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{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2016}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = [[The Right Honourable]] Sir
| name = Leslie Wilson
| honorific-suffix = {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|GCSI|GCMG|GCIE|DSO|PC}}
| image = Leslie Wison.jpg
| imagesize =
| smallimage =
| caption =
| order =
| office = [[Governor of Bombay]]
| term_start = 10 December 1923
| term_end = 20 March 1926
| lieutenant =
| monarch = [[George V of the United Kingdom|George V]]
| predecessor = [[George Lloyd, 1st Baron Lloyd|Sir George Lloyd]]
| successor = [[Frederick Sykes|Sir Frederick Sykes]]
| order2 = 15th
| office2 = Governor of Queensland
| term_start2 = 13 June 1932
| term_end2 = 23 April 1946
| lieutenant2 =
| monarch2 = [[George V of the United Kingdom|George V]] [[Edward VIII of the United Kingdom|Edward VIII]] [[George VI of the United Kingdom|George VI]]
| predecessor2 = [[John Goodwin (governor)|Sir John Goodwin]]
| successor2 = [[John Lavarack|Sir John Lavarack]]
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1876|8|1}}
| birth_place = London, England
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1955|9|29|1876|8|1}}
| death_place = [[Chertsey]], [[Surrey]], England
| nationality = British
| spouse = Winifred May Smith
| relations =
| children =
| residence =
| alma_mater =
| occupation =
| profession =
| religion =
| signature =
| footnotes =
| nickname =
| allegiance = United Kingdom
| branch = [[Royal Marines]]
| serviceyears = 1895–1918
| rank = [[Lieutenant Colonel]]
| unit =
| commands = Hawke Battalion, [[63rd (Royal Naval) Division|Royal Naval Division]]
| battles = [[Second Boer War]] [[First World War]]
| mawards = [[Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India]] [[Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George]] [[Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire]] [[Distinguished Service Order]] [[Mentioned in Despatches]]
}}
'''Sir Leslie Orme Wilson''', {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|GCSI|GCMG|GCIE|DSO|PC}} (1 August 1876 – 29 September 1955) was a [[Royal Marines]] officer, [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] politician, and colonial governor. He served as [[Governor of Bombay]] from 1923 to 1926 and as [[Governor of Queensland]] from 1932 to 1946.

==Personal life==
Wilson was the son of Henry Wilson, a stockbroker, and his wife Ada Alexandrina (née Orme), and was educated at St Michael's School, [[Westgate-on-Sea|Westgate]], and [[St Paul's School (London)|St Paul's School, London]].

Wilson married Winifred May, daughter of Charles Smith, of [[Sydney]], Australia, in 1909.<ref name="MISCELLANEOUS">{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article50451784 |title=MISCELLANEOUS. |newspaper=[[The Examiner (Tasmania)|The Examiner]] |location=Launceston, Tas. |date=10 December 1910 |access-date=5 March 2011 |page=7 Edition: DAILY |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref> They lived at the Manor House at [[Waltham St Lawrence]] in [[Berkshire]]. They had three children, two sons and a daughter:

* Peter Leslie Orme, born 4 June 1910 in London,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article15116035 |title=Family Notices. |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |date=9 June 1910 |access-date=5 March 2011 |page=8 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>[http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/search.pl FreeBMD], retrieved 5 March 2011.</ref> farmer and grazier,<ref>Queensland Electoral Roll, 1949.</ref><ref>Queensland Electoral Roll, 1959.</ref> died 6 July 1980 aged 70 years in Queensland and buried in [[Caloundra]] cemetery<ref>[http://www.interment.net/data/aus/qld/caloundra/caloundra_cem/caloundra_sz.htm Caloundra Cemetery, Surnames S-Z], retrieved 5 March 2011.</ref>
* David Orme, who was killed on 30 November 1941 in North Africa during the Second World War<ref>[http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2769663 Commonwealth War Graves Commission], retrieved 5 March 2011.</ref>
* Marjorie Orme

