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Leonard Henry Harrison (6 January 1905 – 15 July 1989) was a
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
(RAF) officer who was awarded the
George Cross The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational Courage, gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, ...
"for acts of exceptional coolness and courage on several occasions""BOMB EXPERT WINS GEORGE CROSS"
''News Chronicle'', 4 January 1941 (National Archives transcript.) in defusing unexploded German bombs during the
Second World War 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 ...
.''London Gazette'' issue 35241, page 4576
Published on 8 August 1941. Having joined the RAF in 1922, he served as Civilian Armament Instructor at a RAF 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 that had lodged in the deck of a grain carrier which struggled into
Immingham Immingham is a town and civil parish in North East Lincolnshire, England, on the south-west bank of the Humber, Humber Estuary, northwest of Grimsby. It was relatively unpopulated until the early 1900s, when the Great Central Railway began de ...
Docks, which he defused with Flight Lieutenant
John Noel Dowland John Noel Dowland, George Cross, GC (6 November 1914 – 13 January 1942) was a Royal Air Force officer of the Second World War and a recipient of the George Cross.Obituary in ''The Times'', 17 January 1942, p.2 Life Dowland was the son of the vic ...
. He also defused a device on a fishing boat in the
Humber The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Trent, Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms ...
. His award was published in the ''
London Gazette London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...
'' and was also covered by the Saturday ''
News Chronicle The ''News Chronicle'' was a British daily newspaper. Formed by the merger of '' The Daily News'' and the '' Daily Chronicle'' in 1930, it ceased publication on 17 October 1960,''Liberal Democrat News'' 15 October 2010, accessed 15 October 2010 b ...
'' of 4 January 1941.


Early life and career

Born in Devonport, he was in the RAF for 12 years before entering the reserve.


Second World War

In 1941, he was given a commission on probation as an acting
pilot officer Pilot officer (Plt Off or P/O) is a junior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Pilot officer is the lowest ran ...
. This was subsequently confirmed and he was made up to
flying officer Flying officer (Fg Offr or F/O) is a junior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Flying officer is immediately ...
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 Cross and George Cross Association The Victoria Cross and George Cross Association is made up of holders of the Victoria Cross (VC), Britain's highest military award for bravery in the presence of the enemy, and the George Cross (GC), the equivalent award for civilians and also ...
. Harrison retired with the rank of
wing commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr or W/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Wing commander is immediately se ...
in 1949, but remained in civilian appointments with the Air Ministry until 1970. He died on 15 July 1989,Leonard Harrison GC Bomb Disposal Pioneer
Bomb Disposal Association website. (Archived from the origina

on 19 August 2013.) leaving a son, Leonard Jnr, and a daughter, Pat.


References


Further reading

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External links



{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Leonard Henry British recipients of the George Cross 1905 births 1989 deaths Royal Air Force wing commanders Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Bomb disposal personnel Military personnel from Plymouth, Devon