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Colonel Sir John Leslie, 2nd Baronet, CBE, JP, DL (7 August 1857 – 25 January 1944) was a British Army officer and landowner.[1]
Sir John Leslie | |
|---|---|
| Lord Lieutenant of Monaghan | |
| In office 1921–1922 | |
| Preceded by | The Lord Rossmore |
| High Sheriff of Monaghan | |
| In office 1905–1905 | |
| Preceded by | Anketell Moutray |
| Succeeded by | John Clements Waterhouse Madden |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 7 August 1857 Kensington, London, England |
| Died | 25 January 1944 (aged 86) Glaslough, County Monaghan, Ireland |
| Spouse |
Leonie Blanche Jerome
(m. 1884; died 1943) |
| Relations | George Dawson-Damer (grandfather) Charles Powell Leslie (uncle) |
| Children | 5 |
| Parent(s) | Sir John Leslie, 1st Baronet Lady Constance Dawson-Damer |
| Residence | Castle Leslie |
| Alma mater | Eton College |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Branch/service |  British Army |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Unit | Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers Royal Irish Fusiliers |
| Battles/wars | |
Leslie was born in London on 7 August 1857.[2] He was the only son of Sir John Leslie, 1st Baronet, and Lady Constance Wilhelmina Frances Dawson-Damer, sister of the 4th Earl of Portarlington. His father was the Conservative Member of Parliament for Monaghan from 1871 to 1880 and was created a baronet in 1876.[3][4] After his father's death in January 1916, Leslie succeeded his father as the 2nd Baronet Leslie, of Glaslough. He was educated at Eton.[2]
Leslie was commissioned into the Grenadier Guards, with whom he served as a lieutenant at the Battle of Tel el Kebir in 1882, distinguishing himself under fire. After fighting in South Africa during the Second Boer War in 1900,[1] he was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the 5th Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers in April 1902,[5] and later became honorary colonel of the battalion.[6] In 1915, he was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the 12th Reserve Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers.[7]
He served as High Sheriff of Monaghan in 1905 and was also a Justice of the Peace and Deputy Lieutenant for the county.[7] The Leslies were opposed to the Home Rule movement. Leslie led the Monaghan Militia in the 1890s and he allowed the Ulster Volunteers drill at the demesne in 1914.[8] A loyalist paramilitary group calling itself the Ulster Volunteer Force was formed in 1966. It claims to be a direct descendant of the older organisation and uses the same logo, but there are no organisational links between the two.
On 2 October 1884 in New York City, with disapproval from both families, Leslie married Leonie Blanche Jerome (1859–1943), daughter of the wealthy American financier Leonard Jerome and Clarissa (née Hall) Jerome.[9] Leonie's sister was Jennie, wife of Lord Randolph Churchill and mother of Winston Churchill.[9] Leslie and his wife had four children:[2]
- Sir John Randolph Leslie, 3rd Baronet (1885–1971),[10] who married Marjorie Ide, daughter of Henry Clay Ide, the American Governor-General of the Philippines.[11]
- Captain Norman Jerome Beauchamp Leslie (1886–1914), who was killed in action in Armentières, France, during World War I.[11]
- Seymour William Leslie (1889–1979), who married Gwyneth Rawdon Roden (1903–1999) in 1929.[12]
- Lionel Alistair David Leslie (1900–1987), who married Barbara Yvonne Enever in 1942.[13]
The Leslie family were one of the largest land-owning families in the late 19th century. Their holdings comprised 70,000 acres (280 km2) in counties Cavan, Donegal, Down, Fermanagh, Meath and Tyrone.[8] In his second autobiographical book, Lionel recounted various anecdotes about his immediate family and their home at Castle Leslie in County Monaghan.[14]
Sir John Leslie died in Glaslough, County Monaghan in Ireland on 25 January 1944.[1]
Descendants
Through his eldest son,[10] he was the grandfather of Anita Theodosia Moira Rodzianko King (1914–1985), a novelist who married Commander Bill King; Sir John Leslie, 4th Baronet (1916–2016), popularly known as Sir Jack Leslie, who never married;[11] and Desmond Arthur Leslie (1921–2001), a pilot and film maker.[15]
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