MARTIN-LEAKE, ARTHUR, Surgeon Captain. Arthur Martin-Leake, fifth
son of Stephen Martin-Leake, of Thorpe Hall, Essex, and Marshalls, Ware,
Herts, was born at Marshalls, on 4 April, 1874. He was educated at
Westminster School, and University College, London, and qualified for the
Medical Profession in 1898. When the South African War of 1899-1902 broke
out he had recently been given charge of the District Hospital at Hemel
Hempstead. As soon as it was settled to form the Imperial Yeomanry for
service in South Africa he left the hospital and joined the Hertfordshire
Company as a Trooper. Leake remained with this Company during its year's
service in South Africa, taking part in several important engagements,
notably Princeloo's surrender and the relief of Hoar's laager. When the
Company went home he remained in South Africa, and was employed with the
Army as a civil surgeon. Later, when the South African Constabulary was
formed by General Baden-Powell, he joined that force in the rank of Surgeon
Captain, and served with it until he was invalided home on account of
wounds. The following account of the action during which Surgeon Captain
Martin-Leake won his first VC is taken in an abbreviated form from a report
by the Inspector General, South African Constabulary. On the 8th February
1902, a line of posts held by the C Division, South African Constabulary,
near Van Tenders Hoek, in the Transvaal, was to be moved forward, as a force
of Boers was known to be at that place. At 3.30 am a reconnoitring party,
consisting of 130 mounted men, under Captain Capell, moved out and took up a
position overlooking Van Tenders Hoek. At daybreak Captain Capell
found himself within 400 yards of the Boer laager, and opened a heavy fire
on it. The Boers were in strong force, replied by a determined attack on
his front and left flank, and succeeded in rushing that flank, having come
close up under cover of a donga in superior numbers. Captain Capell
withdrew a portion of his centre to a second position, whence he was able to
cover the retirement of his left flank. Seeing that he was largely
outnumbered by the enemy, he endeavoured to withdraw his extreme right
flank, which, under Lieutenant Swinburne, was holding a strong position, but
the orderly conveying the message was shot while on his way, so that it
never reached Lieutenant Swinburne, and consequently he did not leave his
post. The Boers attacked him in a determined way, but he drove them off
with loss. They then sent him a message advising him to surrender,
otherwise they would give him no quarter; this he declined, and held his
post the whole day, up to nightfall, and then withdrew his party safely in
the dark. Captain Capell, meanwhile, being pressed by overwhelming numbers
of Boers, withdrew the remainder of his force with great skill and coolness,
and retired, contesting the ground, back to his line of block-houses, some
seven miles distant. Captain Capell says, in his report: "I cannot speak
too highly of every officer and man, the latter being cool and splendid
while in the firing line. Cases of gallantry were numerous; Captain Leake,
Medical Officer, was wounded in three places while attending Lieutenant
Abraham under murderous fire; Sergeant Hoffe and 2nd Class Trooper Marks
distinguished themselves by their good work with Lieutenant Swinburne;
Corporal Reeves, No 4 Troop, during the retirement rode back under heavy
fire, picking up a man whose horse had been shot, and was riding away with
him when his own horse was shot dead; he and the other man were captured,
resisting to the end; Hospital Orderly Odell, No 5 Troop, did good service
in carrying a message to Lieutenant Swinburne while under fire. Our losses
were heavy, viz:2 officers and 6 men killed; 1 officer and 10 men
wounded; 24 horses killed and missing. The Boers admit they were 800
strong, and had 12 casualties. I deeply regret the loss that the Corps has
sustained in the death of Lieutenant D O P Abraham, Lieutenant A C Blackett,
Sergeant G Robinson, 1st Class Trooper M H Hutchins, Trooper McLarity,
Trooper A E Scott, Trooper C Morton, Trooper A Pearl. But by their gallant
self-sacrifice they have added another honour to the many which the South
African Constabulary has gained for itself. I am highly pleased with the
gallant and steady conduct of all ranks in this particularly trying
engagement, especially as a large number of them were under fire for the
first time, and I congratulate them all upon their very complete vindication
of their action. The gallant conduct of Leake in tending wounded under
murderous fire, and that of Corporal Reeves, in going back under heavy fire
to rescue a comrade, will be the subject of special report to the
