Leonard Richard Douglas Willmott, MM, BEM (b.

Battersea Battersea is a large district in southwest London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and also extends along the south bank of the Thames Tideway. It includes the Battersea Park. Hist ...

, London; 23 June 1921 – d.

Tweed Heads, New South Wales Tweed Heads is a coastal city at the mouth of the Tweed River in the Northern Rivers region of the state of New South Wales, Australia. Tweed Heads is the northernmost town in New South Wales, and is located in the Tweed Shire local government ...

; 24 May 1993) was a British soldier who saw active service as a signaller with the

Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Willmott joined the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

whilst in his teens and rose through the ranks to gain a

commission In-Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anot ...

. He saw active service with distinction in Europe, including Poland in September 1939, and was awarded British, French and Dutch decorations. After his British Army service was terminated, Willmott emigrated to

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

where he worked in various parts of the security services.

Early life

Len Willmott's parents were Arthur Willmott, formerly an army sergeant-major, and Georgette, who was half-French. The family background of Willmott senior was never confirmed – it seems certain only that he was not originally called Willmott and changed his name to ensure a complete and utter separation from his past. Early in Len Willmott's life, the family moved to Seaford in Sussex where they lived in poverty. At 7 years old, Len took on a delivery round and at 13, he joined a deep-sea

fishing trawler A fishing trawler is a commercial fishing vessel designed to operate fishing trawls. Trawling is a method of fishing that involves actively dragging or pulling a trawl through the water behind one or more trawlers. Trawls are fishing nets tha ...

. His relationship with his father had involved frequent beatings, so the relative care and privacy on the trawler were welcome.

Army career

Willmott joined the

Royal Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communications an ...

as a boy apprentice on 1 July 1936, at age 15. During his time in training, he became a respected and highly skilled signaller and participated in the off-duty construction of a wireless transmitter. It is probable that in 1938, as his time as a "boy" signaller approached its end, he was "talent-spotted" for extra training which would lead to more than routine service. Instead of the routine posting to a GPO telegraph office (to provide experience), Willmott was called to interviews at the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

in London; this was an exceptional experience for a seventeen-year-old boy soldier. It was followed by vehicle training in London and, in early January 1939, in Paris. In March he was sent for parachute training at Reading, a rudimentary process at the time. (Willmott was paired with another trainee, an intelligence officer called Templer, later Field Marshal Sir Gerald Templer.) In late July, he was sent to

Crieff Crieff (; , meaning "tree") is a Scottish market town in Perth and Kinross on the A85 road between Perth, Scotland, Perth and Crianlarich, and the A822 road, A822 between Greenloaning and Aberfeldy, Scotland, Aberfeldy. The A822 road, A822 joins ...

in Scotland for a brief course (the house where this took place had been taken over by the

Secret Intelligence Service The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 (MI numbers, Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of Human i ...

(SIS) and became known as the "auld Spook House"), equipped in London and then sent to Germany via

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-o ...

in mid-August, carrying a wireless transmitter in three cases.

Poland

While waiting for orders near

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, his destination was abruptly changed to the British Embassy in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, in Poland. On 1 September, the

German invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

had started and Willmott's journey to Warsaw became disrupted and difficult, he was often on foot and foraging for food. By the time he arrived, the embassy had closed and the staff had evacuated. He was given shelter by a local family and soon handed over to what became the Polish resistance; in the next few months he was either in hiding and participated in several sabotage and demolition operations. Willmott remained with the resistance until April 1940 before travelling with two other British men (probably SIS agents) through Germany, Belgium and France to neutral Spain, and returning to Britain on a destroyer, in July. While passing through Germany he had posed as an American and obtained help from an English-speaking German officer.Simpson, pp.27–31

Mediterranean

Northern Europe

New Zealand

Australia

Personal life

Awards and decorations

Military Medal The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the British Armed Forces, armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, below commissioned o ...

(3 February 1944) *

British Empire Medal The British Empire Medal (BEM; formerly British Empire Medal for Meritorious Service) is a British and Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth award for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Monarchy of the United Ki ...

(14 October 1943) *

Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

with gold star (France, 1945) *

Bronze Lion The Bronze Lion () is a high Royal Dutch award, intended for servicemen who have shown extreme bravery and leadership in battle favouring The Netherlands; in some special cases it can be awarded to Dutch or foreign civilians. It was first created ...

(Netherlands, 5 September 1946) * Resistance Commemorative Cross (Netherlands, 31 October 1986)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Willmott, Leonard 1921 births 1993 deaths People from Battersea English emigrants to New Zealand Royal Corps of Signals soldiers Special Air Service officers British Special Operations Executive personnel Recipients of the Military Medal Recipients of the British Empire Medal British recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Recipients of the Bronze Lion Recipients of the Resistance Memorial Cross British Army personnel of World War II Military personnel from the London Borough of Wandsworth War Office personnel in World War II