At present no image of this war memorial is available for online display. If you have a photograph of this war memorial, please upload it via our image upload form for inclusion on the Register. The image will be credited to yourself and free for reuse for non-commercial purposes by others under the IWM Non Commercial Licence.

Memorial details

Memorial type
Board / Plaque / Tablet
District
Tendring
Town
Thorpe-le-Soken
County
Essex
Country
England
Commemoration
Non-Combat Deaths
Lost
Not lost
WM Reference
22921

Support IWM

Donate with Just Giving

Any gift we receive makes a vital contribution to our ongoing work, from conserving our collection to supporting our public programme.

Make a Donation
Current location

St Michael's Church
High Street
Thorpe-le-Soken
Tendring
Essex
CO16 0ED
England

OS Grid Ref: TM 17927 22298
Denomination: Church of England

View location on Google Maps
Description
PLAIN RECTANGULAR BRASS PLAQUE WITH INCISED INSCRIPTION IN RELIEF
Inscription
IN MEMORY OF/ STEPHEN MARTIN-LEAKE/ OF THORPE HALLL, ESSEX AND MARSHALLS, HERTS;/ BARRISTER AT LAW OF THE MIDDLE TEMPLE. BORN 19TH MARCH 1826,/ DIED 7TH MARCH, 1893 AND BURIED IN THIS CHURCHYARD/ ALSO OF THEODORE EDWARD MARTIN-LEAKE, LIEUT, ROYAL ENGINEERS/ YOUNGEST SON OF THE ABOVE, BORN 15TH DECMBR 1879, DROWNED OFF THE COAST/ OF DORSETSHIRE 28TH MAY 1907, THE RESULT OF AN ACCIDENT TO THE WAR/ BALLOON "THRASHER". HIS BODY WAS RECOVERED FROM THE SEA ON/ 29TH JUNE AND BURIED IN THIS CHURCHYARD ON 2ND JULY 1907./ "THE LORD GIVETH, THE LORD TAKETH AWAY./ BLESSED BE THE NAME OF THE LORD." JOB 1 21VS.
Inscription legible?
yes
Names on memorial
Martin-leake, Theodore Edward
See details
Commemorations
  • Non-Combat Deaths
    Total names on memorial: 1
    Served and returned: 0
    Died: 1
    Exact count: yes
    Information shown: rank, surname, date of death, regiment, place of death, forenames, place of burial, manner of death, age, relationships, additional
    Order of information: Undefined
Components
  • Plaque
    Measurements: Undefined
    Materials: Brass
Listing information
  • PARISH CHURCH OF ST MICHAEL
  • Grade II*
  • This memorial is protected, and listed on the National Heritage List for England maintained by Historic England. View list entry
  • More about listing and the protection of historic places can be found on the Historic England website
  • Historic England
Condition
Trust fund/Scholarship
No
Purpose: Unknown or N/A
Reference
  • More details of the accident- www.bonhams.com/auctions/20810/lot/48/ He drowned off the Dorset coast on the 28th May 1907 with Lieutenant W.T.M.Clintock Caulfield as a result of an accident with the war balloon Thrasher. They went "up" in the balloon from Aldershot on Tuesday the 28th June in the presence of the King and Prince Fushimi of Japan. A Mr House, the landlord of the Coach and Horses, at Winterborne Abbas had seen the balloon going over the village shortly before 8 o'clock. It was only 40 feet from the ground and had a rope trailing, the two Officers shouted to him to catch the rope which he failed to do so. They said they were making for Bridport but were warned they were not far from the sea. A Mr Tolman a farmer also saw them and again was unable to grab the rope. House and Tolman continued to chase it but failed. The balloon continued to head towards Bridehead very close to the ground. A carpenter named Samson saw them, and again they asked him how close was it to Bridport. Samson said the balloon was almost touching the ground and they could easily have slid down the rope. They were then seen to throw out ballast in order to clear one of the small hills. They were also heard talikng as the balloon went over Little Bredy. The final moments of their plight is not known apart from two men of West Bexington Farm saw the balloon splash into the water but quickly rose again, it was thought the Officers may have jumped into the sea at this point. The balloon was recovered by the Brixham fishing boat Skylark, and returned to the factory in Aldershot. His body was recovered from the sea at Burdon Bradstock, near Bridport on the 29th June and was buried at St.Michael's, Thorpe-le-Soken, Essex, on the 2nd July 1907. The jury returned a verdict of accidental death by drowning. His brother was Surgeon-Captain A.Martin-Leake VC and bar, MC, R.A.M.C.
  • [this website calls the balloon 'Thresher']- aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=193575

This record comprises all information held by IWM’s War Memorials Register for this memorial. Where we hold a names list for the memorial, this information will be displayed on the memorial record. Please check back as we are adding more names to the database.

This information is made available under a Creative Commons BY-NC licence.

This means you may reuse it for non-commercial purposes only and must attribute it to us using the following statement:

© WMR-22921

For queries, please contact [email protected].