Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

DE CHASTEL  Leo #5387  15th Battalion
 
Leo De Chastel was born in Mount Morgan and according to his stepmother, Agnes, who completed the Roll of Honour Circular at the end of the war, attended Gracemere State School. When Leo enlisted on 20th January 1916, he stated his occupation as stockman and gave his address as C/- Post Office Mount Morgan.
 
Leo had named his sister, Mrs Eva Shackleton of James Street Mount Morgan as his next of kin. He was 22 years old and presented as a short stocky man; 5’3” tall but with a 38” chest. Leo presented himself to Enoggera Camp on 23rdFebruary where he was allocated to the 13th Depot Battalion before being allocated as a reinforcement for the 15thBattalion, which was at that time in Egypt. He travelled to Sydney by train and embarked on the “Hawkes Bay” on 20thApril 1916.
 
Leo disembarked in Egypt on 25th May and two days later was taken on strength by the 15th Battalion. Five days after joining the 15th, the battalion, along with the rest of the 4th Division, boarded a ship for Marseilles, which was reached on 8th June. From Marseilles the battalion travelled by train to the northern sector of the Western Front.
 
The battalion route marched in heavy rain to billets at Steenwerck where much needed training was carried out before a brief stint in the line at Bois Grenier. During the six weeks of June and July, the battalion practised coordinating Lewis gun teams, signals and platoon manoeuvres. At the request of the Army commander a trench raid was staged against the German line at Bois Grenier led by Lieutenant Albert Jacka of the 14th Battalion. Jacka was a celebrity in the AIF, having won the AIF’s first VC at Gallipoli. In spite of the positive spin placed on the raid it was not a success. The enemy wire was not cut by a trench mortar bombardment and not a single officer returned unwounded. The Germans launched a rapid counter raid which inflicted far more damage than the Australians had done. This was not a good start for the Division.
 
 
On 1st July 1916, General Haig, supreme British commander of the western front, launched what he hoped would be the grand offensive to end the war. He chose as his battleground the area which separated the British and French armies, the valley of the River Somme. Haig was trusting in the sheer weight of numbers of his army. History records that the British suffered 60,000 casualties on the first day. It was apparent that barbed wire and machine guns were more than a match for straight lines of soldiers marching with bayonets fixed towards heavily defended positions.
In spite of the enormous cost in manpower, Haig had no choice but to push on.
 
To maintain the momentum, the 1st and 2nd Australian Divisions were shipped south from the Armentieres sector to take the high point of a ridge at Pozieres, which was achieved between 25th July and 2nd August. The 4th Division, which included Leo and his mates in the 15th Battalion arrived at Albert on 2nd August and were put into the line to hold the positions already gained. Eye witnesses of the Pozieres battle described the artillery bombardments by the Germans as the worst the experienced during the entire war. The war diary of the 15th Battalion records the casualty figures for the battalion in the period 5th to 9th August as 48 killed, 337 wounded and 45 missing (presumed KIA). These figures comprise almost 50% of the battalion’s strength. Among the casualties was Leo De Chastel, killed in action (most probably by artillery shell) on 9th August. His file contains a notation; buried at Pozieres, but there was no location given and as a result of the artillery barrages and the fact that the ground around Pozieres would be fought over twice more before the war ended, his grave was lost.
 
By the time that Pozieres drew to a close, the Australians had suffered over 23,000 casualties. On the site of the Pozieres battlefield today is a commemorative stone which reads:
 
“The ruin of the Pozieres windmill which lies here was the centre of the struggle on this part of the Somme Battlefield in July and August 1916. It was captured by Australian troops who fell more thickly on this ridge than on any other battlefields of the war.”
 
Leo’s sister Eva was advised of his death and almost a year later received a parcel of his personal effects which included an identity disc, wristwatch and a wallet.
 
When medals were being distributed at the end of the war, Leo’s step mother wrote to the authorities advising that Leo’s father was now deceased, but it had been his dying wish that she should receive Leo’s medals. Her request was granted and the medals were despatched along with the plaque and scroll to an address in Alma Lane, Rockhampton.
 
Leo de Chastel is commemorated on the Australian National Memorial at Villers Bretonneux along with 10,000 other Australians who died in France and have no known grave.