On his retirement as [[Governor of Queensland]], Wilson and his wife Winifred returned to live in [[Surrey]], England.<ref name="scouts"/> However, they visited Queensland on a number of occasions, including the marriage of their son Peter.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18150530 |title=MARRIED IN BRISBANE Social News And Events. |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |date=3 March 1950 |access-date=6 March 2011 |page=10 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article49717023 |title=The bride wore emeralds. |newspaper=[[The Courier-Mail]] |location=Brisbane |date=3 March 1950 |access-date=6 March 2011 |page=3 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

Wilson died after being hit by a truck while walking in September 1955, aged 79.<ref name="scouts"/>

==Military service==
Wilson was commissioned into the [[Royal Marine Light Infantry]] and served in the [[Second Boer War]], where he was wounded, [[mentioned in despatches]] and awarded the [[Queen's South Africa Medal]] with five clasps and the [[Distinguished Service Order]]. In 1901 he achieved the rank of captain.

From 1903 to 1909, Wilson served as [[aide-de-camp]] to the [[Governor of New South Wales]], [[Harry Rawson|Sir Harry Rawson]].<ref name="MISCELLANEOUS"/>

During the First World War Wilson commanded the Hawke Battalion of the [[63rd (Royal Naval) Division|Royal Naval Division]] with the rank of temporary [[lieutenant colonel]] in the [[Royal Marines]] and fought at [[Gallipoli Campaign|Gallipoli]], where he was again mentioned in despatches, and in France, where he was severely wounded.

On 2 December 1915, Wilson was carrying dispatches on the Greek ship ''Spetzia'' when officers from a German submarine boarded the ship and captured him and another officer, Colonel Napier.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article15629982 |title=SUBMARINES. |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |date=9 December 1915 |access-date=5 March 2011 |page=9 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

==Political life==
In January 1910, at the General Election, Wilson unsuccessfully stood as the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] candidate for [[Poplar (UK Parliament constituency)|Poplar]]. In December 1910, he was [[Unionist Party (UK)|Unionist]] candidate for [[Reading (UK Parliament constituency)|Reading]], but was defeated by the sitting [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal]] candidate, [[Rufus Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading|Sir Rufus Isaacs]], the [[Attorney-General]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article58162472 |title=ELECTION NOTES. |newspaper=[[The Register (Adelaide)|The Register]] |location=Adelaide |date=10 December 1910 |access-date=5 March 2011 |page=13 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article10084929 |title=PERSONAL. |newspaper=[[The Mercury (Hobart)|The Mercury]] |location=Hobart, Tas. |date=10 December 1910 |access-date=5 March 2011 |page=5 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

In 1913 Wilson was returned to Parliament for [[Reading (UK Parliament constituency)|Reading]], a seat he held until 1922.
In 1919 Wilson was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the [[Minister of Shipping|Ministry of Shipping]] in the [[Coalition Government 1916-1922|coalition government]] headed by [[David Lloyd George]], a position he held until the Ministry of Shipping was abolished in 1921, and then served as [[Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury]] from 1921 to 1922. He was also the Conservative Chief Whip.

At the [[1922 United Kingdom general election|general election]] Wilson abandoned his Reading constituency to contest the [[Westminster St. George's (UK Parliament constituency)|Westminster St. George's]] division, but was defeated by an Independent Conservative. However within a few weeks he was re-elected at a by-election at [[Portsmouth South (UK Parliament constituency)|Portsmouth South]]. He was again Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury from 1922 to 1923 under [[Bonar Law]] and later [[Stanley Baldwin]], and was admitted to the [[Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council|Privy Council]] in 1922.

==Vice-regal service==
[[File:StateLibQld 1 138015 Sir Leslie and Lady Winifred May Wilson, ca. 1933.jpg|thumbnail|right|Sir Leslie and Lady Wilson, Queensland c.1933; he is wearing the full dress uniform of a member of HM Privy Council.]]

