WELLMAN, Leo Joseph
| Service Number: | 3411 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 16 March 1917 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 34th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Marrickville, New South Wales, Australia, 11 November 1898 |
| Home Town: | Marrickville, Marrickville, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Sydney Technical High School, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Telephone mechanic |
| Died: | Engadine, New South Wales, Australia, 24 February 1965, aged 66 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Woronora Memorial Park, Sutherland, New South Wales |
| Memorials: | Marrickville Chapel Street Junior Technical School Roll of Honour, Sydney Technical High School WW1 Roll Of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 16 Mar 1917: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3411, 34th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 16 Jul 1917: | Involvement Private, 3411, 34th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '17' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Port Melbourne embarkation_ship_number: A16 public_note: '' | |
| 16 Jul 1917: | Embarked Private, 3411, 34th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Port Melbourne, Sydney |
Help us honour Leo Joseph Wellman's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Sydney Technical High School
Leo Joseph Wellman was born on 11 November 1898 in Marrickville, New South Wales, the son of Joseph John Wellman and Eva Jane Kruath Wellman. He grew up in an inner-Sydney family with siblings Clara Ettie, Louis John R. and Arthur William. In 1911, at the age of twelve, he began his studies at Sydney Technical High School in Ultimo, where he completed his secondary education. After leaving school, Wellman worked as a telephone mechanic with the Wellington Post Office.
Wellman enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 16 March 1917. He embarked from Sydney on HMAT Port Melbourne on 16 July 1917 and was posted to the 34th Infantry Battalion as part of the 7th and 8th Reinforcements. The 34th Battalion, raised largely from New South Wales, served on the Western Front and took part in several major Allied offensives.
He disembarked at Liverpool, Egnaldn18th September and was in Parkhurst Military Hospital the following month with mumps. In November he was transferred to the No 3 Convalescent Depot. He marched in to 9th Training Battalion at the beginning of December. Wellman proceeded to France 30th January 1918. He was taken on strength with the 34th Battalion 7th February 1918.
May 1918 Wellman was back in hospital sick, once recovered he was discharged to base 9th June and rejoined his unit in the field on the 16th June. Once again he was sick in August, this time with influenza and was readmitted to hospital. In late September he was transferred to a convalescence depot. Wellman rejoined his unit 1st October. Two weeks later he attended Corps Gas School for a week and rejoined his unit 20th October.
Wellman returned to Australia disembarking 5th September 1911 and he was discharged a month later.
Wellman returned to Sydney on 22 July 1919 and resumed life in the inner suburbs. In 1924 he married Florence Louise Wickers in Marrickville and two years later they welcomed a son, Leon Charles (1926 - 2001). Leon served with the Navy as a Signal Electrican during WW2.
Leo Joseph Wellman died on 24 February 1965 at the age of 66. His name is listed on the Sydney Technical High School Honour Roll, preserving the memory of a young man educated at Sydney Tech who served on the Western Front during the final and decisive years of the First World War.
Lest We Forget
Bibliography
Wellman Leo Joseph, Research on Google Drive
https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R2257822
https://app.memories.net/memorials/leojoseph-wellman-92082?utm_
https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1930019
https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/L1SW-R9S/leo-joseph-wellman-1898-1965
https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/174792
https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/DetailsReports/ItemDetail.aspx?Barcode=8380584&isAv=N
https://aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=318373
Endnotes
AIF, Leo Joseph Wellman service records
Family search, Leo Joseph Wellman parents, spouse, siblings, kids
Google Drive, sources of Leo Joseph Wellman during the war
Virtual War memorial, Leo Joseph Wellman birth date and death date
Australian War Memorial, sources of evidence of Leo Joseph Wellman service
Memoirs Memorial, Leo Joseph Wellman source
NAA, Leo Joseph Wellman enlistment and deployment
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