Nigel Gray Leakey VC (1 January 1913 – 19 May 1941) was a British soldier and a recipient of 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 ...

, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Early life

Leakey was born in

Kiganjo Kiganjo is a small town in Kenya's Nyeri county. It hosts the Kenya Police College which is Kenya's main college for police training. Kiganjo also hosts one of the Kenya Cooperative Creameries KCC (now New KCC) and a milk depot for the Brookside M ...

, Kenya to English parents. Leakey's mother Elizabeth died in 1926. His father, Arundell Gray Leakey, was the son of Reverend John Arundell Leakey, clergyman in England. He was a cousin of Louis Leakey, and so also related to

Richard Leakey Richard Erskine Frere Leakey (19 December 1944 – 2 January 2022) was a Kenyan paleoanthropologist, conservationist and politician. Leakey held a number of official positions in Kenya, mostly in institutions of archaeology and wildlife conse ...

. Leakey's younger brother Rea Leakey served in the Royal Tank Regiment in the Second World War, and became a

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

. His sister Agnes Leakey (later Agnes Hofmeyr) worked for reconciliation in Kenya. After serving in the

Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry The Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (DCLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1959. The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, by the merger of the 32nd (Cornwall Light ...

in the early 1900s, Leakey's father became a farmer at Nyeri Station, west of Mount Kenya in Central Province, Kenya, about north of Kiganjo and about north of

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper h ...

. His father was an honorary

Kikuyu Kikuyu or Gikuyu (Gĩkũyũ) mostly refers to an ethnic group in Kenya or its associated language. It may also refer to: * Kikuyu people, a majority ethnic group in Kenya *Kikuyu language, the language of Kikuyu people *Kikuyu, Kenya, a town in Cent ...

tribesman known as "Morungaru" ("tall and straight"); he was kidnapped and brutally murdered by the Mau Mau in October 1954, and his second wife Mary was also killed. Leakey was educated in Kenya, and then attended

Bromsgrove School Bromsgrove School is a co-educational independent day and boarding school in the Worcestershire town of Bromsgrove, England. Founded in 1553, it is one of the oldest public schools in Britain, and one of the 14 founding members of the Headmaste ...

in England.

Victoria Cross

Leakey was 28 years old, and a sergeant in the 1/6th Battalion,

King's African Rifles The King's African Rifles (KAR) was a multi-battalion British colonial regiment raised from Britain's various possessions in East Africa from 1902 until independence in the 1960s. It performed both military and internal security functions within ...

during 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 ...

when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the

. Leakey's 1/6th Battalion was part of the 22nd (East African) Brigade ( 12th African Division). On 19 May 1941, at Kolito, Abyssinia (now

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

), when the Allied forces had made a

bridgehead In military strategy, a bridgehead (or bridge-head) is the strategically important area of ground around the end of a bridge or other place of possible crossing over a body of water which at time of conflict is sought to be defended or taken over ...

against the strong

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

opposition, the enemy made a sudden counterattack with both light and medium tanks. In the face of withering fire, Sergeant Leakey leaped on top of one of the tanks, wrenched open the turret and shot all the crew except the driver, whom he forced to drive the tank to cover. Along with three others, he tried to repeat this with another tank, but just as he opened the turret, he was killed. The confusion and loss of armour Leakey caused was critical to the Italian defeat in the battle. Captain

David Hines David Hines (born 1945) is an English writer, author and screenwriter. He is the author of the screenplay of the film ''Whore'', directed by Ken Russell. Biography In 1957 Hines went to the William Morris School for the Arts. With the inten ...

witnessed the event through binoculars, as did other soldiers. Leakey has no known grave but he is commemorated on the East Africa Memorial, near

, Kenya. His second cousin twice removed,

Joshua Leakey Colour Sergeant Joshua Mark Leakey (born 1988) is a British soldier currently serving in the Parachute Regiment. In 2015, Leakey was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest military decoration for valour in the British and Commonwealth armed ...

, was also awarded the Victoria Cross for his service in Afghanistan in 2013.Victoria Cross: L/Cpl Josh Leakey recognised for valour
BBC News, 26 February 2015 Leakey's medal is kept by a member of the Leakey family in England.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leakey, Nigel Gray 1913 births 1941 deaths British colonial army soldiers British Kenya people British military personnel killed in World War II East African campaign (World War II) World War II recipients of the Victoria Cross

Nigel Nigel ( ) is an English language, English masculine given name. The English ''Nigel'' is commonly found in records dating from the Middle Ages; however, it was not used much before being revived by 19th-century antiquarians. For instance, Walte ...

People educated at Bromsgrove School People from Nyeri County

Early life

Victoria Cross

See also

References