Edward Leach (4 December 1879 – 30 October 1949) was a New Zealand

bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a bowling green, which may be flat (for "flat-gre ...

player who represented his country at the

1930 British Empire Games The 1930 British Empire Games were the inaugural edition of what now is known as the Commonwealth Games, and were held in Hamilton, Ontario, from 16 to 23 August 1930. The games were organized by ''Hamilton Spectator'' sportswriter Bobby Robinso ...

. Born in

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

, England, on 4 December 1879, Leach was the son of John and Ann Leach. He became a baker and later emigrated to New Zealand. A member of the Stratford Bowling Club, Leach represented New Zealand in the fours at the 1930 British Empire Games in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...

. The foursome of Leach, William Fielding, Peter McWhannell, and

Harold Frost Harold M. Frost (1921 – 19 June 2004) was an American orthopedist and surgeon considered to be one of the most important researchers and theorists in the field of bone biology and bone medicine of his time.Turner C, Burr D, Jee WS, Smith S, Re ...

finished fifth. Leach later moved to

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, where he became president of the

Saint Heliers Saint Heliers is an affluent seaside suburb of Auckland with a population of as of This suburb is popular amongst visitors for the beaches, cafés, and views of Rangitoto Island, the distinctive volcanic island in the Hauraki Gulf. St. Helier ...

Bowling Club. He served as vice president of the Tamaki Returned Servicemen's Association and president of the Tamaki Orphans' Club. Leach died on 30 October 1949, and he was buried at Purewa Cemetery, Auckland.

References

1879 births 1949 deaths Sportspeople from Walsall English emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand male bowls players Commonwealth Games competitors for New Zealand Bowls players at the 1930 British Empire Games Burials at Purewa Cemetery {{NewZealand-bowls-bio-stub