Sir Edwin (Ted) Leather who was Bermuda Governor during a tumultuous time in the Island's history died yesterday morning at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital. He was 85.

Sir Edwin took over the reins at Government House in June 1973 following the assassination of predecessor Sir Richard Sharples and his aide-de-camp Captain Hugh Sayers. Sharples' murder was part of an infamous killing spree which began the previous year when the Commissioner of Police George Duckett was shot dead at his Devonshire home. With many other potential candidates reluctant to confront such apparent instability and danger, Sir Edwin was the one who stepped into the breach, bringing a calm assurance to an Island caught in the grip of post-assassination hysteria.

Conscious of the enormous responsibility that rested upon his shoulders, Sir Edwin reached out to all Bermudians in an attempt to heal the gaping wounds of racial tension ? earning the respect and admiration of all who came across him.

Instrumental in establishing the Bermuda Festival, Sir Edwin was also heavily involved in the Menuhin Foundation, making every effort to enrich the Island's cultural and artistic fabric.

A keen golfer, he was the driving force behind the creation of the Bermuda Professional Golfers Association, of which he later became an honorary member and, following the end of his tenure as Governor in 1977, retired to Bermuda and lived on the Island throughout the rest of his life.

Speaking to The Royal Gazette yesterday, his former secretary and long-term confidante Sheila Kempe described him as a "charming and sincere man who loved Bermuda with all his heart".

"I was extremely fond of him. He never said anything nasty about anybody in my presence and he was a very open sociable person. He wanted nothing more than to retire here and spend his final days in Bermuda...he was simply a lovely man."

Meanwhile, Governor Sir John Vereker expressed his sadness at Sir Edwin's death.

"Ted Leather made an enormously important contribution to the stability and reputation of Bermuda at a difficult time," he said.

"He made Bermuda his home and he will be remembered with great respect and affection by all who knew him."

Premier Alex Scott also added his condolences, describing Sir Edwin as a man who possessed a "tremendous faith" in the Island and would be remembered with "appreciation and respect".

Opposition Senate Leader Kim Swan, who was on close personal terms with Sir Edwin and whose father, Hubert E.E. Swan, served as his designated Police officer and chauffeur for several years, said he would be remembered as a "socially inclusive" Governor who had served the Island with distinction.

Born in 1919 in Toronto and educated in Canada, Sir Edwin travelled to England in 1940 with the Canadian army and served there and in Western Europe throughout the Second World War.

With Hitler's demise in 1945, Sir Edwin charged headlong into politics by joining the British Conservative Party and unsuccessfully contesting the parliamentary seat of Bristol South. At the following General Election in 1950, he claimed the seat of North Somerset off Labour by a marginal 903 votes, but increased his majority over the course of three consecutive elections ? ultimately serving in the House of Commons for close to 15 years.

A man of broad and frequently philanthropic interests, between June 1967 to October 1969 Sir Edwin was vice-chairman of the board of the Bath Festival Society, president of the Bristol branch of the Society For Mentally Handicapped Children, deputy chairman of the Yehudi Menuhin School and chairman of the National Sporting Club.

Director of several industrial companies both in the UK and Canada, he was also a regular member of the BBC's "Any Questions?" team and made numerous appearances on television.

Sir Edwin was predeceased by his wife Sheila and is survived by his two daughters Hope and Sarah.

Funeral announcements are to be made at a later date.