Harald Robert Leslie, Lord Birsay (8 May 1905 – 27 November 1982) was a Scottish lawyer and judge, and Chairman of the

Scottish Land Court The Scottish Land Court () is a Courts of Scotland, Scottish court of law based in Edinburgh with subject-matter jurisdiction covering disputes between landlords and tenants relating to Tenant farmer, agricultural tenancies, and matters relat ...

Early life

Leslie was born on 8 May 1905, the son of Robert Leslie, Master Mariner, and educated at Earlston School, Berwickshire High School, and the

High School of Glasgow The High School of Glasgow is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private, co-educational day school, day school in Glasgow, Scotland. The original High School of Glasgow was founded as the Cathedral school, choir school of Glasgow Cathedra ...

. He studied at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

, first studying arts ( MA, 1927) and then at the university's

School of Law A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for bec ...

(

LLB A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

, 1930). He was admitted as a solicitor in 1930 and to the

Faculty of Advocates The Faculty of Advocates () is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary. The Faculty of Advocates is a const ...

in 1937. He had been a member of the

Officers' Training Corps The University Officers' Training Corps (UOTC), also known as the Officers' Training Corps (OTC), are British Army reserve units, under the command of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, which recruit exclusively from universities and focus on ...

while at school and university, and during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

served in the

Royal Scots The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment line infantry, of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of England ...

, being appointed a military

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) and

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

Legal career

Following the War, Leslie was appointed Standing Counsel to the

Department of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

, becoming an

Advocate Depute The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service () is the independent public prosecutor, prosecution service for Scotland, and is a Ministerial Department of the Scottish Government. The department is headed by Charles III of the United Kingd ...

in 1947. He was appointed

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 1949, and in 1951 returned to private practice, having unsuccessfully contested Orkney and Shetland as the Labour candidate in the 1950 general election. In 1956, he was appointed Sheriff of Roxburgh, Berwick and Selkirk, and in 1961 as Sheriff of Caithness, Sutherland, Orkney and Zetland. He was appointed a civil

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the 1963 Birthday Honours. In April 1965, he was appointed Chairman of the

, taking the judicial title, Lord Birsay. He was appointed a

Knight of the Thistle The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an order of chivalry associated with Scotland. The current version of the order was founded in 1687 by King James VII of Scotland, who asserted that he was reviving an earlier order. The ...

, Scotland's highest order of chivalry, in 1973. He retired in 1978, and was succeeded by Lord Elliott.

Personal life

Leslie married Robina Margaret Marwick, a physician, in 1945, with whom he had a son and daughter. He maintained homes in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

and

Birsay Birsay () (Old Norse: ''Birgisherað'') is a parish in the north west corner of The Mainland of Orkney, Scotland. Almost all the land in the parish is devoted to agriculture: chiefly grassland used to rear beef cattle. There are various ancien ...

Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...

, and was a member of the

Caledonian Club The Caledonian Club is a prestigious Scottish-focused London members' club located at 9 Halkin Street SW1, near Belgrave Square in Belgravia, London, SW1. The Club has a significant history intertwined with both the military and civilian face ...

and the Scottish Arts Club, Edinburgh. He served in 1965 and 1966 as

Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the monarch's personal representative to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland (the Kirk), reflecting the Church's role as the national church of Scotla ...

. In 1985, he was a founding trustee, along with writer and broadcaster

Magnus Magnusson Magnus Magnusson (born Magnús Sigursteinsson; 12 October 1929 – 7 January 2007) was an Icelandic-born British-based journalist, translator, writer and television presenter. Born in Reykjavík, he lived in Scotland for almost all his life, al ...

, of the Scottish Churches Architectural Heritage Fund.''The Scotsman'' 14 November 1978 Lord Birsay died on 27 November 1982, aged seventy-seven.

Sources

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leslie, Harald 1905 births 1982 deaths People from Orkney Chairs of the Scottish Land Court People educated at Earlston High School People educated at the High School of Glasgow Alumni of the University of Glasgow British Army personnel of World War II Royal Scots soldiers Members of the Faculty of Advocates Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights of the Thistle 20th-century King's Counsel People educated at Berwickshire High School Scottish King's Counsel