LEISTER, Leslie
| Service Number: | 4840 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 28 August 1915, Holsworthy, NSW |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 55th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Parkes, New South Wales, Australia, 1894 |
| Home Town: | Lambton, Newcastle, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Postal Assistant |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 20 July 1916 |
| Cemetery: |
Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery I E 5 |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Parkes & District Cenotaph, Parkes District Roll of Honor, Parkes Methodist Church Roll of Honor, Parkes Methodist Church Roll of Honour, Parkes Remembrance Walk |
World War 1 Service
| 28 Aug 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 4840, 3rd Infantry Battalion, Holsworthy, NSW | |
|---|---|---|
| 8 Mar 1916: | Involvement Private, 4840, 3rd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '7' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Star of England embarkation_ship_number: A15 public_note: '' | |
| 8 Mar 1916: | Embarked Private, 4840, 3rd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Star of England, Sydney | |
| 20 Jul 1916: | Involvement Private, 4840, 55th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 4840 awm_unit: 55th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1916-07-20 | |
| Date unknown: | Involvement 55th Infantry Battalion, Fromelles (Fleurbaix) |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Faithe Jones
Son of Sarah Jane Whiteman; Nephew of Robert Duncan and Eliza Leister, of Parkes, New South Wales.
AT REST
DIED IN GERMANY.
PRIVATE LESLIE LEISTER.
Mr and Mrs. R. Leister, of Parkes, have received information from the Information Bureau of the Red Cross Society that the name of their son, Private Leslie Leister, appeared in the German list of dead dated November 4, 1916. Private Leister, who was reported missing on July 19 last, was a native of Parkes. He was 22 years of age, and enlisted at Newcastle in October, 1915.
Last week Mr. R. Leister, of Bogan street, received the following letter from the Information Bureau of the Red Cross Society:—"We regret very much to say that we have just received from our agents in London the following certificate:—Leslie Leister. The above name appeared in the German list of dead, dated 4th November 1916, and we are very much afraid that this means that this soldier has been killed. Our agents instructed us that when we forwarded this information to relatives care should be taken to express that these German death lists are really made up from the discs gathered by the Germans from men who had been killed in the trenches. Our agents understand that it is only when a date or place is mentioned in the certificate that the men lived to be prisoners. Our agents believe that in most cases the German bury the bodies alter obtaining the discs. If this news should prove true we would ask you to accept our sincere sympathy."
The information of Corporal Leister's death being so meagre Mr. and Mrs. Leister still hope that he may be alive and amongst the prisoners taken by the Germans. We sincerely trust it is so. Corporal Leister was a well known and most popular Parkes boy and was just 22 years of age. He was on the staff of the local Post Office for 4 1/2 years, and some five years ago was transferred, to Randwick, and subsequently appointed postal assistant at Lambton, near Newcastle. He enlisted at Newcastle in October, 1915, and was reported missing on the 19th July last.
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