William Leggatt

{{short description|Australian politician, lawyer and military officer}}

{{for|the British Army officer and cricketer of the same name|Bill Leggatt}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix = Lieutenant Colonel

| name = Sir William Leggatt

| honorific-suffix = {{postnominals|country=AUS|size=100|sep=,|DSO|MC|ED}}

| image = William Leggatt (01).jpg

| alt =

| caption =

| constituency_AM = Mornington

| assembly = Victorian Legislative

| term_start = 8 November 1947

| term_end = 3 February 1956

| predecessor = Alfred Kirton

| successor = Roberts Dunstan

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1894|12|23|df=y}}

| birth_place = Malekula, New Hebrides

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1968|11|27|1894|12|23|df=y}}

| death_place = Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia

| restingplace = Springvale Botanical Cemetery

| birthname = William Watt Leggatt

| nationality = Australian

| party = Liberal and Country Party

| spouse = {{marriage|Dorothy Meares Andrews|21 September 1926}}

| alma_mater = University of Melbourne

| profession = Barrister and solicitor

| allegiance = Australia

| branch = Australian Imperial Force
Citizens Military Force

| serviceyears = 1915–1919
1934–1946

| rank = Lieutenant Colonel

| commands = Sparrow Force
2/40th Battalion

| battles = First World War
Second World War

| mawards = Knight Bachelor
Distinguished Service Order
Military Cross
Mentioned in Despatches (2)

}}

Sir William Watt Leggatt, {{postnominals|country=AUS|size=100|sep=,|DSO|MC|ED}} (23 December 1894 – 27 November 1968) was an Australian soldier, lawyer and politician. He served as commanding officer of the 2/40th Battalion and later Sparrow Force during the Second World War, fighting in Timor against the Japanese invasion in 1942. He was captured by the Japanese and sent to Changi Prison in Singapore. Following the war, he was based in Melbourne in charge of war crimes investigation until 1946. In 1948 he was elected to the Victorian parliament. He died in 1968 and was accorded a state funeral.