Background
Leakey was born in Kenya, where his father (Arundell) Gray Leakey was a farmer.
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Bob Leakey
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He has been described as the "Edmund Hillary of potholing". He stood for Parliament in 2005 and 2010. He is thought to be the oldest candidate ever in a United Kingdom general election, shortly before his 96th birthday in May 2010.
He was educated in Kenya and then at Weymouth College.
He then studied at the Chelsea College of Aeronautical Engineering, and worked for Vickers. While working as an aircraft designer in the, a reserved occupation, he discovered the 9 kilometres (56 mi) long Mossdale Caverns north of Grassington in the Yorkshire Dales.
He failed in two attempts to become the first person to climb the 6,316 metres (20,722 ft) Bandarpunch in the Himalayas. After the war, Leakey lived in Settle and then Giggleswick in North Yorkshire.
He became an inventor, securing 20 patents, including one for a folding lobster pot.
He also sold fishing equipment, including so-called "Leakey boats". He also served as a magistrate in Settle, and as a governor at Bentham Grammar School. He continued caving and potholing into the 1960s, and he explored Bar Pot and Disappointment Pot in the Gaping Gill cave system.
He was noted for his ability to survive with little or no protective gear, occasionally diving naked into sumps deep underground, and has been described as "seemingly oblivious to the cold".
Leakey wrote many letters of complaint to different politicians and government departments, but denied that he was eccentric. He stood as a candidate in local council elections, and stood for Parliament in Skipton and Ripon in the 2005 and 2010 United Kingdom general elections.
As a result, he is thought to be the oldest candidate ever in a United Kingdom general election.
Achievements
Politics
He founded a political party, the Virtue Currency Cognitive Appraisal Party.
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Born
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Died
April 22, 2013 (aged 98)
Awards
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Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest military decoration awarded for valour 'in the face of the enemy' to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories.The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest military decoration awarded for valour 'in the face of the enemy' to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories.