BELL , Leslie Alfred
| Service Number: | 2332 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 23 June 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 27th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Moorook, South Australia , May 1895 |
| Home Town: | Queenstown, Port Adelaide Enfield, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Port Adelaide Public School, South Australia |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France , 4 August 1916 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Adelaide National War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Maitland War Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 23 Jun 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private | |
|---|---|---|
| 13 Oct 1915: | Involvement Private, 2332, 27th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '15' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Themistocles embarkation_ship_number: A32 public_note: '' | |
| 13 Oct 1915: | Embarked Private, 2332, 27th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Themistocles, Adelaide |
Help us honour Leslie Alfred Bell 's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Adelaide Botanic High School
Leslie Alfred Bell was born in Portland Road, Queenstown, Tasmania. He was a farm labourer before joining the military, single and an only child to Alfred Henry Bell and Ida Emily Bell. Born in Port Adelaide he lived in Moorook, South Australia when he was young, he was a member of the Lower Light Football Club, the All British League and the Rechabite Lodge and attended Port Adelaide Public School, South Australia.
His age at registration was 20 and one month; he was recorded to have a fresh complexion, blue eyes, fair hair, height 5 feet 3 inches and weighing in at 137lbs, his religion being Congregationalism. His service number was 2332 and, he registered in the army on 23/6/15, was placed in the 27th Battalion 13/9/15 and was a Private. He enlisted in South Australia on the 23/6/15, embarking on the 13/9/15 in the 27th Battalion. He stayed in that unit for his remaining time in the Army.
Bell's service record reports that he was awarded 2 days of field punishment due to the 'conduct to the prejudice of good order and military' which happened 6 months before he was killed in action on the 4/8/16.
His mother Ida Emily Bell wrote to the military seeking any reports about what happened to her son. The military responded with an account from Herbert Joseph Lee (service no. 2342) who fought next to Bell. Lee witnessed Bell being shot by a machine gun bullet going over the top at Pozieres. Unfortunately, in the chaos of the fighting the wounded Bell was left behind and was found dead a few hours later.
As his next of kin, his mother Ida Emily Bell, received his small collection of personal items which included: a scarf, a pouch, a fly veil, 6 handkerchiefs and a curios, accompanied by 2 letters which described why she was receiving this and what was included in the parcel.
The notice in the newspaper commemorating passed soldiers wrote that Bell enjoyed the respect of all who knew him.
His gravestone inscription states "BELL, Pte. Leslie Alfred 2332. 27th Bn. 4th Aug., 1916. Son of Alfred Henry and Ida Emily Bell, of Portland Rd., (Queenstown, Tasmania. Born at Port Adelaide, South Australia." The gravestone being held in the Australian National Memorial Bretonneux memorial.
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