George Leslie, one of the titans of the modern Scottish independence movement, has died, aged 86.
Mr Leslie, deputy leader of the Scottish National Party from 1969 to 1971, held various executive posts with the party over the decades and contested elections at local government, Westminster and European level.
A veterinary surgeon, Mr Leslie returned to his home at North Glassock Boarding Kennel on Tuesday after a prolonged stay at Crosshouse hospital. He died the next day.
Mr Leslie was a renowned and influential personality in nationalist circles. He joined the party in the early sixties and stood at the 1967 by-election in Pollok, taking 28% of the vote, a stunning and encouraging achievement for the SNP at this time.
Former Man Utd and Scotland defender Gordon McQueen dies aged 70
He was part of the team that worked to bring about the historic by-election victory of Winnie Ewing at Hamilton the same year.
Mr Leslie, who continued his practice as a vet in various locations until he retired at the age of 74, was heavily involved in the rise of the SNP as a political force in Scotland, serving at various times as senior vice-chairman, vice-chairman for policy, and deputy leader.
Educated at Hillhead Academy and Glasgow University, he was a distinctive, powerful but loved presence in the nationalist movement and this affection was shared by his long-standing clients as a vet.
He is survived by his wife, Nancy, and his stepson, David, and his stepgrandchildren, Olivia and Finlay.
His funeral will be held at Holmsford Bridge Crematorium, near Irvine, on Monday, June 26, at 3.30pm.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel