Lieutenant General Sir Henry Lowther Ewart Clark Leask KCB DSO OBE (30 June 1913 – 10 January 2004) was a senior British Army officer who served in World War II and held high command during the 1960s.
Sir Henry Leask | |
|---|---|
| Born | 30 June 1913 Hugesovka, Russian Empire[1] |
| Died | 10 January 2004 (aged 90) |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service |  British Army |
| Years of service | 1936–1972 |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
| Service number | 62419 |
| Unit | Royal Scots Fusiliers |
| Commands | 8th Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders 1st Battalion, London Scottish 1st Battalion, Parachute Regiment 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division Scottish Command |
| Battles / wars | World War II |
| Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Distinguished Service Order Officer of the Order of the British Empire |
Military career
editHenry Leask was commissioned into the Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1936.[2]
He served in the Second World War becoming commanding officer of 8th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in 1944.[2] He won the DSO for on a three-mile dash to capture two bridges over the River Po at San Patrizio.[3]
After the War, in 1946, he was appointed commanding officer of 1st London Scottish and from 1947 he was in Military Operations Directorate at the War Office.[2] He then became commanding officer of 1st Parachute Regiment in 1952.[2] He was appointed Assistant Military Secretary to the Secretary of State for War in 1955 and then from 1957 he was Commandant of the Tactical Wing of the School of Infantry.[2] In 1962, he became Deputy Military Secretary to the Secretary of State for War.[2]
He was appointed General Officer Commanding 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division in 1964, and Director of Army Training at the Ministry of Defence in 1966.[2] He became General Officer Commanding Scottish Command and Governor of Edinburgh Castle in 1969; he retired in 1972.[2]
Family
editIn 1940, he married Zoe de Camborne Paynter and together they went on to have one son and two daughters.[3] Their son Anthony (b.1943) followed his father into the services, joining the Scots Guards and rising to the rank of Major-General, before becoming a military historian.[4]
References
edit- ^ "Lt-Gen Sir Henry Leask". The Telegraph. 23 January 2004.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Leaske, Henry". Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives. Archived from the original on 5 September 2012. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
- ^ a b Obituary: Lt Gen Sir Henry Leask[dead link] The Times, 23 January 2004
- ^ "'PUTTY' - AN UNKNOWN SCOTS GUARDSMAN INTERVIEW WITH MAJOR GENERAL ANTHONY LEASK". Guards Magazine. Retrieved 18 September 2022.