PETTIT, Leslie Percival
| Service Numbers: | WX9640, WX9640 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 4 December 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/28th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Dongara, Western Australia, 24 April 1915 |
| Home Town: | Mingenew, Mingenew, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Stockman, Shearer |
| Died: | Geraldton, Western Australia, 31 August 1999, aged 84 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Utakarra Cemetery, Geraldton, Western Australia The Western Australian Garden of Remembrance |
| Memorials: | Mingenew District Road Board WW2 Roll of Honour |
World War 2 Service
| 4 Dec 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Corporal, WX9640 | |
|---|---|---|
| 5 Jul 1941: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, WX9640 , 13 Training Battalion, embarked Fremantle for Middle East | |
| 24 Jul 1942: | Wounded Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, WX9640, 2nd/28th Infantry Battalion, GSW leg | |
| 14 Nov 1942: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Lance Corporal, WX9640, 2nd/28th Infantry Battalion, embarked Middle East for Fremantle | |
| 7 Aug 1943: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Lance Corporal, WX9640, 2nd/28th Infantry Battalion, embarked Cairns for Milne Bay | |
| 24 Sep 1943: | Wounded Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Lance Corporal, WX9640 , 2nd/28th Infantry Battalion | |
| 28 Jan 1944: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Lance Corporal, WX9640, 2nd/28th Infantry Battalion, embarked Finschhafen for Townsville on board Van Heutz | |
| 11 Sep 1944: | Promoted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Corporal, 2nd/28th Infantry Battalion | |
| 29 Mar 1945: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Corporal, WX9640 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Corporal Leslie Percival Pettit (Service No:WX9640) enlisted in the AIF as a Private on 4 December 1940 with 2nd Infantry Training Battalion. Private Pettit was atatched to 13 Infantry Training Battalion when he embarked with his Unit from Fremantle for the Middle East on 5 July 1941, transferring to 2/28th Infantry Battalion in October. Promoted to Lance Corporal, he was WiA (GSW leg) in July 1942 and embarked from the Middle East for Fremantle on 12 November 1942. Lance Corporal Pettit served in New Guinea (7 August 1943 - 28 January 1944) where he was WiA (GSW knee) in September. Corporal Pettit was attached to 2/28th Infantry Battalion at Discharge on 29 March 1945.
Born in Dongara, WA in 1915, Les was third of nine children of Robert Percival Pettit (b1879 in Dongara, WA) and Mary (Minnie) Anne Watson (b1889 in Strawberry, WA). Robert (a Farmer at Brushwood Farm in Dongara) and Minnie married in 1910 in Strawberry, WA and lived in Dongara, Strawberry and Mingenew where they raised their family and Robert was a Farmer and Labourer.
Les was working as a Stockman and Shearer in Mingenew in 1940 when he enlisted in the Army, and in 1943 in Midland Junction married Aleta Jean Longman (b1917 in Namban via Moora, WA). Following his Discharge, Les and Aleta settled in Arrina via Mingenew, where Les was a Sharefarmer. In the mid 1950s they moved to Mingenew, and in the 1960s to Glenfield via Geraldton - Les was a Farmer. In the late 1970s Les and Aleta retired to Mandurah. Les died in 1999 and Aleta in 2017.
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