===Governor of Bombay===
In July 1923 Wilson resigned from this position and his seat in the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]] on his appointment as [[Governor of Bombay]]. Wilson remained in Bombay until 1928. In the [[1929 New Years Honours]] he was appointed Knight Grand Commander of The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India.

===Governor of Queensland===
In 1932 Wilson was made [[Governor of Queensland]], a post he held until 1946, one of the longest gubernatorial tenures in British history.

On 13 May 1937, Wilson planted a small [[Araucaria bidwillii|bunya tree]] on [[North Quay, Brisbane]] to mark the name change of the River Road to [[Coronation Drive]] to commemorate the coronation of [[King George VI]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article41643845 |title=IN OTHER CITIES. |newspaper=[[The Advertiser (Adelaide)|The Advertiser]] |location=Adelaide |date=14 May 1937 |access-date=5 March 2011 |page=31 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

From 1932 to 1942, Wilson was the Chief Scout of [[The Scout Association|The Boy Scouts Association's]] [[Scouting and Guiding in Queensland|Queensland Branch]], resigning in 1942 when he disagreed with the decision to make the Chief Commissioner of the Scouts a paid position.<ref name="scouts">[http://sirlesliewilson.scoutsqld.com.au/Sir_Leslie_Wilson.htm BIOGRAPHICAL DETAIL: Colonel Sir Leslie Orme WILSON, G.C.S.I., G.C.M.G., G.C.I.E., D.S.O.], (research by Owen Richmond for his Woodbadge Project, 24 January 2006), retrieved 5 March 2011.</ref>

Leslie Wilson retired at the end of his service as [[Governor of Queensland]].<ref name="scouts"/>

==Freemasonry==
Wilson was a freemason. He was initiated into the craft in the Lodge Ionic No. 65, in [[Sydney]], while serving as an aide-de-camp to [[Harry Rawson]]. When he returned to England, in 1909, he became a member of Navy Lodge No. 2612. He became Senior Warden of the Lodge in 1913 and Worshipful Master in 1917. He was the Primus Master of Old Pauline Lodge No.3969 consecrated on Friday 18 July 1919.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://oldpaulinelodge.org.uk/about-us-2/about-us/|title=Lodge Number 3969|date=12 March 2018}}</ref><ref>Minute Book No 1, Old Pauline Lodge 3969</ref> In 1922 he was appointed Junior Grand Warden of the United Grand Lodge of England and District Grand Master of Bombay in the following year. To this day there is a Lodge in [[Pune]], Leslie Wilson Lodge No.4880 E.C., named for him.<ref>https://www.dglbombay.org/leslie-wilson-lodge/</ref> When he was appointed Governor of Queensland, he became Grand Master of Queensland's Grand Lodge serving for 12 years.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://kenthenderson.com.au/m_papers03.html |title=Archived copy |access-date=27 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130409023926/http://kenthenderson.com.au/m_papers03.html |archive-date=9 April 2013 }}</ref> After arriving in [[Brisbane]] aboard the R.M.S. Otranto on Monday, 13 June 1932, Sir Leslie Orme Wilson proceeded to the Queensland Parliament House, where he was sworn in as the 15th Governor of Queensland and representative of His Majesty King George V. At the Regular Meeting of Lamington Lodge, No. 110 U.G.L.Q., held on Thursday, 6 July 1933, a motion was passed that R.W. Bro. Wilson P.D.G.M. (Bombay), P.G.D. (England) be accepted as a joining Brother to Lamington Lodge. The Master read a letter from the United Grand Lodge of Queensland, dated Wednesday, 14 June, covering a special dispensation to ballot at the same meeting. After the ballot, the Master declared that R.W. Bro. Wilson was duly elected a member of Lamington Lodge. The following year, on Wednesday, 25 July 1934, R.W. Bro. Wilson was invested and installed as the Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of Queensland. He was proclaimed as the Grand Master for the last time, on Wednesday, 24 July 1945, marking his entry upon his twelfth year as the Grand Master.<ref>{{Cite book| author1=McInnes, Dianne | title=Lamington Lodge : 100 years of freemasonry : a history of the Brisbane Masonic Community 1896-1996 | year=1996 | publication-date=1996 | publisher=Lamington Lodge Centenary Research Trust | isbn=978-0-646-28210-7|pages=57–60 }}</ref>

