STEVENSON, John Leslie
| Service Numbers: | 2001, 2001A |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 5 June 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 25th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Oberon, New South Wales, Australia, 1884 |
| Home Town: | Drillham, Western Downs, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Grazier |
| Died: | 1963, cause of death not yet discovered, place of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 5 Jun 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2001, 25th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 16 Aug 1915: | Involvement Private, 2001A, 25th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '15' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Kyarra embarkation_ship_number: A55 public_note: '' | |
| 16 Aug 1915: | Embarked Private, 2001A, 25th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Kyarra, Brisbane |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
John Leslie Stevenson was the only survivor of four brothers who served with the AIF during WW1. Their mother, Jane Alice, had passed away in 1908, and their widower father, John Canning Stevenson was a pioneer of the Oberon, Bathurst region, in NSW, but quite elderly when the war started.
John Leslie Stevenson was known as Les, and served with the 25th Battalion at Gallipoli. He was twice wounded in France in 1916 and then gassed during 1917.
During August 1918, the father of the four sons who had enlisted in the AIF, John Canning Stevenson, penned the following letter which reached several MP’s and the eventually the Department of Defence.
"Dear Sir, I am in sore distress at the loss of my three sons being killed at the war. My son, No. 353 Pte. E.L. Stevenson was killed at the landing on April 25th, 1915, my eldest son No. 2502 Pte. J.G. Stevenson has been officially reported missing on 5th April last, my youngest son, No. 2036 2nd Lt. V.C. Stevenson M.M. has been officially reported killed on 14th July last, my only surviving son, No. 2001 Pte. J.L. Stevenson, his address when I last heard was C Company, 5th Training Battalion, Australian Imperial Force, Fovant, Wilts, England. He has been on active service since August 1915, and has been wounded twice, once gassed. They were my only support before they enlisted. They have been keeping me out of their pay. Now three of them are gone and I am left with 3 shillings per day. I am now seventy-nine years of age. I would most respectfully request if it is humanely possible for you to obtain the discharge of my only surviving son, No. 2001 Pte. J.L. Stevenson, that he may return to me as soon as possible.
Yours faithfully, J.C. Stevenson."
The above request was complied with as soon as possible, and John Leslie Stevenson was returned to Australia for ‘family reasons’ on 4 December 1918.
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