Leslie Gilbert Pine (22 December 1907 – 15 May 1987) was a British writer,

lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

and researcher in the areas of

genealogy Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

, history,

heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and genealo ...

and

animal welfare Animal welfare is the quality of life and overall well-being of animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures ...

Early life and education

Pine was born at

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, the son of Henry Moorshead Pine, a tea merchant, and Lilian Grace, daughter of James Phillips Beswetherick, of

Glastonbury Glastonbury ( , ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than across the River ...

.''The Augustan Society Omnibus'', vol. 8, The Augustan Society, 1986, p. 25. He was educated at Tellisford House School,

, the South West London College at Barnes, and at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

, where he took a BA.''Who was Who: A Companion to Who's Who, Containing the Biographies of Those who Died'', Volume 8, A. & C. Black, 1981, p. 600.

Career

From 1935 to 1940, Pine was an assistant

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

Burke's Peerage Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher, considered an authority on the order of precedence of noble families and information on the lesser nobility of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1826, when the Anglo-Irish genea ...

Ltd. During

World War II 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 ...

he was an officer in 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 ...

intelligence branch, serving in

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

; he retired with the rank of Squadron Leader. After the war and until 1960, he was Burke's executive director. Pine edited ''Burke's Peerage'', 1949–1959; ''Burke's Landed Gentry (of Great Britain)'', 1952; ''Burke's Landed Gentry (of Ireland)'', 1958; and, ''Burke's Distinguished Families of America'', 1939, 1947. He also edited ''The International Year Book and Statesmen's Who's Who'', 1953–1960; ''Author's and Writer's Who's Who'', 1948, 1960; ''Who's Who in Music'', 1949; and, ''Who's Who in the Free Churches'', 1951. He was a consultant for Burke's from 1984. He became a Barrister-at-Law,

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

, in 1953. Pine was a member of the International Institute of Genealogy and Heraldry, Fellow of the

Society of Antiquaries of Scotland The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland is the senior antiquarian body of Scotland, with its headquarters in the National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh. The Society's aim is to promote the cultural heritage of Scotland. The usu ...

, a Fellow of the

Ancient Monuments Society The Ancient Monuments Society (AMS) is a learned society and registered charity in England and Wales, founded in 1924 "for the study and conservation of ancient monuments, historic buildings and fine old craftsmanship". Since October 2021, the or ...

, a Life Fellow of the Institute of Journalists, a

Freeman Freeman, free men, Freeman's or Freemans may refer to: Places United States * Freeman, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Freeman, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Freeman, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Freeman, South Dako ...

of the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

, and a Liveryman of the Glaziers' Company. In

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

he was the unsuccessful

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

candidate for Bristol Central. Pine was managing editor of a British hunting magazine, ''

Shooting Times ''Shooting Times & Country Magazine'', more commonly known as the ''Shooting Times'', is a Great Britain, British shooting, fieldsports, and conservation magazine, published by Fieldsports Press Ltd. The magazine also features articles on fishing ...

'', from 1960 to 1964. He later authored an important book highly critical of sport hunting, ''After Their Blood'', in which he wrote: "It is our duty as men and women of God's redeemed creation to try not to increase the suffering of the world, but to lessen it. To get rid of bloodsports will be a great step toward this end."

Personal life

In 1948 Pine married Grace Violet (20 August 1914 – 5 November 2019), daughter of Albert Griffin and Margaret Emily (née Stowers), of

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Colchester and Southend-on-Sea. It is located north-east of London ...

. Their only child, Richard Pine, was born in London on 21 August 1949. Pine died in

Bury St Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as ''Bury,'' is a cathedral as well as market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk District, West Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St. Edmunds an ...

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

in 1987.

Works

His books are: * "The Stuarts of Traquair" (1940) * ''The Middle Sea: A Short History of the Mediterranean'' (1950/1973) * "The Golden Book of the Coronation" (1953) * ''Trace Your Ancestors'' (1953) * "The House of Wavell" (1953) * ''They Came with the Conqueror: A Study of the Modern Descendants of the Normans'' (1954) * ''Tales of the British aristocracy'' (1956) * ''Heraldry and Genealogy: Teach Yourself'' (1957/1970) * "The House of Constantine" (1957) * ''The Twilight of Monarchy'' (1958) * ''Orders of Chivalry and Decorations of Honour of the World'' (1960) * ''Ramshackledom, A Critical Appraisal of the Establishment'' (1962) * ''Heraldry, Ancestry And Titles: Questions And Answers'' (1965) * ''The Story of Surnames'' (1965) * ''The Story of Heraldry'' (1952, revised 1966) * ''After Their Blood : a Survey of Blood Sports in Britain'' (1966) * ''Tradition and Custom in Modern Britain'' (1967) * ''Genealogist's Encyclopedia'' (1969) * ''Story of Titles'' (1969) * ''Princes of Wales'' (1970) * ''International Heraldry'' (1970) * ''The Highland Clans'' (1972) * ''The History of Hunting'' (1973) * ''Sons of the Conqueror: Descendant of the Norman Dynasty'' (1973) * ''The New Extinct Peerage, 1884–1971: Containing Extinct, Abeyant, Dormant & Suspended Peerages with Genealogies and Arms'' (1973) * ''American Origins'' (1980) * ''A Dictionary of Mottoes'' (1983) * ''A Dictionary of Nicknames'' (1984) Pine is also the primary contributor to the article "Genealogy" in the ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

''.

References

*England & Wales, Death Index: 1984–2004 Record, Volume 10, Page 2278, from Ancestry.com *''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', Deaths, 1982–1988 Record, from Ancestry.com *Contemporary Authors. A bio-bibliographical guide to current writers in fiction, general nonfiction, poetry, journalism, drama, motion pictures, television, and other fields. Volume 122. Detroit: Gale Research, 1988. *''

'', 21 May 1987 *L.G. Pine, ''The Story of Heraldry'' (Rutland, Vt: Chas. E. Tuttle, 1966). {{DEFAULTSORT:Pine, Leslie 1907 births 1987 deaths British heraldists English genealogists Information and reference writers Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Air Force officers Hunting and shooting in the United Kingdom Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London British sportswriters Members of the Inner Temple 20th-century English historians 20th-century British lawyers Writers from Bristol Military personnel from Bristol Conservative Party (UK) parliamentary candidates