In part because he refused to give interviews on his tenure as Governor, Sir Edwin Leather, who died on Monday, is probably not that well known to many Bermudians under the age of 35.

But in the mid-1970s, he cut a swath across the Island's landscape and helped to stabilise the Island after the shock of the assassination of his predecessor, Sir Richard Sharples and his aide de camp, Capt. Hugh Sayers.

It is worth remembering that those were not the only murders of that troubled period. Months earlier, Commissioner George Duckett was killed at his home and the owner of the Shopping Centre and a shop assistant were brutally murdered on the premises.

Soon after Sir Edwin retired, the hangings of Erskine (Buck) Burrows and Larry Tacklyn sparked off another wave of violence in the December, 1977 riots.

That makes it clear that Sir Edwin and the Government of the day did not fully complete the work of reconciling the community by the time he left. That would take the Pitt Commission which was formed after the riots and much more work ? up to and beyond the present day.

But for the time, "Ted" Leather was the right man in the right place, and he did an enormous amount to restore stability to a situation which was spinning out of control.

Simply agreeing to take the job in the first place could not have been an easy decision; no Bermuda Governor has taken up the post because his predecessor was murdered.

The fact that Sir Edwin was a "colonial" himself, having been born and raised in Canada before taking up residence in Britain, helped to send a message that he would be different from his predecessors.

A small, but symbolically significant step was also taken with the appointment of a black Bermudian officer of the Bermuda Regiment as the Governor's ADC, ending the practice of having a British regular officer perform the role.

Having taken up his post, Sir Edwin undertook his role with gusto and demonstrated that the Queen's representative was not afraid and was prepared to uphold law and order. That, and a feeling among political and community leaders of all stripes that the Island had to pull together or break into pieces, helped to bring about a greater sense of peace and calm.

Sir Edwin played a major role in that, even if at times he was seen as having overstepped his bounds and had to be reined in by the then-Premier, the late Sir Edward Richards.

One MP is quoted in Randolf Williams' biography of Sir Edward, "Peaceful Warrior" as saying: "... Leather was in danger of going outside of the boundaries of his office. He had the tendency to want to interfere in our affairs too much. This was not within his jurisdiction. He needed to be reminded his role was ceremonial and responsibility for security."

Sir Edwin was quoted in the same biography saying: "I was much more radical, and an activist in my views. Sir Edward was more cautious. We therefore had arguments. This is what democratic government is all about. We were bound to clash; there was no way we couldn't. There are two main reasons. First, we were both faced with an unprecedented situation. Secondly, we were subject to a constitution which was not designed to deal with such a situation (of murders and political unrest)."

This was neither the first nor the last time that a Premier and Governor had clashed over their respective responsibilities; it can be argued that some friction is healthy and positive.

But few would deny that an active Governor was needed at that time. Sir Edwin fitted the bill.