3 Commando Brigade Mobilization
Includes 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines in the force package required to recover the Falkland Islands.
Role range: 1982-1982 – 1979-1982
Historical biography archive · Updated 2026-11-03
Henry Leach Biography and Timeline
Follow Henry Leach through 56 dated historical records for Great Britain.
Henry Leach, historical timeline
A chronological timeline drawn from matching World History Database records.
56Distinct records
1 of 2Page
1982–1982Years on this page
1982
Acting Defence Staff Bypass
Chooses to take his naval assessment directly to ministers rather than leave the issue with the acting Chief of the Defence Staff.
Role range: 1982-1982 – 1979-1982
Argentine Invasion of Falklands
Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Sir Henry Leach advises a crisis meeting headed by Margaret Thatcher that Britain could and should send a task force if the islands are invaded.
Role range: 1982-1982 – 1979-1982
Ark Royal Availability
Explains that the former aircraft carrier Ark Royal is no longer available and that the new carrier of that name will not be ready for years.
Role range: 1982-1982 – 1979-1982
Chief of Defence Staff Absence
Acts during the crisis while Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Sir Terence Lewin is returning from an official visit to New Zealand.
Role range: 1982-1982 – 1979-1982
Defence Secretary Search
Goes to find Defence Secretary John Nott after deciding that the government's current operational advice understates what the Navy can do.
Role range: 1982-1982 – 1979-1982
Fleet Readiness Call
Telephones Commander-in-Chief Fleet Admiral John Fieldhouse to establish the readiness of the fleet before pressing the case for a South Atlantic operation.
Role range: 1982-1982 – 1979-1982
Full Dress Uniform Intervention
Arrives at the Falklands crisis meeting in full naval uniform after returning from a Portsmouth engagement, making a conspicuous intervention in the discussion.
Role range: 1982-1982 – 1979-1982
HMS Fearless Requirement
Includes the assault ship HMS Fearless among the amphibious capabilities needed for a force capable of retaking the islands.
Role range: 1982-1982 – 1979-1982
HMS Hermes Requirement
Identifies HMS Hermes as one of the two aircraft carriers required for the expeditionary force being assembled for the South Atlantic.
Role range: 1982-1982 – 1979-1982
HMS Intrepid Requirement
Includes the assault ship HMS Intrepid among the amphibious capabilities required for the projected South Atlantic campaign.
Role range: 1982-1982 – 1979-1982
HMS Invincible Requirement
Identifies HMS Invincible as one of the two aircraft carriers required to provide air cover for the projected Falklands operation.
Role range: 1982-1982 – 1979-1982
House of Commons Intervention
Follows John Nott to the House of Commons and seeks admission to the ministerial meeting considering the Falklands crisis.
Role range: 1982-1982 – 1979-1982
Intelligence Brief Review
Reviews intelligence material indicating that an Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands is becoming imminent.
Role range: 1982-1982 – 1979-1982
National Credibility Warning
Argues that failing to respond effectively to the seizure of the islands would seriously diminish Britain's international credibility.
Role range: 1982-1982 – 1979-1982
National Mobilization Requirement
Warns that mounting the operation will require a major national effort extending beyond the ships immediately available to the Royal Navy.
Role range: 1982-1982 – 1979-1982
Naval Response Judgment
Concludes that if Argentina occupies the islands the Royal Navy should be used to recover them rather than accept the occupation as irreversible.
Role range: 1982-1982 – 1979-1982
Operational Brief Review
Finds the operational advice circulating in the Ministry of Defence excessively pessimistic about Britain's ability to respond to an Argentine occupation.
Role range: 1982-1982 – 1979-1982
Operational Risk Assessment
Describes the proposed attempt to recover the Falklands as an operation involving considerable risk but judges that the risk should be taken.
Role range: 1982-1982 – 1979-1982
Royal Fleet Auxiliary Mobilization
Includes Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships as an essential part of the fuel, stores, transport, and replenishment system for the task force.
