Loss of Secret Documents Carried by Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh Mallory Report by J.I.C.

6. Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh Mallory did not, as on a previous occasion in October 1943, seek authority from the Chief of the Air Staff to carry "Top Secret" documents with him by air on his last flight. He may have interpreted the Air Ministry ruling on the exceptions which could be made to the regulations, as entitling him to assume authority for safe hand in his capacity as an Air Commander-in-Chief although by the nature of the case no evidence exists on this point. Even so, no record was left of the documents which the Air Chief Marshal took with him.