of Remembrance. Request a copy of this page. Download high resolution copy of this page.

Alan Arnett McLeod is a recipient of the Victoria Cross.
Complete list of Canadian Victoria Cross Recipients

Burial Information

Cemetery:

WINNIPEG (OLD KILDONAN) PRESBYTERIAN CEMETERY
Manitoba, Canada

Grave Reference:

N/A

Information courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Digital Collection

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  • Newspaper clipping– From the Toronto Star March 1942. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me

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    Newspaper clipping
    Newspaper clipping – From the Toronto Star March 1942. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Newspaper clipping– From the Toronto Telegram May 1918. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me

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    Newspaper clipping
    Newspaper clipping – From the Toronto Telegram May 1918. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Medal– Decoration and medals awarded to Lieutenant A. A. McLeod VC, on permanent display at the Canadian War Museum, Ottawa. Left to right: Victoria Cross, British War Medal, Victory Medal. (Image taken by Gregory J. Barker of Barrie, Ontario, in 2022.)

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    Medal
    Medal – Decoration and medals awarded to Lieutenant A. A. McLeod VC, on permanent display at the Canadian War Museum, Ottawa. Left to right: Victoria Cross, British War Medal, Victory Medal. (Image taken by Gregory J. Barker of Barrie, Ontario, in 2022.)
  • Photo of Alan McLeod– Source: CANADA IN THE GREAT WORLD WAR. Vol. VI Special Services / Heroic Deeds. United Publishers of Canada Limited, Toronto, 1921.

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    Photo of Alan McLeod
    Photo of Alan McLeod – Source: CANADA IN THE GREAT WORLD WAR. Vol. VI Special Services / Heroic Deeds. United Publishers of Canada Limited, Toronto, 1921.
  • Photo of ALAN ARNETT MCLEOD– Portrait of Alan A. McLeod in the uniform of the Royal Flying Corps.

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    Photo of ALAN ARNETT MCLEOD
    Photo of ALAN ARNETT MCLEOD – Portrait of Alan A. McLeod in the uniform of the Royal Flying Corps.
  • Photo of Alan Arnett McLeod– Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me.

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    Photo of Alan Arnett McLeod
    Photo of Alan Arnett McLeod – Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me.
  • Photo of ALAN ARNETT MCLEOD– Alan McLeod, aged 14, in the summer of 1913, when he trained with The 34th Fort Garry Horse, a Winnipeg-headquartered cavalry regiment of the Non-Permanent Active Militia (as Canada's reserve army was then known). McLeod's interest in the military clearly pre-dated World War I. (Photo credit: Library and Archives Canada, C-027812)

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    Photo of ALAN ARNETT MCLEOD
    Photo of ALAN ARNETT MCLEOD – Alan McLeod, aged 14, in the summer of 1913, when he trained with The 34th Fort Garry Horse, a Winnipeg-headquartered cavalry regiment of the Non-Permanent Active Militia (as Canada's reserve army was then known). McLeod's interest in the military clearly pre-dated World War I. (Photo credit: Library and Archives Canada, C-027812)
  • Photo of ALAN ARNETT MCLEOD– Second Lieutenant Alan A. McLeod (second from the left), with other officers, in front of an Armstrong Whitworth F.K.8 aircraft. It appears that this photograph was taken in France sometime during the winter of 1917-18, when McLeod was serving in 2 Squadron. (Photo credit: Library and Archives Canada, C-027811.)

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    Photo of ALAN ARNETT MCLEOD
    Photo of ALAN ARNETT MCLEOD – Second Lieutenant Alan A. McLeod (second from the left), with other officers, in front of an Armstrong Whitworth F.K.8 aircraft. It appears that this photograph was taken in France sometime during the winter of 1917-18, when McLeod was serving in 2 Squadron. (Photo credit: Library and Archives Canada, C-027811.)
  • Photo of ALAN ARNETT MCLEOD– Lieutenant Alan A. McLeod, VC, in an early uniform of the Royal Air Force. (The RAF had come into being on 01 April 1918, with the amalgamation of the Royal Naval Air Service with the Royal Flying Corps.) McLeod, in this photo, is wearing the Victoria Cross ribbon on his left breast, immediately above the pocket flap and below his pilot's flying badge. He also has a wound stripe on his lower left sleeve, immediately above the eagle-and-crown that surmounts the rank lace.

