Brigadier Leonard Parrington (24 February 1890 – 1979) was a British Army officer. He joined the

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) ...

in 1911 and served with them in the

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 ...

in which he was mentioned in despatches four times and was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

. In the

inter-war period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second World War. The interwar period was relative ...

he was seconded as an adjutant to the Territorial Army in the East of England, as an instructor at the Indian Artillery School and as part of the British military mission to the Egyptian Army. Upon the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

Parrington was promoted to colonel; he became an acting brigadier in 1941 and was posted to Greece. Allied forces were pushed back during the

German invasion German invasion may refer to: Pre-1900s * German invasion of Hungary (1063) World War I * German invasion of Belgium (1914) * German invasion of Luxembourg (1914) World War II * Invasion of Poland * German invasion of Belgium (1940) * G ...

and Parrington, in charge of the evacuation of remaining troops, was forced to surrender on 29 April 1941. In captivity he inspected German holiday camps set up for prisoners of war. He was mistakenly thought to be pro-Nazi and was recommended, without his knowledge, for command of the

British Free Corps The British Free Corps (german: Britisches Freikorps; BFC) was a unit of the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany during World War II, made up of British and Dominion prisoners of war who had been recruited by Germany. The unit was originally known as the ...

, a collaborationist unit of the German SS. Parrington retired from the army in 1946.

Early life and First World War

Parrington was born on 24 February 1890. On 4 January 1911 he joined the British Army as a probationary second lieutenant in the

(RGA). His commission was confirmed and he was granted the substantive rank of second lieutenant on 3 September 1912. Parrington served with the RGA in the

and was promoted to lieutenant on 9 June 1915. He was awarded the

on 26 September 1916 for conspicuous gallantry. Parrington was serving as a forward observer officer in an exposed lookout point when he came under heavy enemy artillery fire. He remained at his post and continued to relay targeting information back to his battery. Parrington was appointed to the

acting rank An acting rank is a designation that allows a soldier to assume a military rank—usually higher and usually temporary. They may assume that rank either with or without the pay and allowances appropriate to that grade, depending on the nature of t ...

of captain on 20 October 1914 and to the acting rank of major on 9 January 1917, when he assumed command of a

siege artillery Siege artillery (also siege guns or siege cannons) are heavy guns designed to bombard fortifications, cities, and other fixed targets. They are distinct from field artillery and are a class of siege weapon capable of firing heavy cannonballs o ...

battery. Parrington was confirmed in the substantive rank of captain on 3 November 1917. Parrington was mentioned in despatches four times during the war.

Inter-war period

Parrington relinquished the acting rank of major on 13 October 1919. He was appointed to the

temporary rank Military ranks are a system of hierarchy, hierarchical relationships, within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies or other institutions organized along military lines. The military rank system defines dominance, authority, and responsibi ...

staff captain Staff captain is the English translation of a number of military ranks: Historical use of the rank Czechoslovakia In the Czechoslovak Army, until 1953, Staff Captain ( cs, štábní kapitán, sk, štábny kapitán) was a senior captain ran ...

on 20 September 1920 and relinquished this on 1 April 1921. Parrington was seconded for service with the Territorial Army reserve force on 18 April 1923, serving as adjutant of the 58 (Essex and Suffolk) Medium Brigade RGA. He attended the Gunnery Staff Course from 31 August 1926. Parrington left that role on 31 August 1926 and returned to the regular army on 26 September 1927, joining the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

as the RGA had since been merged with the Field Artillery. Parrington was seconded to the Indian Artillery School on 29 December 1927. He left that post on 29 December 1931 and returned to the British Army on 24 February 1932. Parrington was promoted to major on 9 July 1933. He was appointed an assistant instructor at the

Royal School of Artillery The Royal School of Artillery (RSA) is the principal training establishment for artillery warfare in the British Army. Established in 1915, it is located at Larkhill, Wiltshire, on the south edge of Salisbury Plain in the United Kingdom. The Scho ...

on 19 June 1937 and was immediately seconded to the British military mission to the Egyptian Army. Parrington was granted the local rank of lieutenant-colonel on 1 December 1938, to be held whilst serving with the mission.

