Defence Medal : Lieutenant Colonel L C Parish, Royal Engineers

Defence Medal. Unnamed as issued.

Presented to Lieutenant Colonel L C Parish, Royal Engineers. Born in Neutral Bay, Sydney on 5 June 1909, Leslie Charles Parish attended Melbourne Grammar and later Melbourne University where he studied electrical engineering and served in the militia with the Melbourne University Rifles. In 1935, Parish travelled to England and worked in the engineering field before enlisting in the British Army Royal Engineers (RE). Lieutenant Parish saw service in France in 1940 with 102 Army Field Company RE and 17 Field Company RE. In late 1940, Lieutenant Parish transferred to the Royal Engineers Equipment branch of the Ministry of Supply where he was engaged in the development of new designs of Royal Engineers field equipment. In January 1942 Major Parish was placed in charge of aspects of production of Bailey Bridges and tank-launched bridges such as the Scissors Bridge and Churchill tank Bridge. He would later receive the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his role in the production of the Bailey Bridge in time for use during Allied invasion of Europe. Promoted in 1944, Lieutenant Colonel Parish was appointed Assistant Director of 'RE4' branch, responsible for the production of various types of engineering equipment. After demobilisation in October 1945, Lieutenant Colonel Parish became Deputy Director of Disposals, RE. He resigned in December 1946 and returned to Australia to continue his career. Married with three children, Leslie Charles Parish died on 31 December 2002.