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MH4038 Nigel Grey Leakey VC, King's African Rifles

Nigel Gray Leakey (January 1, 1913 – May 19, 1941) was a British soldier who served in the East Africa campaign during the Second World War. He died in battle against Italian soldiers at Kolito, Ethiopia, but his contributions to the battle helped lead to a British victory and earned him posthumous awards for bravery.

Biography[]

Leakey was born in Kenya in 1913. His mother Elizabeth died in 1926. He was educated at Bromsgrove School in England for four years, and was noted as a great shot, participating in shooting contests against the territorial army. He dropped out of school in 1930 and returned to Kenya where he worked growing coffee plants and making rope. Leakey had an older brother named Rea, who later went on to become a major general in the British Armed Forces.

When World War II broke out in 1939, Leakey enlisted in the army and joined the King's African Rifles at age 26. He was deployed in Africa to fight against the forces of Fascist Italy.

On 19 May 1941, Leakey participated in a battle against Italian forces in Kolito, Abyssinia (modern-day Ethiopia). During the battle, the Italians assaulted the British position with light and medium tanks. Leakey jumped on top of one of the tanks, forced the turret open and shot most of the crew, before hijacking the tank and forcing the driver to take him to safety. Having captured one tank, he and several other soldiers assaulted another and tried to repeat his action. Leakey again climbed atop the tank and opened the turret, but the crew were prepared this time and he was shot and killed. His body was never found.

Despite Leakey's death, the loss of armour caused by his feats of bravery cost the Italians the battle and allowed British forces to continue their advance. His bravery was not recognised until after the war was over, when British colonial authorities began pressuring the military to commemorate Leakey's contributions to the battle. After an investigation tracked down several soldiers who had witnessed Leakey taking the tank, he was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest award for bravery that can be given to British and Commonwealth forces, in November 1945. His medal was presented to his brother Rea, at the time a Lieutenant Colonel, who received several awards of his own at the same ceremony.

Trivia[]

  • Leakey's father, Arundell Gray Leakey, was an honorary Kikuyu tribesman known as "Morungaru". He was killed in 1954 alongside his second wife Mary during the Mau Mau Uprising.
  • Coincidentally, a distant cousin of Leakey's, Joshua Leakey, also received the Victoria Cross for his service in the Afghanistan war.
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