This is Lt. Leslie March's pencil, donated to Yard O Led by his stepbrother, Mr. Kelly. Mr. Kelly remembers him as his "hero."

Lt. March was one of the first to volunteer: he joined the Royal Artillery as a private (No. 190734) and was commissioned an officer in June 1941. Wanting to serve in the infantry, he transferred to the Cameron Highlanders as a lieutenant in 1942. It was there that the incident occurred in which a bullet was caught by his YARD-O-LED pencil - a gift from his wife Margaret. This pencil saved his life. From then on, the pencil accompanied him everywhere as his lucky charm.

At the end of 1943 he volunteered for the Commandos set up by Lord Lovat; by this time he was already a acting captain and adjutant.
In 1944, he landed on the beaches of Normandy the day after D-Day. The following day, while his unit was digging in, he was inspecting the trenches when a grenade hit him and he died instantly.

He was only 23 years old when he died so tragically and we are proud to relaunch this model in his name.