Commander-in-Chief". Surgeon-Captain A M Leake's name appeared in the War
Office list of Casualties of 12 February' 1902, as "Severely wounded, right
arm and left thigh". His wounds necessitated his return to England, where
his right arm was very successfully operated on by Sir Victor Horsley. On
13 May, 1902, the following notice appeared in the London Gazette: "The King
has been graciously pleased to signify His intention to confer the
Decoration of the Victoria Cross on the undermentioned officer, whose claims
have been submitted for His Majesty's approval, for his conspicuous bravery
in South Africa, as stated against his name: Arthur Martin-Leake,
Surgeon-Captain, South African Constabulary. For great devotion to duty and
self-sacrifice at Vlakfontein, 8 February 1902, when he went out into the
firing-line to dress a wounded man under very heavy fire from about forty
Boers only 100 yards off. When he had done all he could for him, he went
over to a badly wounded officer, and while trying to place him in a more
comfortable position he was shot three times. He only gave up when
thoroughly exhausted, and then he refused water until other wounded men had
been served". The Victoria Cross was presented to Surgeon-Captain Leake by
King Edward VII at St James's Palace on 2 June, 1902. As soon as he was
able to do so he resumed his professional studies, and having passed the
necessary examination, was admitted a Fellow of the Royal College of
Surgeons in June 1903. In the autumn of 1903 he went to India to take up an
appointment as Administrative Medical Officer of the Bengal-Nagpur
Railway—an appointment which was eminently suited to his taste for all
descriptions of sport and his devotion to his profession. With his
headquarters at Calcutta and the facilities of a railway extending through
the Central Provinces from east to west almost across India, he is able to
employ much of his spare time in big game shooting, and has collected many
fine trophies; as the Chief Medical Officer of the line he has under his
charge a fine hospital and unlimited practice in surgery; the railway
personnel provides two battalions of Infantry Volunteers, of which he is the
Medical Officer. The Balkan War of 1912-13 commenced on the 8th October
1912, by Montenegro declaring war on Turkey, Leake was then at home on leave
from India. The formation by the British Red Cross Society of a unit for
service with the Moutenegran Army afforded him another opportunity for
seeing active service. He managed to see a great deal of the fighting,
which took place round Scutari and Tarabosh Mountain, and was awarded the
Montenegran Red Cross decoration by King Nicholas. On the morning of 5
August 1914, the declaration of war against Germany was known in Calcutta.
Leake obtained leave of absence from his railway duties, and by good fortune
found a companion—Captain Benson, ADC to the Viceroy—who was also anxious to
be in time to break a lance with the Hun. They left Calcutta together on
the following afternoon, and, after a few days' delay in Bombay, caused by
the report that a German cruiser was in the vicinity, sailed for Europe in
the P & O SS Caledonia on 22 August 1914. As this ship was not to call at
Marseilles, they landed at Malta. The question of a passage onward to
Marseilles proved a difficult one. The French fleet was at Malta, and the
Admiral promised to take them, but, unfortunately, just then the Fleet was
ordered to the Adriatic. The authorities at Malta began to think that the
procedure was irregular, and threatened shipment to England; but fortune
smiled again, and an agreement with the Captain of the SS Queen Eugenie,
bound for Marseilles with a cargo of wheat, solved the problem. The journey
came to an end at the Hotel Bristol, Paris, on 30 August 1914. This
informal method of joining the Army must have taken the authorities rather
by surprise; it was, however, the most critical period of the war, and not
the time to make difficulties; Leake was appointed to the 5th Field
Ambulance, 2nd Division, with the rank of Lieutenant. By the time he joined
his unit the Germans were in full retreat from the Marne to the position
which they subsequently held on the Aisne plateau. Then followed the
extension northward of the French left flank, and the move of the British
Army into Belgium to cover the Channel Ports. The German advance in that
direction was stopped by the first battle of Ypres, which continued from 19
October 1914 to 17 November 1914. It was during this battle that Leake won
the bar to his VC. He was mentioned by Sir John French in his Despatch
of the 14th January 1915; and the London Gazette of 18 February 1915,
contained the following notice: "His Majesty the King has been graciously