==Honours==
Wilson was appointed a [[Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George]] in 1916, a [[Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire]] in 1923, a [[Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India]] in 1929 and a [[Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George]] in 1937.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Leslie Orme Wilson}}
*{{rayment-hc|external links=y|date=March 2012}}
*[http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A120594b.htm Australian Dictionary of Biography Online]
*{{Hansard-contribs | lieut-colonel-leslie-wilson | Leslie Wilson }}
*{{npg name | id=04874 | name= Sir Leslie Wilson }}

{{s-start}}
{{s-par|uk}}
{{succession box
| title = [[Reading (UK Parliament constituency)|Member of Parliament for Reading]]
| years = [[1913 Reading by-election|1913]]–[[1922 United Kingdom general election|1922]]
| before = [[Rufus Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading|Sir Rufus Isaacs]]
| after = [[Edward Cadogan]]
}}
{{succession box
| title = [[Portsmouth South (UK Parliament constituency)|Member of Parliament for Portsmouth South]]
| years = [[1922 Portsmouth South by-election|1922]]–[[1923 Portsmouth South by-election|1923]]
| before = [[Herbert Cayzer, 1st Baron Rotherwick|Herbert Cayzer]]
| after = [[Herbert Cayzer, 1st Baron Rotherwick|Herbert Cayzer]]
}}
{{s-off}}
{{succession box
| title = [[Minister of Shipping|Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Shipping]]
| years = 1919–1921
| before = [[Leo Chiozza Money|Sir Leo Chiozza Money]]
| after = Office abolished
}}
{{succession box
| title = [[Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury]] jointly with [[Charles McCurdy]] 1921–1922 
| years = 1921–1923
| before = [[Edmund FitzAlan-Howard, 1st Viscount FitzAlan of Derwent|Lord Edmund Talbot]] [[Freddie Guest]]
| after = [[Bolton Eyres-Monsell, 1st Viscount Monsell|Bolton Eyres-Monsell]]
}}
{{s-gov}}
{{succession box
| title = [[Governor of Bombay]]
| years = 1923–1928
| before = [[George Lloyd, 1st Baron Lloyd|Sir George Lloyd]]
| after = [[Frederick Sykes|Sir Frederick Sykes]]
}}
{{succession box
| title = [[Governor of Queensland]]
| years = 1932–1946
| before = [[John Goodwin (governor)|Sir John Goodwin]]
| after = [[John Lavarack|Sir John Lavarack]]
}}
{{s-end}}

{{Governors of Queensland}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Leslie Orme}}
[[Category:1876 births]]
[[Category:1955 deaths]]
[[Category:British Freemasons]]
[[Category:Royal Marines officers]]
[[Category:Royal Marines personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:Royal Navy personnel of the Second Boer War]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire]]
[[Category:Companions of the Distinguished Service Order]]
[[Category:Governors of Bombay]]
[[Category:Governors of Queensland]]
[[Category:Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1910–1918]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1918–1922]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1922–1923]]
[[Category:People educated at St Paul's School, London]]
[[Category:Road incident deaths in England]]
[[Category:People from Waltham St Lawrence]]

Leslie Wilson (politician) - Revision history

imported>Citation bot: Add: year. | Use this bot. Report bugs. | Suggested by Abductive | Category:1955 deaths | #UCB_Category 2255/3519