Lieutenant-General William Charles Leach CMM, CD (November 6, 1942 – April 1, 2015) was the Chief of the Land Staff of the

Canadian Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Forc ...

Military career

Leach graduated from the

Royal Military College of Canada '') , established = 1876 , type = Military academy , chancellor = Anita Anand ('' la, ex officio, label=none'' as Defence Minister) , principal = Harry Kowal , head_label ...

with a degree in

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

and

Commerce Commerce is the large-scale organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions directly and indirectly related to the exchange (buying and selling) of goods and services among two or more parties within local, regional, nation ...

in 1965 and was commissioned into the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also res ...

.Friends of the Canadian War Museum
/ref> He went on to command a Logistic Battalion.Brass examinations: career of Canada's Army Commander outshone by those of his peers
Esprit de Corps, September 1999 From 1977 he worked in a series of senior administrative and finance positions at

National Defence Headquarters National Defence Headquarters (NDHQ) ( French: ''Quartiers généraux de la Défense nationale'' (''QGDN'')) was created through the integration of Canadian Armed Forces Headquarters (CAF HQ) with the civilian Department of National Defence (DN ...

and from 1987 he held various supply and logistics appointments there. In 1995 he was appointed Deputy Commander at

Canadian Forces Land Force Command The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respon ...

and in 1997 he became Chief of the Land Staff, a post he held until Summer 2000. In 2000 he was appointed a Vice President Operations with Honeywell Canada Logistic Services and in 2005 he was made a Vice President of Mincom Defence. Leach was Chairman of the Board of the

Canadian Museum of History The Canadian Museum of History (french: Musée canadien de l’histoire) is a national museum on anthropology, Canadian history, cultural studies, and ethnology in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. The purpose of the museum is to promote the heritage ...

. He was also a board member of the Royal Ottawa Hospital. Leach was also on the Executive Committee of the Military Families Fund and was the Colonel Commandant of the Logistics Branch of the Canadian Armed Forces.

Family

He was married to Canadian artist Mary Louise Leach, who died in 2003; Both he and his wife are buried at The National Military Cemetery at Beechwood. They had three children. Leach died in Ottawa on April 1, 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leach, William 1942 births 2015 deaths Canadian Army officers Canadian generals People from Sarnia Royal Military College of Canada alumni Commanders of the Order of Military Merit (Canada) Commanders of the Canadian Army