He was appointed in 1974 and in 1975 became the first Canadian to be appointed KCVO since the future 1st Lord Shaughnessy in 1907. Leather was an active freemason and an Anglican lay reader. During his time as Governor of Bermuda, Sir Edwin made a significant effort to include a number of influential Bermudians as part of the vice-regal household. Among them were Rev. Thomas N. Nisbett, Bermuda's first Black Anglican priest (later Canon Thomas Nisbett), and Major Eugene Raynor, who became Colonel and Commanding Officer of the Bermuda Regiment, Bermuda's armed forces.