Leonard Webb

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Leonard Webb
April 16, 1921

Place of birth	Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	April 17th, 1941 - September 6th, 1946
Rank	Driver
Battles/wars	World War II
Other work	Mayor of Thame 1975 - 1979

Leonard Webb (born April 16, 1921) is a British World War II veteran who was present at the liberation of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945.

1 Biography
2 References

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early Life

Webb was born in Cologne in Germany, the second son to William and Lillian Webb in 1921 at the time when his father was serving as Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant in the then 14th King's Hussars whilst on duty in the occupation of the Rhine. In 1924 his fathers regiment moved back to Tidworth in Wiltshire until he was demobbed in 1927, and the family moved to William's birthplace of Long Crendon in Buckinghamshire.

[edit] Pre-World War II

Webb attended Long Crendon County School until the age of 14 with the idea of trying for a place as a pilot in the RAF. Unfortunately he failed the exam for an RAF apprenticeship, at RAF Halton in Aylesbury, being offered a place as a boy entrant instead which he accepted but sadly was rejected later due to colour blindness. Around the same time Webb was doing well within the Scout Movement, becoming a troop leader and gaining all his proficiency badges which earnt him a place at the 5th World Scout Jamboree.

[edit] World War II

The driver to Brigadier H. L. Glyn Hughes CBE,DSO,MC,FRCGP the Deputy Director of Medical Services for the British Second Army, who was in charge of relief operations in Bergen-Belsen. Webb witnessed some of the horrors for which the Holocaust is remembered. The relief work he and his staff faced was a monumental task of feeding tens of thousands of former prisoners, reducing the mortality rate and preventing the spread of infectious diseases. Burying the bodies became an overwhelming task. The British forced SS guards to remove and inter the corpses in mass graves, but soon bulldozers were used to complete the task.

[edit] Post World War II

Later on in life, he was also the mayor of Thame from 1975 - 1979. In December 1999 he was made the first Honoury Citizen of Thame, in recognition of his long, exemplary and outstanding public service to the people of Thame, both as a citizen and a councillor.

He currently lives in Thame in retirement.