Lionel Alistair David Leslie (1900-1987) was the son of Sir John Leslie, 2nd Baronet of Glasslough. He grew up at Castle Leslie in Ireland and was educated at Eton, and Trinity College, Dublin. In 1922, he joined the Inniskilling Fusiliers, and was sent to India and Burma. He left the army in 1926, when he made an attempt at crossing the continent of Africa. During the Second World War, he served in France, Britain, and Egypt. After retiring with his wife in 1942, he became very involved in searching for the Loch Ness Monster. He also had artistic inclinations learning how to sculpt and carve in wood and stone. It was during his three main expeditions to China, Africa, and Labrador that he wrote many of his literary works. His cousin and godfather, Sir Winston Churchill, was very fond of him and wrote a forward in his book, Wilderness Trails in Three Continents (1931).