3-062-994 - Historic England Archive/Heritage Images

RAF Sergeant Jim Davis and aviator Leon 'Lee' Howard in the Operations Department at RAF Iver Heath, Pinewood Studios, Buckinghamshire, 1943. Leon Alexander Lee Howard (1914-1978), known as Lee, served with the RAF during the WW2, first as part of the Coastal Command, and later with the RAF's Film Production Unit at Pinewood Studios, shown here. During his service he received the Distinguished Flying Cross. Following the war he worked as a journalist for British newspapers, working his way up to become editor of the Daily Mirror in 1961, a position he would hold for ten years. He also wrote four novels. Pinewood Studios - or RAF Iver Heath - was used as the base during the WW2 for the Royal Air Force Film Production Unit, the Crown Film Unit, and the Army Film and Photographic Unit. The studios were used to produce both films advocating the role of the armed forces in the war, and documentary films, recording the progress of the war. Dorothy 'Knicky' Chapman was posted to Pinewood Studios to serve as a WAAF with the RAF's Film Production Unit, working in the Stills Department. This photograph is one of a set compiled by Chapman, which document her time at Pinewood Studios. It is not clear which of the photographs in the set were taken by Chapman.