AUSTEN, Leonard Earl
| Service Number: | NX15496 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 17 May 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/13th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, 3 February 1919 |
| Home Town: | Grafton, Clarence Valley, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | St Joseph's Orphanage School, Cowper, New South Wales |
| Occupation: | Truck Driver |
| Died: | Stockton, Newcastle, New South Wales, 5 July 1998, aged 79 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Stockton General Cemetery, New South Wales, Australia https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/49505024/leonard-ernest-austen |
| Memorials: | Australian Capital Territory Garden of Remembrance |
World War 2 Service
| 17 May 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, NX15496 | |
|---|---|---|
| 30 Aug 1940: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, NX15496, 2nd/2nd Infantry Battalion, embarked Sydney for Palestine | |
| 1 May 1941: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, NX15496, 2nd/2nd Infantry Battalion, embarked Middle East for service in Greece | |
| 5 Oct 1942: | Transferred Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, 2nd/13th Infantry Battalion | |
| 4 Mar 1943: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, NX15496, 2nd/13th Infantry Battalion, embarked Middle East for Sydney | |
| 10 Aug 1945: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, NX15496, 2nd/13th Infantry Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Private Leonard Earl Austen (Service No:NX15496) initially served two years in the ACMF with 41 Battalion (NAA Attestation Paper) as a Private (Service No:480037). On 17 May 1940 he enlisted in the AIF, and was a Private - graded Driver Mechanic - attached to 2nd/2nd Infantry Battalion on 30 August 1940 when he embarked with his Unit from Sydney for Palestine. Private Austen marched out to 2nd/13th Infantry Battalion on 5 October 1944, and served in the Middle East, Greece, Libya, Bardia, Tobruk and El Alamein before embarking for Sydney on 4 March 1943. Private Austen was attached to 2/13th Infantry Battalion at Discharge on 10 August 1945. Younger brother Harold served in the RAAF in WWII.
Len (aka Lenard Ernest) was born at Coffs Harbour, New South Wales in 1923, eldest of five children of Ernest (Earl) Lenard Austen (b1902 in Ballina, New South Wales) and his first wife Edith Elizabeth Heber (b1906 in Greta, New South Wales). Earl and Edith married in 1922 in Bellingen and lived in Coffs Harbour, Killarney QLD, Coramba and Cowper - Earl was a Labourer and Railway Ganger. The couple separated in 1935, and Earl and his mother cared for the four surviving children until 1936 when they were placed in St Joseph's Orphanage in Cowper. Earl and Edith both remarried - Earl in 1937 in Lismore to Mona Thelma Martin (b1902 in Annandale, New South Wales). Earl and Mona settled in Ballina, where Earl worked as a Ganger and Foreman.
Len was a Truck Driver in Grafton in 1940 when he enlisted in the Army. In 1943 in Maitland, New South Wales he married his first wife, Lola Mary Swinton (b1921 in Greta, New South Wales). Following his Discharge from the Army, Len and Lola lived in Greta and Newcastle, where they raised their family and Len worked as a Winch Driver and Ganger. The couple divorced in 1976, and Len remarried to Norma Joan Keech (b1926 in Mailtand, New South Wales) - Norma was working in Maitland as a Laundress. Len died in 1998 and Norma in 2017. Lola died in 2015.
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