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

fighter pilot A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare an ...

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. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a l ...

as a member of the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The presidin ...

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 established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Austra ...

. Reid served as a fighter pilot in both the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

and on attachment to the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, 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 city in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 43 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Casey local government area. Cranbourne recorded a population of 21,281 at the 2021 census. ...

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 Melbou ...

at the

1958 Victorian state election Elections were held in the Australian state of Victoria on Saturday 31 May 1958 to elect the 66 members of the state's Legislative Assembly. This was the last time Assembly elections were held separately from those for the Legislative Council. ...

. 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 Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. It is located in the outer south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, including Blind Bight, Botanic Ridge, Cannons Creek, Clyde, Cranbourne, Devon Meadows, Hampton Park, J ...

, 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, also spelled MacMahon (older Irish orthography: ; reformed Irish orthography: ), is a surname of Irish origin. It is derived from the Gaelic ''Mac'' ''Mathghamhna'' meaning 'son of the bear'. The surname came into use around the 11th ce ...

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 ma ...

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. Len 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 played an important role with the charity "For Those Who Have Less".Action Aid Australia
Reid married Joan Averill Swallow, daughter of Leonard Swallow and Dorothy Comyn in 1946. She was 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, ...

. They had 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 Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Australian Air Force officers Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria 20th-century Australian politicians People from Clifton Hill, Victoria People from Cranbourne, Victoria Military personnel from Melbourne Politicians from Melbourne {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub