Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

From François Berthout 

Pte 1722 Samuel Leslie
19th Australian Infantry Battalion,
5th Brigade, 2nd Australian Division

In the fields of the Somme, stand eternally and silently, row after row, the solemn graves of thousands of young boys, a whole generation of men who, in the mud and the barbed wire, fought and fell under the skies of a world at war which mowed down so many innocent souls in hurricanes of fire and steel, under an incessant rain of bullets and shells but in this hell that was their war, they stood bravely in the face of the death that waited beyond the parapets and did their duty side by side with pride for peace and freedom, for their country and for France they gave, in the fields of mud, their today, their lives for our tomorrow. Young they were and young they will be forever on these sacred lands of the Somme where we will always remember them with respect, so that their names may live forever in the light of remembrance and through the rays of the sun which puts in its light, the eternal memory of all these young men, my boys of the Somme, over whom I will always watch with care and gratitude to keep their history,their stories, strong and alive.

Today, it is with the utmost respect and with infinite and deep gratitude that I would like to honor the memory of one of these men, one of my boys of the Somme who, for our tomorrow, gave his life.I would like to pay a very respectful tribute to Private number 1722 Samuel Leslie who fought in the 19th Australian Infantry Battalion, 5th Brigade, 2nd Australian Division and who died of illness 106 years ago, on February 9, 1917 at the age of 36 on the Somme front.

Samuel Leslie was born in 1881 in Londonderry, Ireland, and was the son of Joseph and Eliza Jane Leslie, of Tullintrain, Derry County, Ireland. Samuel grew up and was educated in Ireland then after graduation, emigrated to Australia and lived in North Parade, Auburn,New South Wales, where before the outbreak of the war he worked as a labourer.

Samuel enlisted on May 18, 1915 in Liverpool, New South Wales, in the 19th Australian Infantry Battalion, 9th Reinforcement, battalion whose motto was "Fortiter and Fideliter" (Boldly and Faithfully) and after a very short period of training, he embarked with his unit from Sydney, New South Wales, on board HMAT A61 Kanowna on June 19, 1915 and proceeded to join the MEF (Mediterranean Expeditionary Force) on the Gallipoli Peninsula.

On August 16, 1915, Samuel and the 19th Australian Infantry Battalion were disembarked at Gallipoli where they participated in the last action of the August Offensive "the attack on Hill 60."

The fighting for Hill 60 (a low rise in the foothills on the north-western end of ANZAC) together with supporting offensive against the W Hills represented the last major Allied offensive operation on the Peninsula. Conceived as an attempt to consolidate the narrow strip of foreshore connecting British forces at Suvla and established positions at ANZAC. The first unsuccessful attempt to seize Hill 60 on 21 August was hastily planned and poorly arranged; a further attack on August 27 was the prelude for three days of intense fighting during which objectives were taken, lost and retaken. British, New Zealand and Australian units (18th Battalion, 9th and 10th Light Horse and composite group from Monash's 4th Brigade) failed to secure the crest, and the costly attacks were called off on August 29 as a tenuous junction had been attained with the Suvla forces.

Less than a month later, after heavy fighting around Hill 60, Samuel fell ill on September 12, 1915 and was admitted to the 1st Casualty Clearing Station at ANZAC suffering from diarrhea and was evacuated to Mudros, Greece, on September 15 to the 2nd Australian Stationary Hospital suffering from dysentery. The following month, on October 15, still ill, he was evacuated to Gibraltar on board "Caledonia" then admitted to the General Hospital of Gibraltar from where he embarked the following month, on 23 November, on board "Minneapolis" and sailed for England and admitted on November 28 to Beaufor War Hospital, Fishponds, Bristol then after recovering, proceeded to join the BEF (British Expeditionary Force) in France on March 24, 1916 and joined his unit, the 19th Battalion on April 24.

Two months later, on June 8, 1916, for an unknown reason, Samuel was attached to the 2nd Divisional Police then on September 11, to the 2nd Canadian Tunneling Company and returned to the 19th Australian Infantry Battalion on October 24 in Tournehem, Pas- De-Calais then were sent to the Somme on October 26 at Ribemont and he was wounded by a gun shot wound in the left shoulder at Flers on November 14 during an attack led by the 19th Battalion on the "Gird Trench" alongside of the 5th Battalion of the Northumberland Fusiliers.The next day, Samuel was evacuated to the 38th Casualty Clearing Station and sent by Ambulance Train to the 11th Stationary Hospital in Rouen on November 16 and then to the 2nd Convalescent Depot on November 17.