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    Photo of ALAN ARNETT MCLEOD
    Photo of ALAN ARNETT MCLEOD – Lieutenant Alan A. McLeod, VC, in an early uniform of the Royal Air Force. (The RAF had come into being on 01 April 1918, with the amalgamation of the Royal Naval Air Service with the Royal Flying Corps.) McLeod, in this photo, is wearing the Victoria Cross ribbon on his left breast, immediately above the pocket flap and below his pilot's flying badge. He also has a wound stripe on his lower left sleeve, immediately above the eagle-and-crown that surmounts the rank lace.
  • Photographs

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    Photographs
    Photographs
  • Photographs

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    Photographs
    Photographs
  • Photographs

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    Photographs
    Photographs
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    Photographs
    Photographs
  • Official Death Announcement

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    Official Death Announcement
    Official Death Announcement
  • Newspaper Clipping– In memory of the men and women memorialized on the pages of the Winnipeg Evening Tribune during World War One. Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me

    Details

    Newspaper Clipping
    Newspaper Clipping – In memory of the men and women memorialized on the pages of the Winnipeg Evening Tribune during World War One. Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me
  • Newspaper Clipping– In memory of the men and women memorialized on the pages of the Winnipeg Evening Tribune during World War One. Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me

    Details

    Newspaper Clipping
    Newspaper Clipping – In memory of the men and women memorialized on the pages of the Winnipeg Evening Tribune during World War One. Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me
  • Award Citation– Personal Information Sheet

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    Award Citation
    Award Citation – Personal Information Sheet
  • Newspaper Clipping– In memory of the men and women memorialized on the pages of the Winnipeg Evening Tribune during World War One. Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me

    Details

    Newspaper Clipping
    Newspaper Clipping – In memory of the men and women memorialized on the pages of the Winnipeg Evening Tribune during World War One. Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me
  • Newspaper Clipping– Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me. From the Annie Boyes collection courtesy of the Simcoe County Archives. http://www.simcoe.ca/dpt/arc

    Details

    Newspaper Clipping
    Newspaper Clipping – Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me. From the Annie Boyes collection courtesy of the Simcoe County Archives. http://www.simcoe.ca/dpt/arc
  • Newspaper Clipping– In memory of the men and women memorialized on the pages of the Winnipeg Evening Tribune during World War One. Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me

    Details

    Newspaper Clipping
    Newspaper Clipping – In memory of the men and women memorialized on the pages of the Winnipeg Evening Tribune during World War One. Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me
  • War Memorial– Barrie Military Park, Canadian Victoria Cross Recipients, Cenotaph

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    War Memorial
    War Memorial – Barrie Military Park, Canadian Victoria Cross Recipients, Cenotaph
  • Photo of ALAN ARNETT MCLEOD– photo of grave stone of Alan McLeod taken at Kildonan Presbyterian Cemetery

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    Photo of ALAN ARNETT MCLEOD
    Photo of ALAN ARNETT MCLEOD – photo of grave stone of Alan McLeod taken at Kildonan Presbyterian Cemetery
  • Memorial– The building that houses the Air Force Annex of the CFB Borden Military Museum, at Canadian Forces Base Borden, Ontario, is named the "Édifice McLEOD VC Building." The name honours 2nd Lieutenant Alan A. McLeod, VC, who as a cadet in the Royal Flying Corps completed his intermediate flight training at Camp Borden. The building is one of the hangars originally built for the Royal Flying Corps in 1917. (Image taken by Gregory J. Barker of Barrie, Ontario, in 2018.)

    Details

    Memorial
    Memorial – The building that houses the Air Force Annex of the CFB Borden Military Museum, at Canadian Forces Base Borden, Ontario, is named the "Édifice McLEOD VC Building." The name honours 2nd Lieutenant Alan A. McLeod, VC, who as a cadet in the Royal Flying Corps completed his intermediate flight training at Camp Borden. The building is one of the hangars originally built for the Royal Flying Corps in 1917. (Image taken by Gregory J. Barker of Barrie, Ontario, in 2018.)

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