大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People's War site by Viv Foulds of Egerton Telecottage on behalf of Leslie Leney, brother of Samuel Leney, and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions

Samuel Robert Leney was born in Mitcham, Surrey, England on August 6th 1919 to Samuel George Leney and Winifred Annie Francis Cheeseman Leney who were Publicans at the Bucks Head in Mitcham and later at the Queens Head, Cricket Green, Mitcham. His father, Samuel George fought in the Boer war with the Sixth Dragoon Guards, Carabiniers and the RFC in the 1914/18 war.

Samuel was the Leney's eldest son. His brother, Leslie, joined the Observers Corps and the Seaborne division in Normandy in 1944. His sister, Wynne, worked as a Counter Clerk and Telegraphist for the Post Office in Mitcham.

From 1930 to 1933, Samuel was a pupil at Western Road Central School where he was in the school football and cricket teams. He excelled at art, winning first prize in a painting competition, and in 1933 was awarded a certificate for an essay he wrote on the Suez Canal in a Royal Empire Society Competition.

After leaving school, he joined the Post Office as a Telegraph Messenger Boy at Mitcham and then worked for two years at the royal residence, Buckingham Palace, in London. In a competition at a miniature rifle range he won a trophy for being the best Messenger Boy shot. During his time at the Palace several historical events took place, Princess Marina of Greece married the Duke of Kent in November 1934. In January 1936, the King, George V, died and was succeeded by his eldest son, Edward VIII who then abdicated in December 1936 to marry Mrs Wallis Simpson. His place as King was taken by his brother, George VI, whose coronation took place in May 1937.

After two years at Buckingham Palace, Samuel returned to Mitcham where he worked at the Post Office as a Counter Clerk and Telegraphist in the Post Offices at Mitcham and Croydon. While working at the Croydon Post Office he received one of the very last Post Bags to arrive from Berlin at Croydon Airport in a Junkers 52 before the outbreak of war.

On 27th October 1939, Samuel enlisted with the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve at No.1 Depot, Uxbridge, as a Clerk/Teleprinter Operator, Aircraftman 2nd Class and was given the Service Number 905467. In November 1939 he was placed in No. 5 Recruits Training Pool at Finningley before being posted at the beginning of December to 1 Wing, No.1 Electrics and Wireless School at Cranwell. In January 1940 he remustered as a Teleprinter Operator at No.11 Group, Uxbridge, and was by now a Leading Aircraftman.

Samuel commenced training as an Air Gunner at No.8 Air Gunnery School in March 1941 at Evanton, Ross and Cromarty in Scotland. He was granted a commission as Pilot Officer on 23rd August 1941 and given the Service Number 104588.
In August 1941 he attended his operation training at 10 O.T.U, RAF Abingdon. After completion of O.T.U he was posted to 10 Squadron at RAF Leeming as an Air Gunner where he arrived on October 10th 1941.

In October 1941, 10 Squadron were to change from flying Whitley V's to the Halifax MkII's. Their first Halifax was delivered to Leeming on October 24th, and the following day Samuel Leney was on the first crew who flew to Linton-on-Ouse for the Heavy Conversion Course in the Halifax.

After completing the conversion course, Samuel went to Central Gunnery School at Castle Kennedy on a course before returning to 10 Squadron at Leeming to resume his duties.

On the evening of Monday 30th March, 1942, Pilot Officer Leney was the Air Gunner onboard Halifax W1043 ZA-F flown by Squadron Leader Webster which took off from RAF Lossiemouth with other 10 Squadron Halifaxes and aircraft from 35 and 76 Squadron, a total of 27 aircraft.

The target was the German Battleship Tirpitz, which was moored in F忙ttenfjord in Norway. The aircraft that he was onboard crashed in the Hemnefjord area not far from the target with the loss of all onboard. The body of Pilot Officer Samuel Leney was never recovered. He is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial in Surrey.

Today, less than five hundred meters from where Tirpitz was moored in F忙ttenfjord, stands a monument erected by the local people in this part of Norway in memory of the allied airmen from the RAF who were killed during operations against Tirpitz.

The monument is made of granite, with three links of the anchor chain from Tirpitz placed on top supporting one of the mines that was dropped by a Halifax aircraft during one of the attacks in the spring of 1942.

The inscription on the monument is in both Norwegian and in English and reads as follows:
FOR FRIHET
TIL MINNE OM ALLIERTE FLYMANNSKAPER
FRA ROYAL AIR FORCE
DREPT UNDER ANGREP OG REKOGNOSERING
P脜 DET TYSKE SLAGSKIPET TIRPITZ
I F脝TTENFJORD 1942
I TAKK OG 脝ERB脴DIGHET
TIL DE SOM OFRET LIVET
FOR V脜R FELLES SAK.
REIST AV LOKALE KREFTER I 1985

FOR FREEDOM
IN MEMORY OF THE ALLIED AIRCREWS
FROM THE ROYAL AIR FORCE
KILLED IN ATTACKS AND RECONNAISSANCE
ON THE GERMAN BATTLESHIP TIRPITZ
IN THE F脝TTENFJORD 1942
IN GRATITUDE AND VENERATION
TO THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES
FOR OUR COMMON CAUSE
ERECTED BY LOCAL PEOPLE 1985.

These pages were prepared especially for Leslie Leney and Wynne Hines with my grateful thanks to you both. Linzee Druce, November 2002. We will not forget.

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