Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Leslie William Abel Bennington DSO &

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

DSC DSC may refer to: Academia * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dalton State Col ...

& Two Bars (20 February 1912 – 24 June 1981) was a British Royal Navy officer, who was highly decorated for his actions as a

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

commander during the Second World War.

Early life

Bennington was born in the Weymouth district of Dorset, England on 20 February 1912 the son of William Griffin Bennington and his wife Alice Maud.

Military career

Bennington received his commission into the Royal Navy on 1 September 1933. He undertook a promotion course at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich and became a submariner. Between 1935 and October 1938 he served on various submarines in the

Home Fleet The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet. Before the First ...

and Mediterranean Sea, before becoming first lieutenant on . He then transferred to , and on 13 November 1940 he was awarded the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) *Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) *Distinguished Service Cross (U ...

(DSC) for his actions during an engagement involving the submarine. He received his first command in January 1941, becoming commanding officer of . On 11 May 1942 he took command of . He was made a

Companion of the Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typic ...

on 20 December 1942 for his successful patrols in the Mediterranean as commander of ''Porpoise'', during which seven enemy ships were sunk. On 25 January 1943 he became commanding officer of , operating in the Far East. On 11 April 1944 Bennington was awarded a Bar to his DSO for the successful attack on the during the action of 11 January 1944. He also commanded ''Tally-Ho'' during the

action of 14 February 1944 The action of 14 February 1944 refers to the sinking of a German U-boat off the Strait of Malacca during World War II by a British submarine. It was one of the few naval engagements of the Asian and Pacific theater involving German and Italian ...

, for which he was awarded a Bar to his DSC on 6 June 1944. On 20 February 1945 he was awarded a second Bar to his DSC for "outstanding courage, skill and undaunted devotion to duty" while in command of HMS ''Tally-Ho''. Between April 1945 and April 1946 Bennington served with Naval Equipment Department at the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral * Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings *Admiralty, Tr ...

, before taking command of the cruiser prior to her sale to the Chinese in May 1948. He then served with various vessels as

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, o ...

, before taking command of the airbase from 1953 to 1955. Between December 1955 and January 1957 Bennington served as Captain of Dockyard, Deputy Superintendent and Queen's Harbour Master at the Malta Dockyard. He retired on 7 July 1960 with the rank of captain.'Bennington, Leslie William Abel' in
Royal Navy (RN) Officers 1939-1945
' at unithistories.com, retrieved 21 January 2016 Bennington died on 24 June 1981 at Rye, Sussex aged 69.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennington, Leslie 1912 births 1981 deaths Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Graduates of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Navy officers of World War II Royal Navy submarine commanders