Sir Gordon James Lethem was born in 1886 in Leith, Scotland. He was educated at Edinburgh, Grenoble and Santander College in Spain. Called to Bar, Lincoln’s Inn. Sir Lethem joined Colonial Service in Nigeria. During the First World War, he served in German Cameroons. He was secretary for Native Affairs in northern Nigeria, 1931-33.
He became Governor of Seychelles from 1934-1935. In the early days of his administration, he made speeches which raised great hope that he could advance the economic interests of the inhabitants. While in office, he cut down all expenditure on public works, ordered that all secondary roads should be closed, which were the arteries by which the transport of products and this was a great blow to the inhabitants. The public were disappointed in his manner and the air of command which he adopted. Nevertheless, some credit should be given to him. He was able to secure valuable donations from the colonial development fund for building of new roads. He left the colony on the 5th November 1935. The following year Lethem was knighted (KCMG) and appointed Governor of the Leeward Islands, 1936-1941. He was subsequently Governor of British Guiana 1941-1946 before retiring to his sheep farm in Scotland. He died in 1962.