On November 21, 1916, Samuel joined the 2nd Australian Divisional Base Depot at Etaples and the 19th Australian Infantry Battalion in the Somme, at Amiens on December 6. Nine days later, on December 15, he was sentenced to seven days in Field Prison for he was sanctioned with seven days in Field Prison for having been absent without leave for 27 hours then he joined his battalion on December 22 in the front line at Gueudecourt in the "Needle Trench", Switch Trench, relieved the 30th Australian Infantry Battalion of the "Rose Trench" on December 24 and fought in very difficult conditions, in deep mud until December 27, when the 19th Battalion was relieved by the 18th Australian Infantry Battalion and marched to "Delville Camp".

On January 3, 1917, after a short period of rest at Delville Camp, Samuel and the 19th Battalion returned to the front line at Gueudecourt in the "Needle Trench" and the "Switch Trench" from where they relieved the 20th Australian Infantry Battalion then the January 9, they moved to "E Camp" in Delville Wood, Longueval, marched to Dernancourt on January 16 where they remained until December 28, joined their billets in Albert the next day then the "Sussex Camp" in Bazentin-Le- Grand on January 31.

On February 1, 1917, Samuel and the 19th Battalion left Sussex Camp and entered support trenches at Martinpuich and later relieved the 9/11th Battalion of the Black Watch between Le Sars and Eaucourt-l'Abbaye where they were supported by the 44th Australian Infantry Battalion then on February 5, they left the trenches for the "Shelter Wood Camp" near Contalmaison, where unfortunately, four days later, on February 9, 1917, Samuel met his fate and died of alcoholic poisoning, he was 36 years old.

Today, Samuel Leslie rests in peace with his friends, comrades and brothers in arms at Contalmaison Chateau Cemetery, Somme.

Samuel, For Australia and for France, two countries united in the friendship that was born in the trenches, you fought and served with loyalty, with the greatest bravery alongside your friends, your brothers in arms who, with you, stood side by side with pride despite the horrors they went through in the barbed wire, under rains of bullets and shells poured down by the artillery storms that transformed once silent and peaceful landscapes into fields of death who were constantly swept away by deluges of lead which the machine-guns mercilessly spat out at an unrelenting rhythm and which, in a few seconds, mowed down waves of men who moved forward shoulder to shoulder for freedom and peace. Young and full of will, they went without fear towards their destinies and through their heroism, their unfailing courage, they made their country proud in the red sand of Gallipoli and the mud of the Somme where they did their duty with gallantry and honor but the price of each victories, of each battle was heavy and for each step forward, paid the price of thousands of lives in Amiens, in Pozieres, Gueudecourt, Villers-Bretonneux, today silent lands which were hell on earth for thousands of young Australians who for us, came from so far to protect our old country, our values and theirs and who, after so much fury and suffering on the battlefields, found the peace of their final resting places among the poppies of northern France, a country they did not know much but for which they gathered and for which they gave their youth, their lives, a country that will always be theirs and that will always honor the memory of these young men with pride and care, with love and respect.In the prime of their lives, it was together, in the camaraderie and brotherhood that bound them that they found the strength and the courage to fight, they fought by watching over each other, by protecting each other under fire and poison gas, they placed their lives with trust and faith in the hands of their mates.Brave among the bravest, always in the front line, always volunteers,they fought like lions that nothing, not even death could frighten and gave their today, their lives for their pals who shared with them, in chaos and fury , the doubts and the sufferings, the sorrows and the tears, their smiles which kept them united behind a sense of humor that nothing ever broke and it was with their heads held high under their slouch hats that they went over the top, brothers and fathers, friends, all brothers in arms, united under the rising sun, bravely charged to the sound of the whistle towards the enemy lines, under the shrapnel and tons of shells they gave their all without regard for their own lives.They were young and innocent and answered the call of duty to live the greatest adventure of their lives, courageously carried the weight of war on their shoulders and found together, in brotherhood, eternal glory. They wrote the most glorious pages of Australia which lost so many of its sons on the sacred fields of poppies where thousands of them now rest in peace and on which I will always watch with eternal respect to maintain their memory, to tell their stories and bring them back to life so that their names will live on forever, so that their courage and sacrifices will never be forgotten.Thank you so much Samuel, for everything. At the going down of the sun and in the morning,we will remember him, we will remember them.