{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}} {{Infobox military person |name= Dame Leslie Whateley |image= Chief Controller Leslie Violet Lucy Whateley, Cbe - Director of Ats, 1943 Art.IWMARTLD3208.jpg |image_size= |alt= |caption= ''Chief Controller Leslie Violet Lucy Whateley'' (1943) by Henry Lamb |nickname= |birth_date= {{birth date|1899|01|28|df=yes}} |birth_place= |death_date= {{death date and age|1987|07|04|1899|01|28|df=yes}} |death_place= |burial_place= |allegiance= United Kingdom |branch= Auxiliary Territorial Service |service_years= |rank= |service_number= |unit= |commands= Auxiliary Territorial Service (1943–46) |battles= Second World War |awards= Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire<br/>Territorial Decoration |relations= Field Marshal Sir Evelyn Wood (grandfather) |other_work= }} '''Dame Leslie Violet Lucy Evelyn Whateley''', {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100|sep=,|DBE|TD}} (née '''Wood'''; first married name '''Balfour'''; 28 January 1899 – 4 July 1987) was a Director of the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) during the Second World War.<ref>[https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/37407/page/17 ''London Gazette'' reference to Dame Leslie Whateley, DBE], london-gazette.co.uk, 28 December 1945; accessed 3 April 2016.</ref>
==Early life== She was born on 28 January 1899, the daughter of Colonel Evelyn FitzGerald Michell Wood and Lilian (née Hutton). She was the granddaughter of Field Marshal Sir Evelyn Wood.<ref name="Deputy Director of A.T.S. - Times"/><ref>{{cite news|title=Mrs. Knox of ATS Resigns|newspaper=Daily Mail|date=22 October 1943|page=3}}</ref>
==Career== Whateley joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) in 1938 and became a junior officer following training at Chelsea Barracks. She served as Deputy Director of the ATS from September 1941.<ref name="Deputy Director of A.T.S. - Times">{{cite news|title=Deputy Director of A.T.S.|newspaper=The Times|date=19 September 1941|location=London, England|page=7}}</ref> She was Director of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts from 1951 to 1964.
In 1948, her writings were published by Hutchinson Publishing in Melbourne entitled ''As thoughts survive'', a monograph with a preface by the then-Princess Royal.<ref>Her memoir dealt with the Second World War and contained personal narratives about her experiences in the Army and the Auxiliary Territorial Service (211 pages; 16 leaves of plates: illustrated ports, Citation# abn89242258).</ref>
==Marriages== She married, firstly, to William John Balfour, on 8 July 1922. The union ended in divorce in 1939. She married, secondly, to Squadron Leader Harry Raymond Whateley on 21 September 1939. Both unions were childless.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1987-07-08 |title=Obituary for Dame Leslie Wood Whateley 1987 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-telegraph-obituary-for-dame-le/134063820/ |access-date=2024-03-18 |work=The Daily Telegraph |pages=16}}</ref>
==Honours== *1951: Territorial Decoration (TD) for long service in the reserves.<ref name="LG 12 June 1951">{{London Gazette|issue=39258|date=12 June 1951|pages=3285–3286|supp=y}}</ref> *1963: Silver Fish Award, the highest adult award of the Girl Guide movement<ref>{{cite magazine |date=September 1987 |author=SPS |title=Obituary |magazine=The Guider |location=London, UK |edition=Vol. 75 No. 9 |publisher=Girl Guides Association |page=19}} </ref> *1965: ''Bronze Wolf'', the only distinction of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, awarded by the World Scout Committee for exceptional services to world Scouting<ref>{{cite magazine |date=September 1987 |author=SPS |title=Obituary |magazine=The Guider |location=London, UK |edition=Vol. 75 No. 9 |publisher=Girl Guides Association |page=19}} </ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Portal|Scouting}} * [http://www.oxforddnb.com/index/101045561 Oxford Biography Index Number 101045561] * [http://www.answers.com/topic/world-association-of-girl-guides-and-girl-scouts Answers.com]
{{s-start}} {{s-mil}} {{s-bef|before=Jean Knox}} {{s-ttl|title=Director, Auxiliary Territorial Service|years=1943–1946}} {{s-aft|after=Dame Mary Tyrwhitt}} {{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whateley, Leslie}} Category:1899 births Category:1987 deaths Category:Auxiliary Territorial Service officers Category:British Army brigadiers of World War II Category:Recipients of the Bronze Wolf Award Category:Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Category:World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts people Category:People from Paddington Category:Military personnel from London Category:International Scouting leaders Category:Female generals of the British Army Category:Recipients of the Silver Fish Award