RICE, Leslie Thomas
| Service Number: | 9908 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 24 January 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Driver |
| Last Unit: | 1st Divisional Train |
| Born: | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 13 January 1897 |
| Home Town: | Belmore, Canterbury, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Sydney Technical High School, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Student |
| Died: | Belmore, New South Wales, Australia, 29 January 1976, aged 79 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Sydney Technical High School WW1 Roll Of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 24 Jan 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Driver, 9908, 4th Motor Transport Company | |
|---|---|---|
| 5 May 1916: | Involvement Driver, 9908, 1st Divisional Train, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '21' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Karroo embarkation_ship_number: A10 public_note: '' | |
| 5 May 1916: | Embarked Driver, 9908, 1st Divisional Train, HMAT Karroo, Sydney |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Sydney Technical High School
Leslie Thomas Rice was born on the 13th of January 1897 in Sydney, New South Wales (1) to Thomas Rice and Phoebe Rice. He was raised on Drummond Street, Belmore, New South Wales, in a house named Woniora (2). Leslie Thomas Rice was a Methodist (3).
Leslie enrolled for Sydney Technical High School in 1909, where achieved strong results in German (4). He also had a good work ethic, with teachers noting his work and conduct in class as being good to very good (5). Leslie had brown hair and blue eyes (6). Standing at 5 feet and 9 inches tall (~175 cm) (7), Leslie Thomas Rice had a rather small chest size of 30-33 ½ when fully expanded, and was lighter than average too, coming in around 57 kg (8). Thomas Rice Leslie decided to enlist for military service on the 24th of January 1916, at the age of 18 years and 1 month (9).
Soon after arriving in Egypt on the 24th of June 1916, after departing Sydney on the 5th of May, Leslie was hospitalized with abdominal pains. He recovered and by 2 August 1916 he embarked to England marching in to training depot on 21st of August 1916.
In February 1917, he was sent to France to serve on the Western Front, where he took on duties to transport ammunition and later supplies for the 4th Australian Division. In September 1917, he was officially appointed as a Driver (12). He remained in France during 1918. He took two weeks leave to the UK in January 1919 and returned to France before becoming ill and transferring back to England in February to hospital in Weymouth. He returned to Australia arriving 17 April 1919 and was discharged 9 June 1919.
He continued his university course (13) and moved on to a long career in New South Wales Public service. In 1920, he was appointed as a Clerk in the Returned Soldiers’ Settlement Branch of the Department of Lands (14), where he helped manage the government’s scheme to provide support and land to returning soldiers who wanted to return to civilian life. Rice was not a recipient of a program, but his role was critical in the post-war reconstruction efforts. He handled tasks which would shape the futures of many veterans, for 37 years, where he retired in November of 1957 (15). This career length is notable, as this would have meant he has served returning soldiers for both world wars, reflecting his commitment to public service throughout his life. During this time, Leslie also built a family. He married Jessie Doris Isoline Gale Rice and became the father of Robert, Maida, Thomas, Eric and Alan Vale (16).
Leslie Thomas Rice passed away on the 10th of December 1966, at the age of 69, just 1 month short of his 70th birthday.
Endnotes
(1) Leslie Thomas Rice-The AIF Project
(2) Ibid
(3) National Archives of Australia, B2455, Rice Leslie Thomas Description on enlistment
(4) THS 1914 Class 3A Term 1
(5) Ibid
(6) National Archives of Australia, B2455, Rice Leslie Thomas Description on enlistment
(7) Ibid
(8) Ibid
(9) Ibid
(10) National Archives of Australia, B2455, Rice Leslie Thomas War Gratuity Schedule
(11) 1. "4th Division Ammunition Column," BirtwistleWiki,
(12) National Archives of Australia, B2455, Rice Leslie Thomas War Gratuity Schedule
(13) National Archives of Australia, B2455, Rice Leslie Thomas Demobilisation form
(14) Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales (Sydney, NSW : 1901 - 2001), Friday 12 November 1920 (Rice 1920 appointed clerk.pdf) (National Library of Australia)
(15) Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales (Sydney, NSW : 1901 - 2001), Friday 8 November 1957 (No.139 (SUPPLEMENT)), page 3597 (Rice 1957 retirement Lands Dept.pdf) (National Library of Australia)
(16) Find a Grave, Leslie Thomas Rice, (accessed 7 September 2025)