Barbara Priestman was born on February 17th 1921 at 'Cliffside' in Roker to Sir John Priestman and his second wife Sarah Marie (nee Pownell). Her parents moved to Harrogate where she was educated at 'Elmwood' as a day girl until at 17 years of age she moved to Queen Ethelberga's where she took a course in Cordon Bleu cookery.

At the start of the Second World War Barbara worked for the Admiralty which had been evacuated to Harrogate. It was this time that she contracted T.B. and on the advice of doctors she moved with her mother to Cragwood in the Lake District. Here she took charge of the gardens and produced fruit and vegetables under the Government's Food Production Policy.

Sir John died in 1936 leaving Barbara a wealthy woman. She met and eventually married Christopher Leslie, who did business in India with tea plantations. Her uncle the Rev. Canon A. du T. Pownell at St. Martins church, Bowness, conducted the wedding service.

In 1956 their first daughter Angela was born and two years later Pamela and then Christine. In 1962 on a family holiday in Scotland, Barbara began coughing and was obviously unwell. Hodgekins disease, a cancer of the blood was diagnosed, and she died a year later in a nursing home in Harrogate at the age of 42.

Barbara Priestman