Henry Leach
| Sir Henry Leach | |
|---|---|
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry Leach
|
|
| Born |
18 November 1923 Newton Abbot, Devon |
| Died | 26 April 2011 (aged 87) |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/branch | Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1937–1982 |
| Rank | Admiral of the Fleet |
| Commands held |
First Sea Lord Commander-in-Chief Fleet Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff HMS Albion HMS Dunkirk |
| Battles/wars |
Second World War Korean War Malayan Emergency Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation Falklands War |
| Awards | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath |
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry Conyers Leach, GCB, DL (18 November 1923 – 26 April 2011) was a Royal Navy officer who, as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff during the early 1980s, was instrumental in convincing British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher that retaking the Falkland Islands from Argentina was feasible. On account of the determination he showed in the matter, journalist and political commentator Andrew Marr described him as Thatcher's "knight in shining gold braid".
Born the third son of naval officer John Leach and Evelyn Burrell Leach (née Lee), Leach was educated at St Peter's Court, Broadstairs, and the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth.
Leach joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in 1937. After the Second World War started in 1939, he served on the battleship HMS Rodney in the South Atlantic and the cruiser HMS Edinburgh in the Indian Ocean. Promoted to midshipman on 1 January 1941, he was assigned to HMS Prince of Wales. Before he could take up the post, however, his father was given command, so he was reassigned to HMS Mauritius. The Mauritius soon went into refit in Singapore, during which time Leach was assigned to the war room there as a plotting officer. While in Singapore, the Prince of Wales was sunk by the Japanese off Singapore, and Leach's father died in this action. His obituary in The Daily Telegraph notes that "[s]urvivors of the action remembered a forlorn midshipman searching for his father, who was among those lost. Only two nights earlier, Leach and his father had enjoyed a gin sling and a swim." His next post was on the destroyer HMS Sardonyx before being promoted to sub-lieutenant on 1 October 1942 and posted to HMS Duke of York, the flagship of the Home Fleet in January 1943.
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