LEO, John Burnard
| Service Number: | 1222 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 26 September 1914 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 12th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Railton, Tasmania, Australia, 16 August 1890 |
| Home Town: | Devonport, Devonport, Tasmania |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in action, Gallipoli, 8 August 1915, aged 24 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Lone Pine Memorial, Gallipoli Peninsula, Canakkale Province, Turkey. |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Devonport ANZAC Centenary Commemoration Gallipoli Campaign, Devonport Cenotaph, Kentish Municipality Honour Roll Mural, Lone Pine Memorial to the Missing |
World War 1 Service
| 26 Sep 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1222, 12th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 22 Dec 1914: | Involvement Private, 1222, 12th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Themistocles embarkation_ship_number: A32 public_note: '' | |
| 22 Dec 1914: | Embarked Private, 1222, 12th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Themistocles, Melbourne |
Help us honour John Burnard Leo's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
John Burnard Leo was an early enlistment in 1914. Apart from the fact that he landed at Anzac Cove on the very first day on 25 April 1915, nothing is recorded in his service file until his death on 8 August 1915.
Subsequently, John’s mother was queried as to the whereabouts of the father of the soldier son. She wrote, “My husband left me nine years ago last April. I do not know whether he is dead or living. I have made enquiries and cannot find any trace of him. When my husband left me, we had a family of 12, nine of whom were under sixteen years of age, and since then he has not contributed anything at all to their support. My two eldest sons were killed in the War. Yours truly, Mary Leo.
John’s younger brother, 917 Pte. James Francis Leo 26th Battalion AIF, died of wounds a year after his brother, in France on 11 November 1916, aged 21.
During 1917 The Returned Soldiers Costume Comedy Co. was visiting Devonport and tendered a benefit entertainment night free of cost, to raise funds for Mrs. Leo at the Majestic Theatre. The whole town seemed to be aware that she was a widow, and two of her sons had been killed at war, while there had also been considerable illness in the remaining younger children.
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