Charles Leaf
Born13 November 1895
Marylebone
Died19 February 1947(1947-02-19) (aged 51)
NationalityBritish
EducationHarrow School
Alma materTrinity College, Cambridge
Children3 Derek Leaf DSC with bar, Freydis Sharland, Robin Leaf
Military career
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchBritish Army
Royal Marines
Years of service1914–1918
1943–1945
RankLieutenant
Battles/warsFirst World War
Second World War
Olympic medal record
Sailing
Gold medal – first place1936 Berlin 6 metre class

Charles Symonds Leaf, FSA (13 November 1895 – 19 February 1947) was a British sailor who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics.[1] He contributed to the design and build of the Merlin Rocket sailing dinghy.

Biography

Leaf was educated at Harrow School, an all-boys independent boarding school, and at Trinity College, Cambridge.[2]

Leaf was an amateur archaeologist.[3] On 11 January 1934, he was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries (FSA).[4] He donated the majority of his archaeological finds to the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.[2]

In 1936 he was a crew member of the British boat Lalage which won the gold medal in the 6 metre class.

On 22 August 1917, Leaf married Catherine Blanche Kay-Shuttleworth, daughter of Ughtred Kay-Shuttleworth, 1st Baron Shuttleworth.[5] They had two children. His daughter Freydis went on to be one of the first women to qualify for RAF wings.[6]

Military service

Leaf served in the British Army during the First World War. On 18 October 1914, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 5th Battalion, The Buffs (East Kent Regiment).[7] He was promoted to temporary lieutenant on 22 January 1916.[8] He was seconded to the Machine Gun Corps (MGC) on 3 April 1917.[9] He was promoted to substantive lieutenant on 12 May 1917 with seniority in that rank from 1 June 1916.[10] He ceased to be employed by the MGC on 30 December 1918,[11] and rejoined his regiment the same day.[12]

He served in the Royal Marines during the Second World War. He was commissioned in the Royal Marines as a probationary temporary lieutenant on 21 June 1943.[13] His commission was confirmed on 21 December 1943 and he became a temporary lieutenant.[14] His commission was terminated on 27 July 1945.[15]

References

  1. ↑ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Charles Leaf". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 4 December 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Charles Leaf". www.teamgb.com. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  3. ↑ "Person Details: Charles S Leaf B. A., F. S. A." archaeologydataservice.ac.uk. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  4. ↑ "Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries". The Antiquaries Journal. 14 (2): 233–234. 1934. doi:10.1017/S0003581500051362. S2CID 246041812.
  5. ↑ "Life story: Charles Symonds Leaf". Lives of the First World War. Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  6. ↑ Fountain, Nigel (10 June 2014). "Freydis Sharland obituary". the Guardian.
  7. ↑ "No. 28941". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 October 1914. p. 8331.
  8. ↑ "No. 29605". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 May 1916. p. 5443.
  9. ↑ "No. 30024". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 April 1917. p. 3714.
  10. ↑ "No. 30063". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 May 1917. p. 4585.
  11. ↑ "No. 31229". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 March 1919. p. 3464.
  12. ↑ "No. 31470". The London Gazette (Supplement). 22 July 1919. p. 9406.
  13. ↑ "No. 36077". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 July 1943. p. 2996.
  14. ↑ "No. 36352". The London Gazette. 28 January 1944. p. 543.
  15. ↑ "No. 37296". The London Gazette. 5 October 1945. p. 4906.


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