Dame Leslie Violet Lucy Evelyn Whateley, DBE, TD (née Wood; first married name Balfour; 28 January 1899 – 4 July 1987) was a Director of the

Auxiliary Territorial Service The Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS; often pronounced as an acronym) was the women's branch of the British Army during the Second World War. It was formed on 9 September 1938, initially as a women's voluntary service, and existed until 1 Februa ...

(ATS) during the

Second World War 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

Early life

She was born on 28 January 1899, the daughter of Col. Evelyn FitzGerald Michell Wood and Lilian (née Hutton). She was the granddaughter of Field-Marshal Sir Evelyn Wood.

Career

Whateley joined the

in 1938 and became a junior officer following training at Chelsea Barracks. She served as Deputy Director of the ATS from September 1941. She was Director of the

World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS ) is a global association supporting the female-oriented and female-only Guiding and Scouting organizations in 152 countries. It was established in 1928 in Parád, Hungary, and has its ...

from 1951 to 1964. In 1948, her writings were published by Hutchinson Publishing in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

entitled ''As thoughts survive'', a

monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monogra ...

with a

preface __NOTOC__ A preface () or proem () is an introduction to a book or other literary work written by the work's author. An introductory essay written by a different person is a '' foreword'' and precedes an author's preface. The preface often close ...

by the then-Princess Royal.Her memoir dealt with

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 ...

and contained personal narratives about her experiences in the Army and the Auxiliary Territorial Service (211 pages; 16 leaves of plates: illustrated ports, Citation# abn89242258).

Marriages

She married, firstly, to William John Balfour, on 8 July 1922. The union ended in divorce in 1939. She married, secondly, to S/Ldr Harry Raymond Whateley, on 21 September 1939. Both unions were childless.

Honours

In June 1951, she was awarded the

Territorial Efficiency Decoration __NOTOC__ The Territorial Decoration (TD) was a military medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army. This award superseded the Volunteer Officer's Decoration when the ...

(TD) for long service in the reserves. In 1965, she was awarded the ''

Bronze Wolf The Bronze Wolf Award is bestowed by the World Scout Committee (WSC) to acknowledge "outstanding service by an individual to the World Scout Movement". It is the highest honor that can be given a volunteer Scout leader in the world and it is the ...

'', the only distinction of the

World Organization of the Scout Movement The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM ) is the largest international Scouting organization. WOSM has 173 members. These members are recognized national Scout organizations, which collectively have around 43 million participants. WOSM ...

, awarded by the World Scout Committee ''"for exceptional services to world Scouting"''.

References

External links

Oxford Biography Index Number 101045561

Answers.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whateley, Leslie 1899 births 1987 deaths Auxiliary Territorial Service officers British Army generals of World War II Recipients of the Bronze Wolf Award Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts People from Paddington Military personnel from London International Scouting leaders Female army generals