Vice Admiral David Willoughby Leach, (17 July 1928 –19 January 2020) was a senior officer of the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

, who served as Chief of the Naval Staff from 1982 to 1985.

Early life

Leach was born in

Subiaco, Western Australia Subiaco (known colloquially as Subi) is an inner-Western suburbs (Perth), western suburb of Perth, the capital of Western Australia. It is approximately west of Perth's central business district, in the City of Subiaco local government area. H ...

, on 17 July 1928 to John Digby Leach, a

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

veteran and later Commissioner of Main Roads in Western Australia, and his wife Grace Lilian. Initially educated at

Perth Modern School , motto_translation = Knowledge is Power , location = Subiaco, Perth, Western Australia , country = Australia , coordinates = , mapframe-stroke-colour = #C60C30 , mapframe-marker-co ...

, Leach entered the

Royal Australian Naval College The Royal Australian Naval College (RANC), commonly known as HMAS Creswell, is the naval academy of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). It consists of the RAN School of Survivability and Ship's Safety, Kalkara Flight, the Beecroft Weapons Range an ...

in January 1942 aged thirteen.

Naval career

Leach commanded the guided missile

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

s and HMAS ''Perth'' during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

Hobart Association
/ref> for which he was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 1969. In 1970 he managed naval liaison for the Royal Visit to Australia for which he was appointed a

Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

. He was appointed Flag Officer Commanding HM Australian Fleet in 1979 and Chief of the Naval Staff in 1982. He was made a

Companion of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in June 1984, and retired in 1985. After retiring from the Navy, Leach joined the Council of the

Australian War Memorial The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in wars involving the Commonwealth of Australia and some conflicts involving pe ...

and became a member of the

Administrative Appeals Tribunal The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) is an Australian tribunal that conducts independent merits review of administrative decisions made under Commonwealth laws of the Australian Government. The AAT review decisions made by Australian Gover ...

. He was also elected as an alderman in the

Municipality of Woollahra Woollahra Municipal Council (or Woollahra Council) is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), eastern suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Woollahra is bounded by Port J ...

, and served as mayor during 1995. Leach died in Sydney on 19 January 2020.

References

1928 births 2020 deaths Australian military personnel of the Vietnam War Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of Australia Graduates of the Royal Australian Naval College Lieutenants of the Royal Victorian Order People educated at Perth Modern School People from Perth, Western Australia Royal Australian Navy admirals Mayors of Woollahra {{Australia-mil-bio-stub