For many years Leach was a central figure in the craft community, respected, trusted, a maker who was not only a dazzling public speaker, able to charm any audience, but also a clear and intelligent writer, able to express his ideas succinctly and with elegance. For over fifty years he acted as spokesman, not only for potters but for all the crafts, representing craftsmen and women on committees, whether set up by the government, the guilds and societies or the Crafts Study Centre.