LEACH, Walter Joseph
| Service Number: | 2897 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 19 June 1916, Melbourne, Victoria |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd Pioneer Battalion |
| Born: | Lilydale, Victoria, Australia, 1895 |
| Home Town: | Warburton, Yarra Ranges, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Driver/bread-carter |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Montbrehain, France, 5 October 1918 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Millgrove Roll of Honour, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France), Warburton RSL Gallipoli Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 19 Jun 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2897, 2nd Pioneer Battalion, Melbourne, Victoria | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Oct 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2897, 2nd Pioneer Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '5' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Port Lincoln embarkation_ship_number: A17 public_note: '' | |
| 20 Oct 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 2897, 2nd Pioneer Battalion, HMAT Port Lincoln, Melbourne | |
| 20 Sep 1917: | Wounded "The Last Hundred Days", Shell wound to both legs | |
| 5 Oct 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2897, 2nd Pioneer Battalion, "The Last Hundred Days", --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 2897 awm_unit: 2 Pioneer Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1918-10-05 |
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Add my storyBiography
When Walter Joseph Leach was born in 1895 in Lilydale, Victoria, his father, Thomas, was 34 and his mother, Sarah, was 40. He had three brothers and three sisters.
He was killed in action on October 5, 1918, in France, at the age of 23.
Walter served in the 2nd Pioneer Battallion for the Australian Imperial Force.
Walter did not marry, and he refused to make a will on enlisting. Service records indicate he suffered gunshot wounds to the legs in 1917 and was hospitalised. He was my great uncle. - Jan Cook
"Killed in Action.
Word has been received from the Defence Depart ment that Pte. W. J. Leach has been killed in action. The deceased soldier was the third youngest son of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Leach, late of Warburton, whose elder brother, Pte. T. H. Leach, is on active service. He sailed for the front in October, 1916. and was badly wounled in September, 1917. After being for some time in hospital in England, he returned to the firing line, and was killed in action on the 5th October, 1918. Deceased is a nephew of Mr. H. Leach, the well-known merchant, of Main st., Lilydale." - from the Lilydale Express 08 Nov 1918 (nla.gov.au)
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