Walter Leaf (1852-1927) was born in London and educated at Harrow and Trinity College, Cambridge. Following a period at the head of the family business Leaf became chairman of the Westminster Bank. He was one of the founders of the International Chamber of Commerce of which he was president in 1925. From 1919 until 1921 he was president of the Institute of Bankers.

However, Leaf was also a keen classical scholar having been president of the Hellenic Society and the Classical Association. He apparently accepted the reality of Atlantis and was one of a number of writers to note^[434] the similarity between Homer’s Scheria and Plato’s Atlantis and opted for Crete as its most likely location.