Duncan Leitch (c.1903–1974) was a Scottish minister, who served as

Moderator of the General Assembly The moderator of the General Assembly is the chairperson of a General Assembly, the highest court of a Presbyterian or Reformed church. Kirk sessions and presbyteries may also style the chairperson as moderator. The Oxford Dictionary states th ...

of the Free Church of Scotland in 1952.

Life

He was born in

Bannockburn Bannockburn (Scottish Gaelic ''Allt a' Bhonnaich'') is an area immediately south of the centre of Stirling in Scotland. It is part of the City of Stirling. It is named after the Bannock Burn, a stream running through the town before flowing int ...

and originally was apprenticed as a draughtsman in the

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990. Dumbarton was the ca ...

shipyards during the closing years of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

(presumably working on warships). After the war he decided to retrain as a minister of the Free Church. In 1929 he was inducted to St Columba Free Church in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

and remained there until 1940. In October 1940 he moved to

Kingussie Kingussie ( ; gd, Ceann a' Ghiùthsaich ) is a small town in the Badenoch and Strathspey ward of the Highland council area of Scotland. Historically in Inverness-shire, it lies beside the A9 road, although the old route of the A9 serves as the ...

and by 1952 when he became Moderator he was minister of

Dingwall Dingwall ( sco, Dingwal, gd, Inbhir Pheofharain ) is a town and a royal burgh in the Highland council area of Scotland. It has a population of 5,491. It was an east-coast harbour that now lies inland. Dingwall Castle was once the biggest cast ...

. He died in Dingwall on New Year's Eve, 31 December 1974. He is buried in the churchyard at

Fodderty Fodderty ( gd, Fodhraitidh) is a small hamlet, close to Dingwall, Ross-shire in the Scottish Highlands and is in the Scotland, Scottish council area of Highland Council area, Highland. The small hamlet of Bottacks is located 1 mile to the west, ...

Family

He was married to Janet Milne.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leitch, Duncan 1903 births 1974 deaths 20th-century Ministers of the Free Church of Scotland