Leonard Brockington

Who was Leonard Brockington?

Leonard Walter Brockington, CMG, QC, LLD was a Canadian lawyer, civil servant, public figure, and the first head of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Born in Cardiff, Wales, one of seven children, Brockington was educated at the University of Wales, graduating with honours in Latin and Greek. He arrived in Canada in 1912. Settling in Edmonton, Brockington became a journalist and civil servant. He studied law at the University of Alberta and became a solicitor for the city of Calgary. He then joined the Calgary law firm of James Lougheed and R. B. Bennett.

He served as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the CBC from 1936 to 1939. He also served as:

Special Assistant to Prime Minister Mackenzie King from 1939 to 1942

Narrator of the introduction to Humphrey Jennings Listen to Britain

Joined the law firm Gowling, MacTavish, Osborne and Henderson in 1942 as Counsel

Adviser on Commonwealth Affairs to the British Ministry of Information from 1942 to 1943

a member of the Canada Council

wrote an informative chapter on Baron Tweedsmuir [John Buchan] Governor General of Canada in "John Buchan by his Wife and Friends"

Rector of Queen's University from 1947 to 1966