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Name: BILLYARD-LEAKE, Edward Whaley DSO (Captain)
Nee: twin of Charles Robert Billyard-Leake and son of Charles Arthur Moresby Billyard-Leake of New South Wales
Birth Date: 13 Nov 1895 Campbelltown, Tasmania
Death Date: 10 May 1956 Nairobi
Nationality: Australian/British
First Date: 1929
Last Date: 1956
Profession: Navy
Area: Karen
Married: 1. In St Cuthberts, Midlothian 20 Nov 1918 Leila Violet Douglas Traquair b. 1895 Colinton, Midlothian, d. 1925 Portsmouth; 2. In London 1926 Edith Winifred Laird b. 27 June 1905, d. 14 July 1992 Hove; 3. 1935 Elizabeth Brundtvig Chester b. 12 Oct 1895, d. 11 Jan 1943 Caldas da Rainha, Leiria, Portugal; 4. In Westminster 1947 Muriel Agnes Brown b. 23 May 1903, d. 22 Sep 1981 Nairobi
Children: Elizabeth (1928 London-4 Aug 2017 Kilifi); Mary (6 Feb 1930 Marylebone-2016 London)
Book Reference: Debrett, EA & Rhodesia, DSO, Barnes, Web
War Service: European War 1914-18 - despatches, DSO, Legion of Honour, French & Belgian Croix de Guerre
School: RN College Osborne & Dartmouth
General Information:
East Africa & Rhodesia - 24/5/56 - Captain Edward Whaley Billyard-Leake, DSO RN(Retd) who died recently in Karen, near Nairobi, commanded the blockship 'Iphigenia' in the raid on Zeebrugge on St. George's Day 1918. He was awarded the DSO "for placing his ship by calculated manoeuvring exactly where he wanted to place her to block the canal." An Australian by birth, he entered the Royal Navy as a cadet in 1908, and early in the 1914-18 war joined the cruiser 'Australia' as a midshipman. He was in the battleship 'Warspite' in the battle of Jutland. Retiring form the Navy in 1929, he settled in Kenya. During the last war he was Assistant Naval Attache in Lisbon and afterwards Naval Attache in Chungking
DSO - Joined the Navy 1908, ….. joined submarine service June 1918; present at capture of German Pacific Colonies, 1914; Battle of Jutland, HMS Warspite; Zeebrugge operations as Capt. HMS Iphigenia; Chevalier, Legion of Honour; Croix de Guerre with palm. (London Gazette 23/7/18) - Exhibited the greatest bravery, and is deserving of much credit for placing his ship by calculated manoeuvring under heavy fire exactly where he wanted to place her to block the canal , before blowing his charges and leaving the ship.
Nairobi City Park cemetery - Edway [sic] W Billyard Leake, died 10 May 1956 aged 60
Web - Christie's New York - 1931 Bentley 8-Litre 'Panelled Weymann' Saloon - Coachwork by H J Mulliner - Green with red interior. ……… an enlarged version of the 'Speed Six' model ……. By the time the factory closed in 1931, 100 8 litre chassis had been laid down only 23 of which were to carry H J Mulliner coachwork. The car ….. Was delivered to its first owner Commander Billyard Leake DSO in August of 1931 with engine No. YX5117. He retained the car until 1936 when, according to Stanley Sedgewick, it was sold to Countess Seafield, and then again to A. Goldberg in 1938.
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