Sir Walter Alexander Leith, 1st Baronet MC (24 September 1869 – 9 November 1956) was a British benefactor. Leith was the son of Walter Leith, of Ashby de la Zouch,

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

, and Walmer Court,

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

and was educated at Windlesham House School, Harrow and

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The l ...

. Afterwards he was the director of a colliery and several iron companies. He served as a lieutenant colonel in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

with the Northumberland Hussars and was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

for his part in the Gallipoli campaign. In 1919 he was created a Baronet. Leith was High Sheriff of Northumberland in 1923 and later a Deputy Lieutenant of that county. He presented the ''Gosforth Cup'' to Newcastle Racecourse in 1951. His seat was at Greycourt, near Riding Hall, Hexham. A leading member of the

Conservative and Unionist Party The Conservative and Unionist Party, commonly the Conservative Party and colloquially known as the Tories, is one of the two main political parties in the United Kingdom, along with the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party. The party sits on the Cent ...

in the north of England, in 1929 Leith persuaded the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

to make a three-day visit to the

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

and

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

coal-fields, where at the time many miners were suffering from unemployment.HRH the Duke of Windsor, ''A King's Story: the Memoirs of H.R.H. the Duke of Windsor, K.G.'' (Cassell & Co., 1951), pp. 226–228 Leith died in November 1956, aged 87, when the baronetcy became extinct.

References

* ''Archaeologia Aeliana, or Miscellaneous Tracts Relating to Antiquity'' Ed CH Hunter Blair. Society of Antiquarians Newcastle upon Tyne 1943 p 64 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Leith, Alexander 1869 births 1956 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom High sheriffs of Northumberland Deputy lieutenants of Northumberland People educated at Windlesham House School People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford