Sir Leslie Brian Freeston (11 August 1892 – 16 July 1958) was a British colonial official.

Career

Freeston was educated at

Willaston School Willaston School was an educational establishment in Nantwich set up to educate the sons of impoverished Unitarian ministers. The building is currently used as accommodation for students at Reaseheath College. Philip Barker came from a family o ...

and

New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...

. After service in the

London Regiment London Regiment may refer to two infantry regiments in the British Army: * London Regiment (1908–1938) The London Regiment was an infantry regiment in the British Army, part of the Territorial Force (renamed the Territorial Army in 1921). Th ...

of the British Army in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he joined the then

Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created in 1768 from the Southern Department to deal with colonial affairs in North America (particularly the Thirteen Colo ...

in 1919. He was Governor of the

Leeward Islands The Leeward Islands () are a group of islands situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean. Starting with the Virgin Islands east of Puerto Rico, they extend southeast to Guadeloupe and its dependencies. In Engl ...

1944–48;

Governor of Fiji Fiji was a British Crown colony from 1874 to 1970, and an independent dominion in the Commonwealth from 1970 to 1987. During this period, the head of state was the British monarch, but in practice the functions of the crown were normally exercis ...

and High Commissioner, Western Pacific 1948–52; Secretary-General of the

South Pacific Commission The Pacific Community (PC), formerly the South Pacific Commission (SPC), is an international development organisation governed by 27 members, including 22 Pacific island countries and territories around the Pacific Ocean. The organisation's hea ...

1951–54. Freeston was knighted on 1 January 1945.

Notes

Sources

FREESTON, Sir (Leslie) Brian
''Who Was Who'', A & C Black, 1920–2015 (online edition, Oxford University Press, 2014)
Sir Brian Freeston – Former Governor Of Fiji
(obituary), ''The Times'', London, 17 July 1958, page 12

External links

* 1892 births 1958 deaths Military personnel from the London Borough of Hounslow London Regiment officers British Army personnel of World War I Governors of the Leeward Islands Governors of Fiji Pacific Community people High commissioners for the Western Pacific Officers of the Order of the British Empire Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George British Leeward Islands people of World War II Alumni of New College, Oxford Territorial Force officers People from Brentford {{Oceania-hist-stub