Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry Conyers Leach, GCB, DL (18 November 1923 – 26 April 2011) was a Royal Navy officer who, as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff during the early 1980s, was instrumental in convincing the British prime minister Margaret Thatcher that retaking the Falkland Islands from Argentina was feasible.

On account of the determination he showed in the matter, journalist and political commentator Andrew Marr described him as Thatcher's "knight in shining gold braid".

[3] His obituary in The Daily Telegraph noted that "[s]urvivors of the action remembered a forlorn midshipman searching for his father, who was among those lost.

He was at this post for only a short time as he decided to gain his qualifications as a gunnery specialist at the shore establishment HMS Excellent.

[2] In July 1953, he was posted as gunnery officer of the 5th Cruiser Squadron in HMS Newcastle and saw service at the end of the Korean War.

[5] Leach was posted to the Training Directorate in the Admiralty in July 1961 and then attended the Joint Service Defence College before receiving promotion to captain on 31 December 1961.

[5] He became Chief Staff Officer (Plans and Operations) for the Far East Fleet in July 1962 and organised naval support for British ground forces deployed during the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation.

[5] An appointment at the Ministry of Defence followed when he became Director of Naval Plans there in February 1968 before he was given another command, that of the aircraft carrier HMS Albion, in March 1970.

Leach exclaimed "Because if we do not, or if we pussyfoot in our actions and do not achieve complete success, in another few months we shall be living in a different country whose word counts for little.

[1] Thatcher approved this and preparations were made to send a task force to set sail to retake the Falklands.

[1] On account of his determination, Andrew Marr referred to Leach as Thatcher's "Knight in Shining Gold Braid" in his documentary series History of Modern Britain.