pleased to approve of the grant of the Victoria Cross to the undermentioned
officers and men for conspicuous acts of bravery and devotion to duty whilst
serving with the Expeditionary Force: Clasp to the Victoria Cross. -
Lieutenant Arthur Martin-Leake, Royal Army Medical Corps, who was awarded
the Victoria Cross on 13 May, 1902, is granted a clasp for conspicuous
bravery in the present campaign. For most conspicuous bravery and devotion
to duty throughout the campaign, especially during the period 29 October to
8 November 1914, near Zonnebeke, in rescuing, whilst exposed to constant
fire, a large number of the wounded who were lying close to the enemy's
trenches". The clasp was presented by His Majesty the King to Lieutenant
Martin-Leake at Windsor Castle on 24 July, 1915. He continued to serve with
the Expeditionary Force, and was promoted Captain on 5 March, and Major on
27 November 1915. Owing to his previous experience in the Balkans, he was
selected to accompany the Adriatic Mission which was being despatched to
assist the Serbians, then hard pressed by the Austrian invasion of their
country, with supplies and medical assistance. The Mission left towards the
end of November, but owing to the rapidity of the Serbian retreat was not
able to be of much assistance. After spending some time in Italy and
visiting Corfu, where numbers of refugees and sick and wounded were
collected, Leake came home on 6 March 1916, and returned to France on 20
March, 1917. On 3 April 1917, he was given command of a Field Ambulance,
and promoted to the temporary rank of Lieutenant Colonel; and subsequently
he commanded a Casualty Clearing Station with the 1st Army. He was
mentioned by Sir Douglas Haig in his Despatch of 7 May 1918. At the
termination of his contract in September 1918, Leake left the Service, and,
after a short period of leave in England, returned to his appointment with
the Bengal-Nagpur Railway. The British Medical Association at a meeting in
June, 1915, awarded to him the Gold Medal of the Institution.
MARTIN-LEAKE, ARTHUR, Surgeon Captain. Arthur Martin-Leake, fifth
son of Stephen Martin-Leake, of Thorpe Hall, Essex, and Marshalls, Ware,
Herts, was born at Marshalls, on 4 April, 1874. He was educated at
Westminster School, and University College, London, and qualified for the
Medical Profession in 1898. When the South African War of 1899-1902 broke
out he had recently been given charge of the District Hospital at Hemel
Hempstead. As soon as it was settled to form the Imperial Yeomanry for
service in South Africa he left the hospital and joined the Hertfordshire
Company as a Trooper. Leake remained with this Company during its year's
service in South Africa, taking part in several important engagements,
notably Princeloo's surrender and the relief of Hoar's laager. When the
Company went home he remained in South Africa, and was employed with the
Army as a civil surgeon. Later, when the South African Constabulary was
formed by General Baden-Powell, he joined that force in the rank of Surgeon
Captain, and served with it until he was invalided home on account of
wounds. The following account of the action during which Surgeon Captain
Martin-Leake won his first VC is taken in an abbreviated form from a report
by the Inspector General, South African Constabulary. On the 8th February
1902, a line of posts held by the C Division, South African Constabulary,
near Van Tenders Hoek, in the Transvaal, was to be moved forward, as a force
of Boers was known to be at that place. At 3.30 am a reconnoitring party,
consisting of 130 mounted men, under Captain Capell, moved out and took up a
position overlooking Van Tenders Hoek. At daybreak Captain Capell
found himself within 400 yards of the Boer laager, and opened a heavy fire
on it. The Boers were in strong force, replied by a determined attack on
his front and left flank, and succeeded in rushing that flank, having come
close up under cover of a donga in superior numbers. Captain Capell
withdrew a portion of his centre to a second position, whence he was able to
cover the retirement of his left flank. Seeing that he was largely
outnumbered by the enemy, he endeavoured to withdraw his extreme right
flank, which, under Lieutenant Swinburne, was holding a strong position, but
the orderly conveying the message was shot while on his way, so that it
never reached Lieutenant Swinburne, and consequently he did not leave his
post. The Boers attacked him in a determined way, but he drove them off
with loss. They then sent him a message advising him to surrender,
otherwise they would give him no quarter; this he declined, and held his
post the whole day, up to nightfall, and then withdrew his party safely in
the dark. Captain Capell, meanwhile, being pressed by overwhelming numbers
