Leonard Harrison (RAF officer)
Leonard Henry Harrison (6 January 1905[1] – 1989) was awarded the George Cross[2][3] "for acts of exceptional coolness and courage on several occasions"[4] in defusing unexploded German bombs during the Second World War. Having joined the RAF in 1922, he served as Civilian Armament Instructor at a Royal Air Force armament training school in 1940 and was an authority on explosive fuse systems. He used this expertise to render many munitions safe, including a bomb with a previously unknown fuse which had lodged in the deck of a grain carrier which struggled into Immingham Docks which he defused with Flt Lt John Dowland. He also defused a device on a fishing boat in the Humber. His award was published in the London Gazette and was also covered by the Saturday News Chronicle of 4 January 1941.[4]
Born in Devonport, he was in the RAF for 12 years before entering the reserve.
In 1941, he was given a commission on probabation as an Acting Pilot Officer.[3] This was subsequently confirmed and he was made up to Flying Officer in May 1942. Promotion to the rank of Flight Lieutenant followed in 1944.
He was part of a scheme to booby trap captured fuses and smuggle them into German ammunition stores so that bombs would exploded when being dropped, so destroying the enemy aircraft. The Germans discovered the scheme but were forced to destroy large numbers of fuses as a precaution. He served as honorary treasurer of the Victoria and George Cross Association.
Harrison retired with the rank of Wing Commander in 1949, but remained in civilian appointments with the Air Ministry until 1970. He died on 15 July 1989,[5] leaving a son, Leonard Jnr, and a daughter, Pat.
References
- ^ http://airmonument.co.uk/page.php?72
- ^ http://www.marionhebblethwaite.co.uk/gcindex.htm
- ^ a b London Gazette issue 35241, page 4576. Published on 8 August 1941.
- ^ a b "BOMB EXPERT WINS GEORGE CROSS", News Chronicle, 4 January 1941 (National Archives transcript.)
- ^ Leonard Harrison GC Bomb Disposal Pioneer, Bomb Disposal Association website. (Archived from the original www.rafbdhistory.co.uk/new_page_4.htm on 19 August 2013.)
Further reading
- Owen, James (2010). Danger UXB. Little, Brown. ISBN 978-1-4087-0255-0.