Robert Leonard Small, (12 May 1905 – 8 April 1994), known as Leonard Small, was a senior

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

minister and author. He 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 ...

from 1966 to 1967.

Early life and education

Small was born on 12 May 1905 in North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland. He was educated at

North Berwick High School North Berwick High School is a non-denominational state secondary school in North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland. See also *People educated at North Berwick High School A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attribute ...

, the state

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

in his home town. He studied

classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

and theology at New College, Edinburgh.

Career

Ordained ministry

Small was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

into the

(the Kirk) in 1931. From 1931 to 1935, he was

minister Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

of St John's Church,

Bathgate Bathgate ( sco, Bathket or , gd, Both Chèit) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland, west of Livingston and adjacent to the M8 motorway. Nearby towns are Armadale, Blackburn, Linlithgow, Livingston, West Calder and Whitburn. Situated sout ...

, West Lothian. He then translated to West High Church,

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

, East Ayrshire, where he was a minister from 1935 to 1944. The latter part of this ministry coincided with World War II. He served for a period in mainland Europe with the Church of Scotland's "Huts and Canteens" organisation. In 1940, he was serving as a chaplain in France when the British Expeditionary Force was evacuated from Dunkirk; he left the country via

Saint-Nazaire Saint-Nazaire (; ; Gallo: ''Saint-Nazère/Saint-Nazaer'') is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France, in traditional Brittany. The town has a major harbour on the right bank of the Loire estuary, near the Atlantic Ocean ...

and narrowly avoided travelling on the doomed RMS ''Lancastria''. From 1944 to 1956, he was minister of

Cramond Church Cramond Village (; gd, Cathair Amain) is a village and suburb in the north-west of Edinburgh, Scotland, at the mouth of the River Almond where it enters the Firth of Forth. The Cramond area has evidence of Mesolithic, Bronze Age and Roman ac ...

, Edinburgh. He maintained a link with his war work as Convener of the Committee on Huts and Canteens for HM Forces from 1946 to 1958. He then translated to St Cuthbert's Church, Edinburgh, a much larger church. During this period of ministry he continued to be involved in management of the Kirk: he was Convener of the Committee on Temperance and Morals from 1958 to 1963, Convener of the Social and Moral Welfare Board 1963 to 1964, and Convener of the Stewardship and Budget Committee from 1964 to 1969. He rose to be head of the Kirk as

from 1966 to 1967. After his term as Moderator, he was appointed

Chaplain to the Queen in Scotland An Honorary Chaplain to the King (KHC) is a member of the clergy within the United Kingdom who, through long and distinguished service, is appointed to minister to the monarch of the United Kingdom. When the reigning monarch is female, Honorary Ch ...

and continued as minister of St Cuthbert's Church, Edinburgh. He retired from full-time ministry in 1975 and was appointed Extra Chaplain to the Queen.

Football career

Small, a goalkeeper, was captain of the football team while studying at Edinburgh University and joined Scottish Second Division side St. Bernard's after he graduated. He was capped by Scotland at amateur level in 1929.

Honours

He was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1975 New Year Honours.

Selected works

* * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Small, Leonard 1905 births 1994 deaths Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland 20th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland Chaplains-in-Ordinary Alumni of the University of Edinburgh People from North Berwick People educated at North Berwick High School Scottish footballers St Bernard's F.C. players Scotland amateur international footballers Scottish Football League players Edinburgh University A.F.C. players Association football goalkeepers British Army personnel of World War II Scottish military chaplains