science

Nigel Leakey

Nigel Leakey is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Nigel Leakey rather than just read about it. In short: Nigel Gray Leakey VC (1 January 1913 – 19 May 1941) was a British soldier and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Early life Leakey was born in Kiganjo, Kenya to English parents.

Key takeaways

Nigel Leakey belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Nigel Leakey to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Nigel Leakey from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Nigel Gray Leakey VC (1 January 1913 – 19 May 1941) was a British soldier and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Early life Leakey was born in Kiganjo, Kenya to English parents. Leakey's mother Elizabeth died in 1926. His father, Arundell Gray Leakey, was the son of Reverend John Arundell Leakey, clergyman in England. He was a cousin of archaeologists Louis Leakey and Richard Leakey. Leakey's younger brother Rea Leakey served in the Royal Tank Regiment in the Second World War, and later became a major general. His sister Agnes Leakey (later Agnes Hofmeyr) worked for black and white reconciliation in Kenya. After serving in the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry in the early 1900s, Leakey's father became a farmer at Nyeri Station, west of Mount Kenya in Central Province, Kenya, about 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Kiganjo and about 100 miles (160 km) north of Nairobi. His father was an honorary Kikuyu tribesman known as "Morungaru" ("tall and straight"); he was kidnapped and brutally murdered by the Mau Mau in October 1954, and his second wife Mary was also killed. Leakey was educated in Kenya, and then attended Bromsgrove School in England. Returning to Kenya, at the outbreak of war in 1939 he joined the Kenya Regiment and, after training, was attached to the King's African Rifles.

Victoria Cross Leakey was a 28 year old sergeant in the 1/6th Battalion, King's African Rifles during the Second World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross. Leakey's 1/6th Battalion was part of the 22nd (East African) Brigade (12th African Division). On 19 May 1941, at Alaba Kulito, Abyssinia, when Allied forces had made a bridgehead against strong Italian opposition, the Italians made a sudden counterattack with both light and medium tanks. In the face of withering fire, Leakey leaped on top of an Italian tank, wrenched open the turret and killed all the crew except the driver, whom he forced to drive the tank to cover. Along with three others, Leakey tried to repeat this with another Italian tank, but just as he opened the turret, he was killed. The confusion and loss of armour Leakey caused was critical to the Italian defeat in the battle. Captain David Hines witnessed the event through binoculars, as did other soldiers. Leakey has no known grave but he is commemorated on the East Africa Memorial, near Nairobi, Kenya. His second cousin twice removed, Joshua Leakey, was also awarded the Victoria Cross for his service in Afghanistan in 2013. Leakey's medal is kept by a member of the Leakey family in England.

See also East African campaign (World War II) Leakey family

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Nigel Leakey

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Nigel Leakey claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Nigel Leakey before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Nigel Leakey ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Nigel Leakey

In research: Nigel Leakey appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Nigel Leakey in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Nigel Leakey is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1913 births, 1941 deaths, British Kenya people, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Nigel Leakey outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Nigel Leakey in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Nigel Leakey means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Nigel Leakey out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Nigel Leakey in simple terms?

Why does Nigel Leakey matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Nigel Leakey?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Nigel Leakey.