of Boers, withdrew the remainder of his force with great skill and coolness,
and retired, contesting the ground, back to his line of block-houses, some
seven miles distant. Captain Capell says, in his report: "I cannot speak
too highly of every officer and man, the latter being cool and splendid
while in the firing line. Cases of gallantry were numerous; Captain Leake,
Medical Officer, was wounded in three places while attending Lieutenant
Abraham under murderous fire; Sergeant Hoffe and 2nd Class Trooper Marks
distinguished themselves by their good work with Lieutenant Swinburne;
Corporal Reeves, No 4 Troop, during the retirement rode back under heavy
fire, picking up a man whose horse had been shot, and was riding away with
him when his own horse was shot dead; he and the other man were captured,
resisting to the end; Hospital Orderly Odell, No 5 Troop, did good service
in carrying a message to Lieutenant Swinburne while under fire. Our losses
were heavy, viz: 2 officers and 6 men killed; 1 officer and 10 men
wounded; 24 horses killed and missing. The Boers admit they were 800
strong, and had 12 casualties. I deeply regret the loss that the Corps has
sustained in the death of Lieutenant D O P Abraham, Lieutenant A C Blackett,
Sergeant G Robinson, 1st Class Trooper M H Hutchins, Trooper McLarity,
Trooper A E Scott, Trooper C Morton, Trooper A Pearl. But by their gallant
self-sacrifice they have added another honour to the many which the South
African Constabulary has gained for itself. I am highly pleased with the
gallant and steady conduct of all ranks in this particularly trying
engagement, especially as a large number of them were under fire for the
first time, and I congratulate them all upon their very complete vindication
of their action. The gallant conduct of Leake in tending wounded under
murderous fire, and that of Corporal Reeves, in going back under heavy fire
to rescue a comrade, will be the subject of special report to the
Commander-in-Chief". Surgeon-Captain A M Leake's name appeared in the War
Office list of Casualties of 12 February' 1902, as "Severely wounded, right
arm and left thigh". His wounds necessitated his return to England, where
his right arm was very successfully operated on by Sir Victor Horsley. On
13 May, 1902, the following notice appeared in the London Gazette: "The King
has been graciously pleased to signify His intention to confer the
Decoration of the Victoria Cross on the undermentioned officer, whose claims
have been submitted for His Majesty's approval, for his conspicuous bravery
in South Africa, as stated against his name: Arthur Martin-Leake,
Surgeon-Captain, South African Constabulary. For great devotion to duty and
self-sacrifice at Vlakfontein, 8 February 1902, when he went out into the
firing-line to dress a wounded man under very heavy fire from about forty
Boers only 100 yards off. When he had done all he could for him, he went
over to a badly wounded officer, and while trying to place him in a more
comfortable position he was shot three times. He only gave up when
thoroughly exhausted, and then he refused water until other wounded men had
been served". The Victoria Cross was presented to Surgeon-Captain Leake by
King Edward VII at St James's Palace on 2 June, 1902. As soon as he was
able to do so he resumed his professional studies, and having passed the
necessary examination, was admitted a Fellow of the Royal College of
Surgeons in June 1903. In the autumn of 1903 he went to India to take up an
appointment as Administrative Medical Officer of the Bengal-Nagpur
Railway—an appointment which was eminently suited to his taste for all
descriptions of sport and his devotion to his profession. With his
headquarters at Calcutta and the facilities of a railway extending through
the Central Provinces from east to west almost across India, he is able to
employ much of his spare time in big game shooting, and has collected many
fine trophies; as the Chief Medical Officer of the line he has under his
charge a fine hospital and unlimited practice in surgery; the railway
personnel provides two battalions of Infantry Volunteers, of which he is the
Medical Officer. The Balkan War of 1912-13 commenced on the 8th October
1912, by Montenegro declaring war on Turkey, Leake was then at home on leave
from India. The formation by the British Red Cross Society of a unit for
service with the Moutenegran Army afforded him another opportunity for
seeing active service. He managed to see a great deal of the fighting,
which took place round Scutari and Tarabosh Mountain, and was awarded the
Montenegran Red Cross decoration by King Nicholas. On the morning of 5
August 1914, the declaration of war against Germany was known in Calcutta.
