Leslie Gilbert Pine (22 December 1907 – 15 May 1987) was a British writer,

lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

, and researcher in the areas of

genealogy Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The character ...

, history,

heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known bran ...

and

animal welfare Animal welfare is the well-being of non-human animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures such as longevit ...

Early life and education

Pine was born at

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...

, the son of Henry Moorshead Pine, a tea merchant, and Lilian Grace, daughter of James Phillips Beswetherick, of

Glastonbury Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbur ...

.''The Augustan Society Omnibus'', vol. 8, The Augustan Society, 1986, p. 25. He was educated at Tellisford House School,

, the

South West London College The South West London College was a higher education college located in the Tooting and Streatham areas of London, England. The college was founded in 1966, and closed in 1990; initially it was proposed that it would be merged with the Thames Pol ...

at Barnes, and at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

, where he took a BA.''Who was Who: A Companion to Who's Who, Containing the Biographies of Those who Died'', Volume 8, A. & C. Black, 1981, p. 600.

Career

From 1935 to 1940, Pine was an assistant

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, or ...

Burke's Peerage Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher founded in 1826, when the Irish genealogist John Burke began releasing books devoted to the ancestry and heraldry of the peerage, baronetage, knightage and landed gentry of Great ...

Ltd. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

he was an officer in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

intelligence branch, serving in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

, and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

; he retired with the rank of Squadron Leader. After the war and until 1960, he was Burke's executive director. Pine edited ''Burke's Peerage'', 1949–1959; ''Burke's Landed Gentry (of Great Britain)'', 1952; ''Burke's Landed Gentry (of Ireland)'', 1958; and, ''Burke's Distinguished Families of America'', 1939, 1947. He also edited ''The International Year Book and Statesmen's Who's Who'', 1953–1960; ''Author's and Writer's Who's Who'', 1948, 1960; ''Who's Who in Music'', 1949; and, ''Who's Who in the Free Churches'', 1951. He was a consultant for Burke's from 1984. He became a Barrister-at-Law,

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...

, in 1953. Pine was a member of the International Institute of Genealogy and Heraldry, Fellow of the

Society of Antiquaries of Scotland The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland is the senior antiquarian body of Scotland, with its headquarters in the National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh. The Society's aim is to promote the cultural heritage of Scotland. The usua ...

, a Fellow of the

Ancient Monuments Society The Ancient Monuments Society (AMS) is a learned society and registered charity in England and Wales, founded in 1924 "for the study and conservation of ancient monuments, historic buildings and fine old craftsmanship". Since October 2021, the org ...

, a Life Fellow of the Institute of Journalists, a

Freeman Freeman, free men, or variant, may refer to: * a member of the Third Estate in medieval society (commoners), see estates of the realm * Freeman, an apprentice who has been granted freedom of the company, was a rank within Livery companies * Free ...

of the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

, and a Liveryman of the Glaziers' Company. In

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

he was the unsuccessful

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

candidate for Bristol Central. Pine was managing editor of a British hunting magazine, ''

Shooting Times ''Shooting Times and Country Magazine'', more commonly known as the ''Shooting Times'', is a British shooting, fieldsports, and conservation magazine, published by Future plc. The magazine also features articles on fishing, deer stalking, gamekee ...

'', from 1960 to 1964. He later authored an important book highly critical of sport hunting, ''After Their Blood'', in which he wrote: "It is our duty as men and women of God's redeemed creation to try not to increase the suffering of the world, but to lessen it. To get rid of bloodsports will be a great step toward this end."

Personal life

In 1948 Pine married Grace Violet (20 August 1914 – 5 November 2019), daughter of Albert Griffin and Margaret Emily (née Stowers), of

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of Londo ...

. Their only child,

Richard Pine Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...

, was born in London on 21 August 1949. Pine died in

Bury St Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as Bury, is a historic market, cathedral town and civil parish in Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include ...

in 1987.

Works

His books are: * "The Stuarts of Traquair" (1940) * ''The Middle Sea: A Short History of the Mediterranean'' (1950/1973) * "The Golden Book of the Coronation" (1953) * ''Trace Your Ancestors'' (1953) * "The House of Wavell" (1953) * ''They Came with the Conqueror: A Study of the Modern Descendants of the Normans'' (1954) * ''Tales of the British aristocracy'' (1956) * ''Heraldry and Genealogy: Teach Yourself'' (1957/1970) * "The House of Constantine" (1957) * ''The Twilight of Monarchy'' (1958) * ''Orders of Chivalry and Decorations of Honour of the World'' (1960) * ''Ramshackledom, A Critical Appraisal of the Establishment'' (1962) * ''Heraldry, Ancestry And Titles: Questions And Answers'' (1965) * ''The Story of Surnames'' (1965) * ''The Story of Heraldry'' (1952, revised 1966) * ''After Their Blood : a Survey of Blood Sports in Britain'' (1966) * ''Tradition and Custom in Modern Britain'' (1967) * ''Genealogist's Encyclopedia'' (1969) * ''Story of Titles'' (1969) * ''Princes of Wales'' (1970) * ''International Heraldry'' (1970) * ''The Highland Clans'' (1972) * ''The History of Hunting'' (1973) * ''Sons of the Conqueror: Descendant of the Norman Dynasty'' (1973) * ''The New Extinct Peerage, 1884–1971: Containing Extinct, Abeyant, Dormant & Suspended Peerages with Genealogies and Arms'' (1973) * ''American Origins'' (1980) * ''A Dictionary of Mottoes'' (1983) * ''A Dictionary of Nicknames'' (1984) Pine is also the primary contributor to the article "Genealogy" in the ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...

''.

References

*England & Wales, Death Index: 1984–2004 Record, Volume 10, Page 2278, from Ancestry.com *

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...

, Deaths, 1982–1988 Record, from Ancestry.com *Contemporary Authors. A bio-bibliographical guide to current writers in fiction, general nonfiction, poetry, journalism, drama, motion pictures, television, and other fields. Volume 122. Detroit: Gale Research, 1988. *

, 21 May 1987 *L.G. Pine, ''The Story of Heraldry'' (Rutland, Vt: Chas. E. Tuttle, 1966). {{DEFAULTSORT:Pine, Leslie 1907 births 1987 deaths British heraldists English genealogists Information and reference writers Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Air Force officers Hunting and shooting in the United Kingdom Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London British sportswriters Members of the Inner Temple 20th-century English historians 20th-century British lawyers Writers from Bristol Military personnel from Bristol