Second World War and later

Shortly after the start of the

Parrington was promoted, on 2 October 1939, to the substantive rank of colonel. He was promoted to the acting rank of brigadier in March 1941. He was deployed with British Empire forces to Greece, to oppose the anticipated German invasion. By late April 1941 Allied forces had been pushed back to

Kalamata Kalamáta ( el, Καλαμάτα ) is the second most populous city of the Peloponnese peninsula, after Patras, in southern Greece and the largest city of the homonymous administrative region. As the capital and chief port of the Messenia regi ...

, from which they were being evacuated by sea. Parrington was senior Allied officer on the beachhead and in command of the evacuation. New Zealand Sergeant Jack Hinton reported to Parrington's headquarters on 28 April, as the Germans were entering the port, cutting off the evacuation route. Parrington told Hinton to surrender, to which he replied "Surrender? Go and jump in the bloody lake!". Parrington warned Hinton he could have him court martialled for speaking to a senior officer like that upon which Hinton said "if you're not careful I'll have you court-martialled for talking surrender" before leaving. Hinton went on to storm a German machine gun post and an artillery position, before being wounded and captured; he was awarded the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

for his bravery. Parrington surrendered the following day, one of 8,000 men captured by the Germans at Kalamata. In captivity Parrington was ordered by Major-General

Victor Fortune Major General Sir Victor Morven Fortune (21 August 1883 – 2 January 1949) was a senior officer of the British Army. He saw service in both World War I and World War II. He commanded the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division during the Battle ...

to visit a number of "holiday camps" set up by the Germans for prisoners of war, to ascertain what the purpose of the camps was. This included a site at

Genshagen Ludwigsfelde is a town in the north of the district Teltow-Fläming in Brandenburg. Geography Location The town is located south of Berlin in the district Teltow-Fläming on the plateau of Teltow. In earlier times, it was part of the district Zo ...

, Brandenburg, which was being used by the ''

Schutzstaffel The ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS; also stylized as ''ᛋᛋ'' with Armanen runes; ; "Protection Squadron") was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe duri ...

'' (SS), to seek recruits for their

. Parrington visited Genshagen in August 1943. He did not discover the recruitment operation and gave the prisoners permission go on escorted

parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...

to visit

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

. A speech Parrington made to the prisoners stated that "he knew the purpose of the camp" and that the inmates were not to worry about it, was wrongly interpreted by Free Corps members as an indication that he approved of the unit. Parrington, who did not enjoy his visits to the camps, also told the prisoners they had a duty to escape, where possible. Parrington's visit led to him being proposed, unknowingly and unwillingly, to SS leader

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...

by SS general

Gottlob Berger Gottlob Christian Berger (16 July 1896 – 5 January 1975) was a senior German Nazi official who held the rank of '' SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS'' (lieutenant general) and was the chief of the SS Main Office responsible ...

as a possible commander for the Free Corps. Berger claimed Parrington had "the reputation of being both enthusiastically and sincerely devoted to the Fuhrer". Parrington was likely known to New Zealand Free Corps member

Roy Courlander Roy Nicolas Courlander, (6 December 1914 – 1 June 1979), nicknamed 'Reg', was a British-born New Zealand soldier who became an Unterscharführer in the German Waffen-SS British Free Corps during the Second World War. Early life Born out of w ...

, who had also been captured at Kalamata. Parrington's acting rank ceased shortly after the end of the war in Europe in May 1945. He retired from the army on 15 March 1946 and was granted the

honorary rank Military ranks are a system of hierarchical relationships, within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies or other institutions organized along military lines. The military rank system defines dominance, authority, and responsibility in a m ...

of brigadier. Parrington left the Reserve of Officers on 24 February 1948, upon reaching the age limit of 58 years. In 1963 Parrington won a libel case against history writers Anthony Heckstall-Smith and Vice-Admiral Harold Baillie-Grohman and publisher

Anthony Blond Anthony Bernard Blond (20 March 1928 – 27 February 2008) was a British publisher and author, who was involved with several publishing companies over his career, including several he established himself, or in partnerships, from 1952. Biograp ...

who he said had cast doubts on his courage and ability at Kalamata in their book ''Greek Tragedy '41''. Parrington died in 1979.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parrington, Leonard 1890 births 1979 deaths Royal Garrison Artillery officers British Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel of World War II Year of death missing