Black Watch and RCR friends:

Regret to report that Dave Leslie passed away last Wednesday (21 September) in Vancouver.
Dave and I first met in the spring of 1957 when he and I were both posted to The Black Watch (RHR) of Canada in Camp Aldershot N.S. - Dave to the First Battalion while I went to the Second Battalion. Our friendship has grown as our paths crossed many times throughout our careers and retirement over the ensuing 65 years.
Dave is survived by his sons Ian (Larissa) and Scott (Lisa).

A private family service will be conducted shortly at the funeral home. Interment service will be conducted at a time to be determined next summer in Vernon, BC.


David Sinclair Leslie
4 MAY, 1937 – 22 SEPTEMBER, 2022

What I Did During My Summer Holidays” Growing Up

My sister Barbara and I were raised in Nelson BC. Our father worked as a surveyor in the Land Registry Office and our mother as a stenographer in the BC Forest Service. My father’s WW I and WW II service helped me generate an interest in the military, which began in the Sea Cadets and progressed to a career in the Canadian Armed Forces.
I enjoyed school and the life-long friendships that are perpetuated and strengthened through regular high school reunions. I did not participate in school recreational or club activities, preferring to do my ‘extra-curricular’ activities outside the school environment. I enjoyed all sports, but the only one that I excelled in was skating, and later, Alpine skiing. I could be found on most spring and summer days fishing in Cottonwood Creek with Leon ‘Skipper’ Wilson. My first quality ‘wheels’ was a Raleigh three speed bicycle purchased in 1950 from the proceeds of the paper route that I had begun that summer. It cost me all of $ 59.00, a veritable fortune for a 13 year old. That bike took me all over town and the highways leading out of Nelson. It also helped me acquire a skill that lasted a life time: the ability to compute numerical values in my head by studying car licence number combinations.
Delivering the Nelson Daily News was a defining experience for me; it was my first paid employment (apart from shovelling a neighbour's sidewalk which earned me a chocolate bar). More importantly it helped define a work ethic and a responsibility to others. I was expected to deliver the papers to my customers by 7:00 AM and was responsible for collecting payments on a weekly basis. Finally, I learned the importance of working in a timely, responsible, and pleasant manner. My month’s end take home pay was about $30.00. During the Xmas Eve delivery I was rewarded with gifts (ties, socks, chocolates) and up to $75.00 in cash. It wasn't so much the cash or gifts, it was the recognition by my customers that I had done my work well. These lessons that stuck with me for a lifetime,. Of course, there were off-the-record activities such as pop bottles magically dropping into my paper bags off the Columbia Bottling Works truck parked on Ward St at Victoria Street. I did Victoria from Ward all the way to the top. It was a great experience; I learned to deal with adults, remain courteous and respectful in their presence, and acted as a good role model for kids who lived in those houses.
Besides the paper route I did a few other odd jobs such as working as a rink rat at the Civic Centre arena and as a pinsetter at the Bowladrome. If I were to name a defining experience in my youth, it would be an after-school job that I began in 1953 working as a ‘soda jerk” in Gelinas’ pool hall on Baker Street. Besides providing a good source of source of income (I started at 50 cents per hour and progressed to 65 cents), it taught me the value of social contacts and how to relate to people of all ages and socio-economic circumstances. Later in life I realized that one of my principal assets was the ability to work with others, and I credit this to my experience as a paper boy and as a soda jerk. I worked with a very colourful and beloved Francophone, Eugene Nadeau, and I like to think that his gregarious temperament, infectious sense of humour and quick repartee combined with my father’s dry, British wit equipped me with the tools to handle most social and work-related situations that I faced during my later years.

Career Highlights

I began my military career in 1955 at Royal Roads Military College in Victoria and was commissioned in The Black Watch regiment in 1958, later transferring to The Royal Canadian Regiment in 1971. My regimental colleagues became my second family, and I loved serving alongside the many fine soldiers, NCOs and officers I met during my 38 year career. The most rewarding experience in my service was a three year tour as a Company Commander in the First Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment (1 RCR) in London ON between 1971 and 1974. What made this tour so special was that I had reached the point in my career where I had the confidence, knowledge and skills required to lead the finest group of soldiers that I had ever had the pleasure of serving. That posting, followed by a two year tour as an exchange officer at the British Army School of Infantry and two years as Deputy Commanding Officer 1 RCR (1976-78) were the most fulfilling experiences of my career. From 1978 onwards all my work in Canada involved operational and personnel staff duties in National Defence Headquarters. Ottawa.
Apart from serving in Canada and the UK, my career included service in Germany, Cyprus, the Middle East, and Afghanistan and Pakistan. The challenges and frequent adrenaline rushes accompanying many of my postings, especially those involving United Nations peacekeeping operations, made for a very interesting and rewarding career. In retrospect, I could not have chosen a career that would have given me the same sense of satisfaction and variety that the military gave me.

Retirement Years

Since retiring in 1993, I have worked as a volunteer with the RCMP, a volunteer tax preparer for low income groups and seniors as part of a Revenue Canada’s Community Voluntary Income Tax Preparation program, and have been heavily involved in a veterans’ group. My principal activity has been upgrading my education, a project that began in 1992 as a general interest activity with distance education courses at the University of Manitoba, but evolved into my 'second career.' Graduating from U of M in 2001 with a BA in history and political studies, I registered in a post-baccalaureate diploma program at Simon Fraser University. Being in classrooms with young, very bright and hardworking students is a rewarding experience. It gives one great confidence in the future of our country, for I now realize just how difficult it is for them to juggle studies and part time work. They have earned my admiration and respect.

Special People in my Life

The special people in my life have been my two sons, Ian and his family Larissa, Nathaniel and Hailey, and Scott and his family Lisa and Alisson. My three grandchildren are a great source of pride and pleasure for me. I would also like to acknowledge my very caring and supportive partner, Maureen Paterson, who took me in as a ‘house guest’ after a high school reunion in 1994 and has kept me on a reasonably straight and narrow path ever since.
Final Wishes

As a fanatical supporter of the Ottawa Senators, my final wish is that my last words will be ‘Go Sens Go!” I would also wish to be remembered as a good humoured person with a kind, friendly and generous heart.

Please visit the funeral home at:
www.dignitymemorial.com/en-ca/obituaries...avid-leslie-10945448





Nemo Me Impune Lacessit
Pro Patria