BIRMINGHAM LEATHERLANDS 

                                                                

My great grandfather John Edward Leatherland married at Bishop Ryder Church in Aston, Birmingham. He lived in the city until the mid 1930s when he retired and moved to Essex. 

Charles Leatherland (1898-1992)

Charles Leatherland was my maternal Grandpa. Born in Aston, Birmingham, in 1898, he was the eldest son of John Edward Leatherland, then an Army bandmaster. He attended Harborne School, and left school aged fourteen.

In 1914 at the start of the First World War he joined the 16th Battalion of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment. In 1916 he was transferred to Xth Corps headquarters where he remained for the rest of the war. He became an Acting Sergeant Major and served in France, Belgium and Germany.

In 1919 he returned to Birmingham and worked for Birmingham Corporation. He was a founder member and Midlands Organiser of the National Union of Ex-Service Men. In 1921 he moved to Macclesfield and became chief reporter and sub-editor on a local newspaper, the Macclesfield Courier. In 1923 and 1924 he won gold medals in an international essay writing competition organised by the London Chamber of Commerce.  

                                                Wedding Photo 

Charles Leatherland married Mary Elizabeth ('Mollie') Morgan in Macclesfield in 1922. They had a daughter, Irene Mary, and a son, John Charles. Irene Leatherland worked at Labour Party head office at Transport House from 1947 to 1962 becoming the Party's Conference Officer. John Leatherland served in the Army and then worked in advertising.

In 1924 he moved to London to work as Parliamentary Correspondent in the Labour Party Press and Publicity Department. He became second in command to the Labour Press Officer, William Henderson. In 1925 he wrote eleven chapters of The Book of the Labour Party, the first major history of the Labour Party and Labour movement. In 1926 he played a significant behind-the-scenes role in the General Strike writing much of the contents of the TUC strike newspaper The British Worker, including the TUC's "Message to All Workers" which appeared on the front cover of every issue.

In 1929 Charles Leatherland became a political sub-editor on the Daily Herald. In 1938 he became Assistant News Editor. By 1941 he had been appointed News Editor. In the 1950s he acted as Night Editor and then Assistant Editor, which he combined with the duties of Political Editor. He retired from the Daily Herald in 1963.

Leatherland was also a freelance journalist. He wrote a weekly political gossip column for the Sunday Dispatch and weekly articles in magazines John Bull and The Passing Show. During the 1950s and 1960s he wrote a weekly column in the local government periodical the Municipal Journal. In the 1960s he wrote a series of articles on local government themes for the National and Local Government Officers' Association (NALGO), the local government trade union. These articles were widely used by schools and colleges in the teaching of civics.

Leatherland moved to the Old Rectory in Dunton Wayletts, Essex in 1934. He came to play a prominent role in Essex politics. He was Chairman of the Dunton Parish Invasion Committee and made radio broadcasts for the BBC during the Second World War. After spells as a district councillor in Laindon and Billericay, he became an Alderman on Essex County Council in 1946. He served as a Labour member of Essex County Council for 22 years, fifteen years of which were as Leader of the Labour group. He chaired the Finance Committee for several years, was vice-chairman for six years, and was County Council chairman in 1960–61. He also spent 15 years as Chairman of the Eastern Regional Council of the Labour Party. In 1951 he was awarded an OBE for political and public service.

Whilst on Essex County Council, Leatherland campaigned for Essex to be the location of a new university. He played a leading role in the foundation of the University of Essex and became its first Treasurer, serving in this role until 1972. In 1973 the university awarded him an honorary doctorate.

He also served as a magistrate for 26 years and became deputy chairman of the magistrates bench in Epping, Essex. He played a prominent part in the establishment of Basildon as a New Town and served as a member of Basildon Development Corporation. He also served on the Essex Territorial Army Association for many years. He was appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant of Essex in 1963.

In 1964 he was created a life peer as Baron Leatherland, of Dunton. He attended the House of Lords for twenty-five years and was a frequent speaker in debates. He died in Epping, Essex at the age of 94 in 1992. 

For more information see my website www.charlesleatherland.info 

CHARLES LEATHERLAND'S SIBLINGS 

Charles had three brothers and a half sister who were my great uncles and aunt :

                                                       

  Will and Flo Leatherland 

Will Leatherland (1902–2000) joined Cadburys in 1917 working in various departments. In 1941 he was seconded to the Ministry of Supply where he trained as a shift manager in small arms, becoming responsible for around 700 people. After the end of the War he returned to Cadburys in Bourneville and entered a management training scheme. He took over the Factory Records department and all stores associated with the manufacture of chocolate and cocoa, being responsible for three hundred employees. In 1950 he was responsible for the introduction of the Hollenith system which used punch cards and which was a forerunner of computers. He married Florence Andrews in 1927. They didn't have children. After retirement from Cadbury, they moved to Paignton, Devon.

Arthur Leatherland (1901-1983 ) also worked for Cadburys at Bourneville and then in West England in their filling shop as a foreman in charge of several hundred employees. He married Florence Merrett in 1925. They had two sons, although one died of meningitis aged 12. His surviving son Gordon married Beryl but they didn't have children. Arthur was often known as Sam.

                                     John Henry Leatherland 

John Henry Leatherland (1902-2005) also worked for Cadburys but later became a Personnel Manager for Halex, part of British Xylonite, a plastics manufacturer in Hale End. John married Florence Moulton in 1993. They had one son Harvey who was an accountant. John lived in Loughton, Essex, and later moved to Ongar. His granddaughter Charlotte Leatherland who works in the film industry is the only surviving relative of the four brothers who still bears the Leatherland surname. 

Rosa Doreen Leatherland (1914- 1988) was Charles' half sister, the daughter of John Edward  Leatherland's second marriage. In her youth she worked for designing chocolate boxes. She moved to Essex when her father retired, and married Roy Dunnett in 1940. They had two daughters Sylvia and Valerie who are my oldest surviving close relatives. 

Contact me : mailto:davidr4u@btinternet.com