Background
LESLIE, GEORGE was born on May 4, 1915 in Brownsville, Pennsylvania, United States.
LESLIE, GEORGE was born on May 4, 1915 in Brownsville, Pennsylvania, United States.
A member of Leander rowing club, Laurie began his rowing career at Monkton Combe School, and continued rowing when he attended Selwyn College, Cambridge in 1933, where he was a member of the Hermes Club.
And we can truly claim him as a Selwyn oarsman. He had always told me he learnt all his rowing from Taffy Jones at Monkton Combe School. And where but Selwyn did Taffy learn his rowing?"
At the 1936 Olympics, he rowed as Stroke in Great Britain's eight, the team eventually finishing in fourth place.
After war interrupted their rowing careers, Laurie and Wilson returned to Henley in 1948, once again winning the Silver Goblets. This was followed a month later by a gold medal in the coxless pairs event at the 1948 Olympics in London, rowing on their familiar Henley course. It was described by Laurie as "the best row we ever had".
Laurie and Wilson were known as the "Desert Rats" because of their sojourn in the Sudan. Laurie was elected a steward of Henley Royal Regatta in 1951, and also served as a Henley umpire. He sat on Henley's management committee between 1975 and 1986.
Laurie joined the Sudan Political Service in 1936. In 1954, he qualified as a medical doctor, working for 30 years as a general practitioner in Blackbird Leys, Oxford. He also chaired the Oxford Committee of The Duke of Edinburgh's Award between 1959 and 1969, and the Oxford branch of Save the Children from 1986 to 1989.
In 2005, it was proposed that the newly refurbished health centre in Blackbird Leys be named after Laurie in recognition of his service to the local community. However, it was subsequently named The Leys, after the local area, when it opened in February 2006.
Kanawha County and American Bar Associations. West Virginia State Bar. American Judicature Society.
Fellow, American College of Probate Counsel. [Lieutenant, United States Naval Reserve, 1943-1946]. Estate Planning and Commercial Real Estate Development.