MILLAR, Leo Joseph
| Service Number: | 2199 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 29 April 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 4th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, 8 December 1900 |
| Home Town: | Collingwood, Yarra, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Sailor |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 29 Apr 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2199, 4th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 16 Jun 1915: | Involvement Private, 2199, 4th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '8' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Karoola embarkation_ship_number: A63 public_note: '' | |
| 16 Jun 1915: | Embarked Private, 2199, 4th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Karoola, Sydney |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
2199 Leo Joseph Miller (true name Millar) suffered a shrapnel wound to his right hip at the Battle of Lone Pine and was ready to return to duty in September 1915. The AIF discovered he was only 14 years and 9 months old; his date of birth being supplied by a desperate mother. He had already been discharged once in Melbourne for enlisting underage when Mum wrote to the AIF. Somehow, he got to Sydney in a few weeks and enlisted again. His mother declared in her letter that he was born on the eighth day in December 1900. His father was 1394 Private William Millar 5th Battalion AIF was already on active service at Gallipoli. Leo was returned to Australia on the 3rd January 1916, underage. He enlisted again during WW2, this time stating he was born 5 years later, 8 December 1905.
Leo was a member of the 6th reinforcements to the 4th Battalion embarked from Sydney on 16 June 1915. They stopped at Fremantle on the way and they disembarked in Egypt on the 21 July and only two weeks later the bulk of them landed the at Anzac to reinforce the 4th Battalion. No time for training. They landed at Gallipoli on the 4 August 1915 and two days later went into the first assault on Lone Pine.