Dismore, Leonard Henry (Dissy)

Date of birth:: November 17th, 1906 (West Ealing/Middlesex, United Kingdom)
Date of death:: June 21st, 1956 (Canterbury/Kent, United Kingdom)
Service number:: 78541
Nationality:: British

Biography

Born in West Ealing, Middlesex, Dismore was the son of Albert John Victor and Emily Emma (née Coffin) Dismore. He lived in Ealing and worked as news editor for the Kentish Gazette Group in Canterbury from 1932 to 1939.

He enlisted in the 4th Battalion, The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) in 1938 and was commissioned as Second Lieutenant on 25 August 1939. Serving with the British Expeditionary Force in France, he became Brigade Intelligence Officer to the 25th Infantry Brigade in early 1940.

Transferred to the War Office, he held successive intelligence roles in M.O.3, M.O.9, and M.O.1 (S.P.), eventually becoming Liaison Officer to SOE D/Army. From March 1941, he served with the Special Operations Executive, rising through W, L, AK, RF, and AD/E Sections. He was second-in-command to Colonel Orde Wingate in West Africa and played a key role in Operation Postmaster (January 1942).

Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in November 1943, he later commanded SPU 24 in Chantilly, France.

After the war, he joined the Foreign Office’s Economic Warfare Department and was appointed H.M. Consul in Macao in 1954.

Dismore married Winifred I. Forwood in Canterbury in September 1934. He died in Canterbury.

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Efficiency Medal / Territorial Decoration

Period:: Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:: Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel
Awarded on:: February 21st, 1947

3rd clasp

Efficiency Medal / Territorial Decoration

Medal of Freedom with Bronze Palm

Period:: Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:: Temporary Lieutenant-Colonel
Unit:: RF Section, Special Operations Executive (SOE), British Government
Awarded on:: November 14th, 1947

"Lieutenant Colonel LEONARD H DISMORE, British Army, for meritorious services in connection with military operations against an enemy of the United States from 10 January 1944 to 23 September 1944. During this period, Lieutenant Colonel Dismore as a result of his outstanding organizing ability, energy and initiative , was largely responsible or the succesful dispatch into France of numerous highly trained units, which successfully organized Resistance Forces and coordinated their activities with Allied operations. The effectiveness with which he handled this difficult task contributed in an outstanding manner to the success achieved by the Resistance Forces in support of the invasion and subsequent liberation of this territory by the Allied Expeditionary Forces."