Role range: 1982-1982 – 1979-1982
Sea Harrier Mobilization
Calls for all operational Sea Harriers that can be made available to support the carrier force sent toward the Falklands.
Role range: 1982-1982 – 1979-1982
South Atlantic Transit Estimate
Explains that the force would require about three weeks, rather than a few days, to reach the South Atlantic operating area.
Role range: 1982-1982 – 1979-1982
Surface Fleet Mobilization
Plans to draw heavily on the operational surface fleet to provide escorts and combat power for the South Atlantic force.
Role range: 1982-1982 – 1979-1982
Task Force Assembly Authority
Receives Margaret Thatcher's authority to begin assembling the naval task force after giving his assessment of the operation's feasibility.
Role range: 1982-1982 – 1979-1982
Task Force Mobilization Estimate
Advises that a naval task force can be mobilized to sail within roughly 48 hours despite the scale of the emergency.
Role range: 1982-1982 – 1979-1982
Two-Carrier Air Cover Plan
Judges that the Falklands can still be recovered using the two available small aircraft carriers to provide naval air cover.
Role range: 1982-1982 – 1979-1982
Cabinet Appearance
Accompanies Margaret Thatcher to a Cabinet meeting and presents the naval case for a determined response to the Argentine seizure.
Role range: 1982-1982 – 1979-1982
Cabinet Reception
Receives strong Cabinet support after explaining the Navy's ability and determination to mount a South Atlantic operation.
Role range: 1982-1982 – 1979-1982
Falklands Task Force
Leach sends orders to a Royal Navy force carrying out exercises in the Mediterranean to prepare to sail south.
Role range: 1982-1982 – 1979-1982
Falklands Task Force
Following the Argentine invasion, Cabinet approval is given for formation of a task force to retake the islands, implementing the naval response Leach had advocated.
Role range: 1982-1982 – 1979-1982
Falklands Task Force
The aircraft carriers HMS Hermes and HMS Invincible leave Portsmouth with escorts as leading elements of the task force whose mobilization Leach had urged.
Role range: 1982-1982 – 1979-1982
HMS Conqueror Deployment
As the Royal Navy mobilizes for the Falklands campaign, the nuclear-powered submarine HMS Conqueror sails from Faslane before the main carrier force departs.
Role range: 1982-1982 – 1979-1982
Merchant Shipping Request
Requests merchant shipping support for Operation Corporate because the Royal Navy alone does not possess enough transport capacity for the rapid deployment.
Role range: 1982-1982 – 1979-1982
Merchant Troop Transport
The naval plan Leach advocates depends on requisitioned civilian vessels to carry substantial elements of the landing force toward the South Atlantic.
Role range: 1982-1982 – 1979-1982
Naval Lift Shortfall
Recognizes that the fleet requires civilian shipping to move troops, equipment, supplies, and specialist support over the long South Atlantic route.
Role range: 1982-1982 – 1979-1982
SS Canberra Support
The merchant-shipping mobilization requested under Leach's naval response helps bring SS Canberra into Operation Corporate as a major troop transport.
Role range: 1982-1982 – 1979-1982
Ships Taken Up From Trade
Supports the rapid use of ships taken up from trade to augment Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary capacity for the Falklands campaign.
Role range: 1982-1982 – 1979-1982
Falklands Victory During Tenure
Remains First Sea Lord when British forces complete the recovery of the Falkland Islands in June 1982.
Role range: 1982-1982 – 1979-1982
Admiral of the Fleet Promotion
Retires from active service later in 1982 after the Falklands victory and is promoted to Admiral of the Fleet.
Role range: 1982-1982 – 1979-1982
1981 Surface Fleet Cuts Context
The Falklands emergency tests the surface-fleet capabilities that Leach had defended against major reductions proposed in the 1981 defence review.
Role range: 1982-1982 – 1979-1982
Records, sources and methodology
These dates and descriptions come from the historical_events database. Exact duplicate records have been collapsed. Names are grouped by the country, Name 2 and Name 1 fields; records with missing Name 2 cannot be reliably assigned to an individual biography. Check the underlying sources before formal citation.