Leake obtained leave of absence from his railway duties, and by good fortune
found a companion—Captain Benson, ADC to the Viceroy—who was also anxious to
be in time to break a lance with the Hun. They left Calcutta together on
the following afternoon, and, after a few days' delay in Bombay, caused by
the report that a German cruiser was in the vicinity, sailed for Europe in
the P & O SS Caledonia on 22 August 1914. As this ship was not to call at
Marseilles, they landed at Malta. The question of a passage onward to
Marseilles proved a difficult one. The French fleet was at Malta, and the
Admiral promised to take them, but, unfortunately, just then the Fleet was
ordered to the Adriatic. The authorities at Malta began to think that the
procedure was irregular, and threatened shipment to England; but fortune
smiled again, and an agreement with the Captain of the SS Queen Eugenie,
bound for Marseilles with a cargo of wheat, solved the problem. The journey
came to an end at the Hotel Bristol, Paris, on 30 August 1914. This
informal method of joining the Army must have taken the authorities rather
by surprise; it was, however, the most critical period of the war, and not
the time to make difficulties; Leake was appointed to the 5th Field
Ambulance, 2nd Division, with the rank of Lieutenant. By the time he joined
his unit the Germans were in full retreat from the Marne to the position
which they subsequently held on the Aisne plateau. Then followed the
extension northward of the French left flank, and the move of the British
Army into Belgium to cover the Channel Ports. The German advance in that
direction was stopped by the first battle of Ypres, which continued from 19
October 1914 to 17 November 1914. It was during this battle that Leake won
the bar to his VC. He was mentioned by Sir John French in his Despatch
of the 14th January 1915; and the London Gazette of 18 February 1915,
contained the following notice: "His Majesty the King has been graciously
pleased to approve of the grant of the Victoria Cross to the undermentioned
officers and men for conspicuous acts of bravery and devotion to duty whilst
serving with the Expeditionary Force: Clasp to the Victoria Cross. -
Lieutenant Arthur Martin-Leake, Royal Army Medical Corps, who was awarded
the Victoria Cross on 13 May, 1902, is granted a clasp for conspicuous
bravery in the present campaign. For most conspicuous bravery and devotion
to duty throughout the campaign, especially during the period 29 October to
8 November 1914, near Zonnebeke, in rescuing, whilst exposed to constant
fire, a large number of the wounded who were lying close to the enemy's
trenches". The clasp was presented by His Majesty the King to Lieutenant
Martin-Leake at Windsor Castle on 24 July, 1915. He continued to serve with
the Expeditionary Force, and was promoted Captain on 5 March, and Major on
27 November 1915. Owing to his previous experience in the Balkans, he was
selected to accompany the Adriatic Mission which was being despatched to
assist the Serbians, then hard pressed by the Austrian invasion of their
country, with supplies and medical assistance. The Mission left towards the
end of November, but owing to the rapidity of the Serbian retreat was not
able to be of much assistance. After spending some time in Italy and
visiting Corfu, where numbers of refugees and sick and wounded were
collected, Leake came home on 6 March 1916, and returned to France on 20
March, 1917. On 3 April 1917, he was given command of a Field Ambulance,
and promoted to the temporary rank of Lieutenant Colonel; and subsequently
he commanded a Casualty Clearing Station with the 1st Army. He was
mentioned by Sir Douglas Haig in his Despatch of 7 May 1918. At the
termination of his contract in September 1918, Leake left the Service, and,
after a short period of leave in England, returned to his appointment with
the Bengal-Nagpur Railway. The British Medical Association at a meeting in
June, 1915, awarded to him the Gold Medal of the Institution.