COLLINS, Leonard Vincent
| Service Number: | 3544 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 5 August 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 52nd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Waratah, Tasmania, Australia, 30 August 1896 |
| Home Town: | Waratah, Waratah/Wynyard, Tasmania |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in action, Mouquet Farm, France, 3 September 1916, aged 20 years |
| Cemetery: |
Serre Road Cemetery No.1 Plot VII, Row G, Grave No. 11. IN LOVING MEMORY OF THE DEARLY LOVED SON OF MRS. COLLINS, WARATAH |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 5 Aug 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3544, 12th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 10 Nov 1915: | Involvement Private, 3544, 12th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Ascanius embarkation_ship_number: A11 public_note: '' | |
| 10 Nov 1915: | Embarked Private, 3544, 12th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ascanius, Melbourne | |
| 3 Mar 1916: | Transferred 52nd Infantry Battalion, Transferred from 11th Reinforcements for 12th Battalion to the 52nd Battalion at Tel-el-Kebir Egypt on 3 March 1916 | |
| 4 Sep 1916: | Involvement Private, 3544, 52nd Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 3544 awm_unit: 52nd Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1916-09-04 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Leonard Vincent Collins was the only son of Dennis and Dora Collins of Waratah, Tasmania. He was reported as missing during the heavy fighting at Mouquet Farm on 4 September 1916. Eye witnesses stated that they saw him shot and killed by an enemy sniper. It was only four days after his 20th birthday. Dora Collins, the mother, was most anxious for her son and wrote many times to the AIF seeking some official clarification of his fate. She was full time caring for her husband, Dennis Collins, who had been an invalid for 13 years.
During January 1917 she wrote to Senator Pierce to ask if he could find anything about her son, Signaller L.V. Collins. She had only received a wire informing her that he was missing on 4 September 1916. She had written several letters to the AIF and received no reply. She had just received notice from the Army pay office that his pay would be cut off from her from 6 February 1917. She had also received letters from his mates telling her he had been killed in action. She was very anxious to learn whether it was true. The soldier friends had assumed that she had received official notification of his death. “He is our only dear son, and my only support, his father is a cripple and in spite of all this we still clinging to hope.”
During May 1917 she was officially informed that her son Leonard was killed in action on 4 September 1916. Her husband passed away during October 1917.
She wrote again during 1919, seeking advice about her pension “I am getting one pound per week and it is not sufficient to keep me. Paying rent and buying wood, those are all high, and the price of living of course you know and I am not able to work to earn any or I would willingly do it and not complain. My son was the only one I had to depend on to keep me as he was my only boy.”
During 1923 the War Graves were successful in the locating the remains of Leonard Vincent Collins, identified by the presence of his disc, which was forwarded to his mother in 1924 along with the words, “Doubtless this memento, though considerably impaired through long exposure, will be greatly valued by you on account of its former intimate association with your son.”
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