Sir Henry Leach, British admiral died he was , 87.

Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry Conyers Leach, GCB, DL was a former First Sea Lord of the UK's Royal Navy he was , 87.. Leach was the First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff between 1979 and 1982, being the professional head of the Navy at the time of the Falklands War. He was instrumental in convincing the Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher that retaking the Falkland Islands from Argentina was feasible. For his determination in the Navy's ability to retake the Falklands, Andrew Marr referred to Leach as Thatcher's "Knight in Shining Gold Braid".


(18 November 1923 – 26 April 2011)

Early life

Leach was the third son of John Leach, a naval officer. He was educated at St Peter’s Court, Broadstairs. He entered the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth as a cadet in 1937.^[1]

Naval career

After passing out of Dartmouth, he served on the battleship HMS Rodney in the South Atlantic and the cruiser HMS Edinburgh in the Indian Ocean.^[1] In 1941, as a Midshipman he was assigned to HMS Prince of Wales. However, before he could take up post on board, his father, Captain John Leach, was given command. As a result he was reassigned to HMS Mauritius which soon went into refit in Singapore. During this refit 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.^[2] An obituary in the Daily Telegraph notes that "Survivors 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."^[1] His next post was on the destroyer HMS Sardonyx before being promoted to sub-lieutenant and posted to HMS Duke of York, the flagship of the Home Fleet. Leach was in command of "A" turret and he was involved in the Battle of North Cape.^[3] In Autumn 1944, he was posted to HMS Javelin as the navigating officer. During his posting on Javelin, a mutiny broke out whilst Leach was the Duty Officer. He "conducted himself well under difficult circumstances"^[1] and after the mutiny was put down the captain and first lieutenant were re-appointed. Leach was given the position as first lieutenant and the ship was transformed within a few weeks. He was not in his post for long though and was transferred to the destroyer HMS Chequers. He was only at this post for a short time as well as he decided to gain his qualifications as a gunnery specialist at HMS Excellent.^[1]
He was promoted to lieutenant-commander in 1952 before attending the Royal Naval College, Greenwich before becoming a staff officer for the Naval Brigade in London for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Leach saw service at the end of the Korean War as part of his appointment as the gunnery officer of the 5th Cruiser Squadron. He also saw service in the Malayan Emergency of 1955 when HMS Newcastle supported the Army and Royal Marines. He was promoted to commander in 1955 and his first job was to help bring the navy's first surface-to-air missile, the Sea Slug, into service.^[1] His first command was the destroyer HMS Dunkirk which he commanded from 1959 to 1961.^[4] He was then appointed as captain of the 27th Escort Squadron which he commanded from the Leander-class frigate HMS Galatea from 1965 to 1967. An appointment at the Ministry of Defence followed as the Director of Naval Plans from 1968 to 1970 before he was given another command, that of HMS Albion. He strongly opposed the abolition of the daily issue of rum at that time.^[4]
In 1971, he became Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff and in 1974 he was appointed Flag Officer First Flotilla. In 1976, he went on to be Vice Chief of the Defence Staff and in 1977 he became Commander-in-Chief Fleet. He was appointed First Sea Lord in 1979.

[edit] Falklands War

On 31 March 1982, soon after the Argentine invasion of the Falklands, Leach brushed aside serious doubts from the Secretary of State for Defence Sir John Nott, and marched in to visit the Prime Minister in full uniform.^[5] The Chief of the Defence Staff at the time was on his way back from a foreign visit and Leach bypassed the Acting Chief of the Defence Staff to march into the office. For his determination, Andrew Marr referred to Leach as Thatcher's "Knight in Shining Gold Braid" in his documentary series History of Modern Britain. When he was asked if retaking the islands was possible, he replied "Yes we can recover the islands." He then added "and we must!" Thatcher replied "Why?" Leach exclaimed Because if we do not, or if we pussyfoot in our actions and do not achieve complete success, in another few months we shall be living in a different country whose word counts for little.^[1] Leach then explained how the task force would take shape and what ships would be involved. When asked about the lack of available aircraft carriers, Leach reassured the Prime Minister that the two small carriers available would suffice. Thatcher approved this and preparations were made to send a task force to set sail to retake the Falklands.
The Falklands campaign was successful, in no small part, thanks to the contributions of Leach among others. He was promoted to Admiral of the Fleet upon retirement in late 1982.

Later life

Leach retired in late 1982, settling in Winchester. In his retirement he published his memoirs entitled Endure no Makeshifts. Leach involved himself in several charitable organisations including acting as president of the Sea Cadet Association from 1983 to 1993. He was the Chairman of the Council of the King Edward VII Hospital as well as being a chairman of the Royal Navy Club of 1765 & 1785 (United 1889).^[6]
In 2004 it was announced that the new Navy Command Headquarters building of the Royal Navy at Whale Island, Portsmouth, was to be named the "Sir Henry Leach Building" in his honour.^[7]
Leach's death was reported on 26 April 2011.^[1] He was 87.

 

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