IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF SAMMY LEON – an update.

Let me begin by thanking the various Facebook groups which have allowed me to share my initial planning for this piece of writing. The resulting support has been overwhelming with several thousand people supporting the project.

My initial plan was to publish the book in April 2022 but now I am going to postpone this to August or perhaps September. This will take away the pressure and allow me to write at  a leisurely pace meaning I can both widen and deepen the content.

In the New Year I will contact the Leon Family and share planning. Working with the Custodian of Fenny Poppers we will invite a member of the Leon Family to fire a popper on 11^th November 2022 at Leon Recreation Ground, the park which was given to our community by Sammy Leon.

I have an idea I wish t o share with Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council to plant a tree in the recreation ground in memory of Sir Herbert and Lady Fanny Leon. If the council agrees this can take place on 11^th November 2022.

The Leon Estate was primarily within what is now West Bletchley but the heritage is very much focussed on Bletchley and Fenny Stratford. Within this my thinking for footsteps include:

An INTRODUCTION: Time To Get Our Walking Shoes On

Then moving to: Fenny Poppers – The Last Thing They Do Is Pop

Sammy Leon was instrumental when it came to erecting the Fenny Stratford War Memorial after The Great War. I have undertaken extensive research finding the people behind the names on both this memorial and the one at Saint Mary’s. I have been able to locate the addresses of many who lived within the area known to the Leons.

I will then go Back To Leon Recreation Ground which those who gave their lives in the war knew. I want to walk around and reflect on the park as they knew it.

Leon The Name Behind A School This is the area where I have received the most support. In 1991 I published IN SEARCH OF THE LEONS which reunited the Leon Family with their ancestral home.  Sir John Leon 4^th Baronet of Bletchley Park wrote the introduction. It was Fanny Leon and not Sir Herbert Leon who was heavily involved in education so it is a bit strange that the present-day school takes the name Sir Herbert Leon Academy. I will be looking at the school under Headmaster Bradshaw who originally gave the name Leon to

the school and under Headmaster Abbott who took the name forward.

Leon Dinosaur This was Headmaster Bradshaw’s I idea which he delegated to me to set up and manage. In name it was my project but it was community artist Bill Billings working with Leon School students who made it happen. Sadly the sculpture was moved away from the school and is now located on Windermere Drive. It  is in an horrific stat e of repair. I am campaigning for its dignity to be restored and for a plaque to be erected celebrating the work of Bill Billings and his team of Leon students.

Sausages, Tea Bags, Maggie Thatcher and a bit more. Lady Leon sold off part of the family estate in the Denbigh area of Bletchley for factory development so providing employment for residents. This will be a fun chapter looking at what has happened in the area after the sale.

Leon Bridge I have tried for many years to get proper recognition for what Sammy Leon did to celebrate Denbigh Hall Bridge. This is not just a Bletchley landmark but a landmark right across the rail network. I will not take NO for an answer this time and am determined proper recognition will be afforded to Leon Bridge

Off To The Market I have a photograph of Sammy Leon at the old Bletchley Cattle market, the site of Sainsbury’s Supermarket although today that is defunct. I want to talk about the market and also of the horse drinking trough, now gone, erected by Sammy Leon.

The Bells The Bells Having lived in Bletchley Park myself for three years, NO I was not a spy, I understand Sammy Leon’s frustration with the constant chiming of the church bells. Sammy tried to have the clock bells silenced but the church has been there for centuries, the Leons moved to Bletchley Park in 1883. However, when Sammy Leon died the church silenced the

bells for a day.

Bletchley Park I am NOT a fan of the present-day Bletchley Park FAR FROM IT ! However, I am open to have my mind changed indeed I WANT TO HAVE MY MIND CHANGED. I will walk around the vast housing estate, the college, celebrate Flowers Care Home, discuss the situation and what has become of Bletchley Park Pavilion. I  will even visit the small area which is now a museum. Like I say I am NOT a fan o f the present-day Bletchley Park and think Sammy Leon would stand with me on this matter. But I am open to have my mind changed and I WANT to have my mind changed.

Golders Green When Sammy Leon Died in 1926 and Fanny Leon passed away in 1937 their funerals took place at Golders Green Crematorium. This is a very special place and a landmark in its own right. I plan t o visit the

crematorium and celebrate Sir Herbert and Lady Fanny.

The Ghost Of Bletchley Park When writing IN SEARCH OF THE LEONS the manager of Bletchley Park Mansion was a training centre for Royal Mail Telecoms – no BT back in 1991, told me of a ghost which many people had seen. She believed this ghost was Lady Leon. She was very serious and convinced. I shared the story  with a former Bletchley Gazette edit or who had known Lady Leon, his response was: Put it this was, if she could haunt the place she would !

The History Of Milton Keynes And District When I was writing my 1994 book NOT THE

CONCRETE COWS Lady Markham gave me permission to use her late husband, Sir Frank Markham’s writing and in particular the photographs in his book. I will be referring to this when writing IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF SAMMY LEON. I plan to explain the importance of Sir Frank’s writing and of Lady Markham’s association with Bletchley Park in the early 1970’s  

The New City of Bletchley. When Sir Harold Wilson’s government in 1967 designated an area of land in North Buckinghamshire for building a new city very early planning suggested the New City of Bletchley. However, wisdom decided it would be better to take a name from the centre of the area and not Bletchley at the south of the designated area. Sadly, Milton Keynes has not been awarded a city charter although I am hoping such will happen within Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee and I have made my own presentation to Buckingham Palace based on my book MILTON DREAMS THE CITY THAT NEVER WAS but that is another story !  However, one thing is certain, if Sir Herbert Sammy Leon were around we would be living in The New City of Bletchley and not Milton Keynes. I am 101% certain with Sammy campaigning a city charter would have been grated many years ago.

So that is where things are now in December 2021 – January 2022 WATCH THIS SPACE as the FOOTSTEPS OF SAMMY LEON start to walk.