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Ledward was a student at St. Andrews University in Scotland during the 1782/83 session. While detailed class lists do not survive for these years, he did matriculate from the junior Greek class and other subjects were likely to have been junior Latin and junior Mathematics the normal subjects for first year pupils. His name was absent from subsequent years and the only other clue given by the University was that he paid his fees as a "seconder", that is, his father was likely to have been a professional (lawyer, doctor, or clergyman) or landed.

The Royal College of Surgeons indicates that Ledward was examined by the old Company of Surgeons on 4 Oct 1787, and as a result was qualified as Surgeon's First Mate to sail on a second class ship, which at that time would have carried about 90 guns and 680 men.

Described by Bligh as a 'passionate man but good-hearted', he was signed on because Bligh was unwilling to undertake such a long voyage with only one medical man on board. He was a well-educated man, well suited to have held the position of Ship's Surgeon himself, had Huggan not been previously appointed by the admiralty.

He took no part in the mutiny, and was confined early on below decks with the loyalist officers until being placed in the Launch. He appears to have had few if any disagreements with Bligh on either the Bounty or the voyage of the Launch, where he sided with Bligh in his disputes with Fryer. He was, therefore, notably incensed at the way Bligh treated him in Timor, as noted in letters.

In 1789 or early 1790, Ledward boarded the 'Welfare', a Dutch East Indiaman sailing ship, for his passage back to England from Batavia. The ship sank enroute to Capetown, South Africa, but by that time, Dr. Ledward was no longer on board. Although it is not known where he left the ship, he ultimately returned to England, sometime before 1791, when he is recorded as Surgeon aboard the HMS Discovery under Captain George Vancouver. He died in England some years thereafter.

Another interesting story ... There is a family living on present day Kauai, Hawaii, that believes, through oral history, that they are descendants of Ledward. Did he decide, like many seamen before him, to settle for a while in the Pacific? Or, in his travels, did he perhaps leave a son on Kauai who carried his name and went on to serve as the island physician? There doesn't seem to be any known records to back up the oral history of the family, but latter scenario would fit better with the estimated dating of the story.