Lefley, Leonard William

Age: 20
Date of birth: Q1 1921

Parents: Harold Frederick and Gertrude Lefley
Wife: Single
Address: 14 Market Place, Warwick

Occupation: Worked at Lockheed Brake Company in Leamington

Leonard was born in the first quarter of 1921 in Glandford Brigg, Lincolnshire. He was the only child of Harold Frederick (1898-1969) and Gertrude Lefley (1898-1969). Leonard’s father was also born Glandford Brigg and his mother Gertrude nee Hatton was a Warwick girl and they married in Warwick in 1919.

According to the census of 1939 Leonard’s parents were living at 14 Edward’s Court, Warwick. His father was a Corporation labourer and during the war he was also a fireman and had served in WW1 and been wounded.

Leonard’s parents were both born in April 1898 and they both died within a couple of months of each other in 1969 aged 71.

Military Service

Rank & Number: Sergeant, 557708
Regiment/Service: 7/4 Maritime Regiment, Royal Artillery
Brigade/Division: SS Thornliebank - anti-aircraft battery
Date of death: 29th November 1941
Cause of death/Battle: Lost at sea
Commemorated/Buried: Commemorated on Plymouth Naval Memorial. Panel 62, Column 2.
Awards:
Commemorated locally at:

Leonard enlisted with the Warwickshire Yeomanry in 1938 at the age of seventeen and was promoted twice to Sergeant within two years.

 

He was in charge of an anti-aircraft battery on the SS Thornliebank but all of the crew were lost when the ship was torpedoed by U-43 in the Atlantic Ocean, 600 miles west of Lisbon.

He is commemorated on Plymouth Memorial

Contributors

  • Unlocking Warwick Research Group
  • Warwick Advertiser excerpt courtesy of Warwickshire County Record Office

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