Leonard Stanley Reid, (21 September 1916 – 22 April 2003) was an Australian

fighter pilot A fighter pilot or combat pilot is a Military aviation, military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, Air-to-ground weaponry, air-to-ground combat and sometimes Electronic-warfare aircraft, electronic warfare while in the cockpit of ...

and politician who represented the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

as a member of the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the states and territories of Australia, state lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the state upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament H ...

and the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Australian Senate, Senate. Its composition and powers are set out in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. ...

. Reid served as a fighter pilot in both the

Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...

and on attachment to the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross on 4 December 1942. After the war, he ran a dairy farm in

Cranbourne, Victoria Cranbourne () is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 43 km south-east of Melbourne's Melbourne city centre, Central Business District, located within the City of Casey Local government areas of Victoria, local ...

before being elected to the

Electoral district of Dandenong The electoral district of Dandenong is an electoral district of the Victorian Legislative Assembly. It was first proclaimed in 1904 when the district of Dandenong and Berwick was abolished. The district is located within the outskirts of Melbo ...

at the 1958 Victorian state election. Reid served as the member for Dandenong for 11 years, before resigning his seat to contest the newly created federal

Division of Holt The Division of Holt is an Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian Electoral Division in Victoria (Australia), Victoria. , the division is located in outer south-east Melbourne and covers the southern half of City of C ...

, which covered much of the same area as Dandenong, at the 1969 federal election.Casey Weekly ''Cranbourne loses mover and shaker''
Reid won narrowly, but was defeated at the 1972 federal election partly due to the swing that ousted the

McMahon McMahon or MacMahon ( or ) may refer to: Places * Division of McMahon, an electorate for the Australian House of Representatives * McMahon, Saskatchewan, a hamlet in Canada * McMahon Line, a boundary between India and China * McMahons Point, a ...

government and partly due to demographic changes which saw

Dandenong Dandenong ( ) is a southeastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, about from the Melbourne CBD. It is the council seat of the City of Greater Dandenong local government area, with a recorded population of 30,127 at the . Situated m ...

develop as a major industrial centre. Whilst a member of the lower house he crossed the floor and voted with the Labor Party or abstained from voting. Reid was avidly connected with people who were marginalised in society and actively concentrated on the poor in India and Bangladesh. His publications included ''Crusade against Death''. He was one of the founders of the charity "For Those Who Have Less", now part of "Action Aid Australia".Action Aid Australia
In 1946, Reid married Joan Averill Swallow, daughter of Leonard Swallow and Dorothy Comyn, the niece of

Hugh Comyn Henry Hugh Comyn (1 November 1876 – 8 April 1937) was an English civil servant and sportsman. He competed in the Wimbledon Championships in 1906 and 1907 and was an open champion in badminton in mixed doubles in 1908, 1909 and 1910. Life Comy ...

and

William Leslie Comyn William Leslie Comyn (born 30 October 1877) was a Californian businessman, shipbuilder and builder of one of the first large concrete ships. Life Comyn was the second son of Charles Comyn an English civil servant and was born at Shepherd's Bush, ...

. Reid and his wife had two children, Virginia and Roger.

References

1916 births 2003 deaths Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II Australian World War II flying aces Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Holt Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Australian recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Australian Air Force officers Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria People from Clifton Hill, Victoria People from Cranbourne, Victoria Military personnel from Melbourne Politicians from Melbourne Australian MPs 1969–1972 {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub