John Steven Leake (26 October 1949 – 13 February 2000) was an English recipient of the

Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action * Distinguishe ...

whilst working for the

Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes The Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes (NAAFI ) is a company created by the British government on 9 December 1920 to run recreational establishments needed by the British Armed Forces, and to sell goods to servicemen and their families. It runs c ...

(NAAFI), one of only twelve to be issued to the British forces during the

Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...

. Prior to working for the NAAFI, he worked in private security and was a soldier in the

Devonshire and Dorset Regiment The Devonshire and Dorset Regiment (11th, 39th and 54th), usually just known as the Devon and Dorsets, was an infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1958 by the amalgamation of two county regiments, the Devonshire Regiment and the Dorset ...

of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

Early life

Born in

Erdington Erdington is a suburb and ward of Birmingham in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Warwickshire and located northeast of central Birmingham, bordering Sutton Coldfield. It was also a council constituency, managed by its o ...

, a suburb of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, Leake attended Albert Road School in

Aston Aston is an area of inner Birmingham, England. Located immediately to the north-east of Central Birmingham, Aston constitutes a ward within the metropolitan authority. It is approximately 1.5 miles from Birmingham City Centre. History Aston wa ...

. Leake joined the

, serving with the 1st Battalion of the Regiment in Northern Ireland. As one of his roles, he was an instructor in the use of the

General-purpose machine gun A general-purpose machine gun (GPMG) is an air-cooled, usually belt-fed machine gun that can be adapted flexibly to various tactical roles for light and medium machine guns. A GPMG typically features a quick-change barrel design calibered for v ...

. At the age of 24, he left the

to work for

private security companies A private security company (PSC) is a business entity which provides armed or unarmed security services and expertise to clients in the private or public sectors. Overview Private security companies are defined by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Sta ...

, including for

Securicor Securicor plc was one of the United Kingdom's largest security businesses. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but merged with Group 4 Falck in 2004. History The Company was founded by Edward Shortt, a former Liberal Cabinet Minister, ...

Birmingham Airport Birmingham Airport , formerly ''Birmingham International Airport'', is an international airport located east-southeast of Birmingham city centre, west-northwest of Coventry slightly north of Bickenhill village, in the Metropolitan Borou ...

. He was working for locally based

IMI plc IMI plc (), formerly Imperial Metal Industries, is a British-based engineering company headquartered in Birmingham, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. History The company was founded b ...

, when he decided to join the

West Midlands Police West Midlands Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. The force covers an area of with 2.93million inhabitants, which includes the cities of Birmingham, Coventry, W ...

, but after arriving early for his interview he read a local paper and saw an advertisement for the

(NAAFI), and decided to apply for a job with them instead.

NAAFI career

By the time the

broke out in 1982, Leake was serving as a Canteen Manager in the Naval Canteen Service wing of the NAAFI on board HMS ''Ardent'', a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

Type 21 frigate The Type 21 frigate, or ''Amazon''-class frigate, was a British Royal Navy general-purpose escort that was designed in the late 1960s, built in the 1970s and served throughout the 1980s into the 1990s. Development In the mid-1960s, the Royal Na ...

. The ship was ordered to proceed to

Ascension Island Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island, 7°56′ south of the Equator in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is about from the coast of Africa and from the coast of South America. It is governed as part of the British Overseas Territory o ...

, where after three days it proceeded to the Falklands. On the morning of 7 May, he was invited to practice on a general-purpose machine gun, being informed afterwards that he was to take up that role instead at action stations should active service be declared, with his former role of casualty coordinator in sickbay being taken by his Canteen Assistant, Nigel Woods. While en route, active service was declared and Leake signed on to the Royal Navy on a temporary basis, becoming a

petty officer A petty officer (PO) is a non-commissioned officer in many navies and is given the NATO rank denotation OR-5 or OR-6. In many nations, they are typically equal to a sergeant in comparison to other military branches. Often they may be superior ...

in the Royal Navy, but continuing in his previous role as Canteen Manager. On 21 May, the ''Ardent'' moved into position in

Falkland Sound The Falkland Sound ( es, Estrecho de San Carlos) is a sea strait in the Falkland Islands. Running southwest-northeast, it separates West and East Falkland. Name The sound was named by John Strong in 1690 for Viscount Falkland, the name only l ...

as the lead ship to bombard Argentine positions in order to divert the attention of the enemy force from the British landing in the San Carlo inlet. Leake operated a deck mounted machine gun during the ensuing attacks by Argentine aircraft, and was credited with downing an Argentine

Douglas A-4 Skyhawk The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is a single-seat subsonic carrier-capable light attack aircraft developed for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps in the early 1950s. The delta-winged, single turbojet engined Skyhawk was designed a ...

, puncturing the plane's fuel tanks. He continued to man the gun whilst the ship was hit by seventeen missiles and bombs. Along with the remaining crew, Leake abandoned ship, boarding HMS ''Yarmouth'', which pulled alongside the listing ''Ardent''. Leake was later posted to HMS ''Sutherland'', and died on 13 February 2000 in St Luke's Hospice, Plymouth, from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

after previously having a kidney removed in an attempt to beat the disease. His funeral took place at the crematorium at Weston Mill, Plymouth on 21 February 2000.

Private life

Leake married Carole, and together they had a son as well as two sons from Carole's previous marriage. At the time of Leake's death, he was living in

Milehouse Milehouse is a late Victorian and 1930s suburb of Plymouth. It is now notable for a substantial traffic junction, the vast depot base of the local city bus company, a Wetherspoons pub and an undertaker. Formerly it was famous for the site of ...

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

. He was one of five brothers, the others being David, Ian, Geoffrey, and Stephen.

Legacy

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

Sandy Woodward Admiral Sir John Forster "Sandy" Woodward, (1 May 1932 – 4 August 2013) was a senior Royal Navy officer who commanded the Task Force of the Falklands War. Early life Woodward was born on 1 May 1932 at Penzance, Cornwall, to a bank clerk. He ...

, the commander of the British Naval Force during the Falklands War, wrote about Leake in his memoirs. He said "I was sure there would be many stories of heroism to come out of it, but of them all, I remain most impressed by the conduct of John Leake who manned the machine gun in Ardent. He was not really in the Navy, but, as we say, we are all of one company, the Captain and the NAAFI man. And we all go together." Following Leake's death in 2000, his medals were put up for auction on 23 September 2011. They sold for £110,000, beating the previous record paid for a Distinguished Service Medal set at £59,800 in 2003.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leake, John 1949 births 2000 deaths Royal Navy personnel of the Falklands War Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (United Kingdom) Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes personnel Royal Navy sailors Deaths from cancer in England Devonshire and Dorset Regiment soldiers Military personnel from Birmingham, West Midlands

Early life

NAAFI career

Private life

Legacy

See also

References