Leonard  A  Capaldi was born in Edinburgh and has always lived in the vicinity. His immediate family consists of:

Born in a nursing home in Saint Bernard's Row, Edinburgh, Leo subsequently attended Saint Serf's Preparatory School before commencing education at the Royal High School. From secondary school Leo progressed to Napier College of Science and Technology, becoming a qualified Electronic Engineer. Encouraged by Bianca, Leo had become a proficient Ski-er and was part of the school team that won the Boyd Anderson Trophy for the first time. Leo was an active member of the Napier Ski Club and participated in many competitions whilst at college.

A career in the computer industry started with a brief time with Burroughs Machines in Cumbernauld where Leo diagnosed production problems with Band Printers. An offer from Ferranti Limited was accepted and Leo joined their computer service team in Scotland. Rising through the levels of customer support took him to being the Service Manager in Scotland until the demise of the Ferranti Computer division in 1992.  A fresh start was then made within the academic world when Leo was appointed to the PC support activity in Jewel & Esk Valley College. The computer and network facilities expanded dramatically and currently Leo is responsible for the network facilities used by the college management and administration.

From an early age Leo was interested in motor cars and that has been a constant part of his life. During student life he had a Hillman Imp and after joining the Dunfermline Car Club he began to compete in local events like autotests, trials and road-rallies. Inevitably the specification of the car was enhanced to provide better performance and a succession of Imps produced some success in events.  At some stage around 1970-71 Leo became attracted by Lancia cars, due to the successes of Fulvia Coupes in major rallies. Subsequently when Imps were long out of production, Leo purchased a Lancia Beta HPE and soon became entrenched in the Lancia world.

In 1980 Leo married Patricia Ann Smith from Roslin and they lived in Loanhead just south of Edinburgh. The marriage lasted for 14 years.