George Cunningham Leslie

George Cunningham Leslie
Born (1920-10-27)27 October 1920
England, UK
Died 14 November 1988(1988-11-14) (aged 68)
Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK
Nationality British
Occupation Royal Navy Officer, Retired as Rear Admiral then Domestic Bursar and Fellow of St Edmund Hall, Oxford 1970-1988
Awards

OBE CB (UK)

OON (Netherlands)

Order of St Olav (Norway)


World War 2 ships served in

During World War 2 GC Leslie served in the cruiser HMS York from 1939 to 1940[1] then transferred to the destroyer HMS Harvester in 1941 From 1942 to 1943 his ship was HMS Volunteer, another destroyer[2] followed by HMS Cassandra 1944 to 1945[3] and HMS Chevron from 1945 to 1946[4] both destroyers. It was while serving on HMS Cassandra during Arctic convoys to Russia that his ship was attacked and had her bow blown off.

Peacetime ships served in

Other appointments

War exploits

On 30 November 1944, the Cassandra, with three other destroyers of the 6th Flotilla, left Scapa Flow to cover the passage of the North Russian Convoy JW62 (31 ships), as part of Operation Acumen, which had left Loch Ewe on the previous day. The Home Fleet was under the command of Rear-Admiral Rhoderick McGrigor, with his flag in the escort aircraft carrier Campania. Despite a U-boat concentration off the Kola Inlet in Northern Russia, convoy JW 62 consisting of thirty merchant ships arrived safely in the Kola Inlet on 7 December and the White Sea portion on 9 December.

While serving aboard HMS Cassandra during Operation Acumen, which was the suppression of submarine attacks on convoys in the Atlantic supplying the USSR. The return convoy, RA62 (28 Ships), left the Kola Inlet on 10 December. It was attacked by U-boats and torpedo bomber aircraft, and while no merchant ships were lost or damaged, the CASSANDRA was torpedoed by U-boat U-365 under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Diether Todenhagen at 0600 on 11 December when about 165 miles north of the Kola Inlet, to which she returned, escorted by the 20th Escort Group, under tow.. 62 men died in the attack and Cassandra had her bow blown off. GC Leslie was awarded the OBE for his devotion to duty and actions during this incident. The torpedo had blown off her bow forward of B gun, and the Cassandra took no further part in the War. She was brought alongside at Rosta for temporary repairs and the cutting away of the damaged portion, but owing to delays and especially the shortage of steel plate locally it was not until 14 June 1945, that she was able to leave Kola for Rosyth, arriving on the 18th under the escort of HMS Onslaught.[15] As an aside, HMS Cassandra would have her bow replaced three times during her lifetime.

Promotions

Acting Sub Lieutenant

01.09.1940

Lieutenant

01.05.1941

Lieutenant Commander

01.11.1948

30.06.1958

07.01.1968 (Retired 17.11.1970)[16]

Post Royal Navy

Rear Admiral GC Leslie became the Domestic Bursar and Fellow of St Edmund Hall, Oxford 1970-1988[17][18]

Personal life

He was the fourth son of Col A.S.Leslie CMG, WS Kininvie and Mrs M.I.Leslie (née Horne) He was married in 1953 to Margaret Rose Leslie and they had a son and three daughters.[19]

George C. Leslie joined the Royal Navy in 1938[20][21] and retired with the rank of Rear Admiral 17 November 1970. His career started just before WW2 in 1938 and he climbed the ranks to retire as a Rear Admiral. In 1945 he was awarded the OBE and the CB in 1970 when he had been promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral[22][23] In 1950 He was awarded the OON by the Queen of the Netherlands, Juliana, on a visit to London.[24][25] The Order of St. Olav[26] was awarded on a state visit of the King of Norway to Edinburgh in 1962.

References

  1. ↑ HMS York (90)
  2. ↑ HMS Volunteer (D71)
  3. ↑ HMS Cassandra (R62)
  4. ↑ HMS Chevron (R51)
  5. ↑ HMS Wrangler (R48)
  6. ↑ HMS Surprise (K346)
  7. ↑ HMS Duncan (F80)
  8. ↑ Fishery Protection Squadron
  9. ↑ HMNB Devonport
  10. ↑ http://royalnavymemories.co.uk/hms-devonshires-captains/
  11. ↑ Admiralty Interview Board
  12. ↑ http://www.nato.int
  13. ↑ NATO
  14. ↑ http://www.unithistories.com/officers/RN_officersL.html
  15. ↑ http://royalnavymemories.co.uk/hms-devonshires-captains/
  16. ↑ http://www.kcl.ac.uk/lhcma/locreg/LESLIE.html
  17. ↑ http://www.unithistories.com/officers/RN_officersL.html
  18. ↑ https://www.seh.ox.ac.uk/vacancy/domestic-bursar
  19. ↑ http://www.unithistories.com/officers/RN_officersL.html
  20. ↑ http://www.unithistories.com/officers/RN_officersL.html
  21. ↑ http://www.kcl.ac.uk/lhcma/locreg/LESLIE.html
  22. ↑ Order of the Bath
  23. ↑ https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/44999/supplement/2/data.pdf>
  24. ↑ Order of Orange-Nassau
  25. ↑ Juliana of the Netherlands
  26. ↑ Order of St. Olav
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