Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Private Leland George 'Tary' Barry was born on the 20th of December, 1895, in Port Lincoln to John Barry and Annie Amelia Barry. With no previous military service, Leland followed in his father's footsteps and became a fisherman.

Leland enlisted on the 10th of January 1915, at the age of 19, and took his oath on the 28th of June aboard the H.M.A.T. 'Geelong'. He had previously embarked onto the H.M.A.T. 'Geelong' on the 31st of May 1915, bound for Egypt. At enlistment, he was assigned to the 7th infantry Brigade, 27th Battalion.

After training in Egypt, Leland arrived in Gallipoli with the battalion in the month of September and stayed there until the evacuation. During this period Leland was admitted to the 7th field ambulance on the 2nd of November and discharged 3 days later. After leaving Gallipoli, the battalion embarked to Mudros and later to Alexandria on the 10th of January 1916. In March the battalion was sent to join the British Expeditionary Force in Marseilles, France.

About 2 months after arriving and serving in the trenches of Armentieres, Leland was admitted to the 74th field ambulance and then transferred to the 25th general hospital on the 20th of June with an ingrown toenail. He was then discharged 6 days later only to be admitted to the 26th general hospital on the 30th. Leland eventually re-joined the battalion on the 16th of July.

July was spent moving from Bertangles on the 14th to La Boiselle and Sausage Gully on the 28th. On the way, they stayed at Toutencourt, Warloy and the Brickfields near Albert. On the 28th of July, the battalion moved to La Boiselle at about 4 pm and occupied trenches and dugouts in Sausage. At 8 pm the company moved to the jumping-off position before the attack. The attack opened at 11:15 pm with a one-minute bombardment on the O.G.1 (enemy 1st line) and O.G.2 (enemy 2nd line) and a lifting barrage behind the 5th, 6th and 7th brigades. The 27th battalion acted as a reserve battalion to the 7th brigade. On account of the wire not being cut, incorrect shooting on the part of the artillery etc, the attack was a failure and heavy casualties were suffered.

The 27th battalion moved off from La Boiselle on the afternoon of August 4. The first platoon moved at about 5:30 pm and the arrangements were for A+B company to occupy the jumping-off trenches in the front of the frontline, and to form the first and second waves of the assault with O.G.1 as objective. D+C company formed the third and fourth waves, with special carrying parties following as a fifth wave. Companies moved so they would be composed of the right and left companies: the 6th,5th,2nd and 1st divisions formed the first wave, this included the 27th battalion as part of the 2nd division. A+B companies assaulted O.G.1. with both waves easily reaching the objective. A+B+D companies worked hard on the consolidation of O.G.1 throughout the night. Capt. Devonshire reported that about 4:30 am on the 5th the enemy launched a counterattack against O.G.1 but were repulsed, by Vickers M.G, Lewis gun and rifle fire. The casualties to the enemy were estimated to be 100 including 2 officers, the remainder surrendered. Due to their position in the 2nd division, the 27th battalion were the ones to actually capture and hold the Pozieres windmill.

The battalion went on to fight in the Battle of the Somme until they were relieved on the 12th of October. Their next major battle was November 5th at Flers and Gueudecourt where the battalion had to navigate complex trenches known as 'The Maze' to get to where they would attack the enemy at Bayonet Trench. This area was in a tug of war between the 2 sides but eventually ended up in enemy hands, on the 19th of November in a surprise attack.

On 20th November, Leland was sick to hospital with trench feet. On the 24th of November, only 5 days after the surprise attack, Leland embarked the H.S. 'Western Australia' at Rouen, France to England. He was admitted to the 3rd western general hospital where he stayed for 17 days before being transferred to an auxiliary hospital. On the 4th of January 1917, Leland was transferred again to King George's Military Hospital in Wareham, England where he stayed for 11 days before being transferred to the 3rd auxiliary hospital in Dartford, England. Leland was eventually discharged on the 3rd of February 1917. He spent the remainder of 1917 in England, rejoining the 27th Battalion on 10th May 1918.

The battalion was stationed near the Amiens and Albert areas for all of May and moved to the Sailly-le-Sec for the latter half of June 1918. On the 11th, the battalion's front lines and supports were shelled by the enemy, Leland was wounded in action. He embarked for England and was admitted to the Royal Victoria Hospital, more commonly known as Netley Hospital, where he spent 2 months recovering. On the 17th of August, Leland married Alberta Frances Van Den Bergh while still in hospital and was discharged 5 days later.

On the 11th of October 1918, Leland was transferred to the Australian Provost Corps in Tidworth, England where he stayed until he was transferred back to the 27th Battalion and returned to Australia on the 'Windhuk' with his wife and child.

Leland received the British war medal, the Victory medal and the 1914-15 star in recognition of his service. in 1967, Leland applied for the Gallipoli medallion but there is no evidence clearly showing that he ever received it. His last known place of residence is 19 Mortlock Terrace, Port Lincoln. Private Leland George 'Tary' Barry passed away on the 28th of January 1981 at age 84. He was laid to rest in Happy Valley Cemetery, Port Lincoln in that garden of remembrance.

Bibliography

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Healing the first world war: Royal Victoria Hospital, Netley – in pictures. (2014). The Guardian. [online] 21 Aug. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2014/aug/21/first-world-war-royal-victoria-hospital-netley-in-pictures?CMP=gu_com [Accessed 26 Mar. 2021].

recordsearch.naa.gov.au. (n.d.). Session expired | RecordSearch | National Archives of Australia. [online] Available at: https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/DetailsReports/ItemDetail.aspx?Barcode=3053224&isAv=N [Accessed 26 Mar. 2021].

Sa.gov.au. (2021). State Library of South Australia / All Locations. [online] Available at: https://www.catalog.slsa.sa.gov.au/search~S1?/X(Leland+George+Barry)&searchscope=1&SORT=D/X(Leland+George+Barry)&searchscope=1&SORT=D&SUBKEY=(Leland+George+Barry)/1%2C3%2C3%2CB/frameset&FF=X(Leland+George+Barry)&searchscope=1&SORT=D&2%2C2%2C [Accessed 26 Mar. 2021].

sarcib.ww1.collections.slsa.sa.gov.au. (n.d.). Leland George Barry | South Australian Red Cross Information Bureau. [online] Available at: https://sarcib.ww1.collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/soldier/leland-george-barry [Accessed 26 Mar. 2021].

vwma.org.au. (n.d.). 27th Infantry Battalion. [online] Available at: https://vwma.org.au/explore/units/2 [Accessed 26 Mar. 2021].

Wellcome Library. (n.d.). Album of photographs of the King George V Military Hospital, Stamford Street, London, First World War. [online] Available at: https://wellcomelibrary.org/item/b19017911#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0 [Accessed 26 Mar. 2021].

www.awm.gov.au. (n.d.). | The Australian War Memorial. [online] Available at: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1339166 [Accessed 26 Mar. 2021].