Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Life before the war

Leonard John Whitbread was born on the 31st May 1894 in Malala, South Australia. Before enlisting to war he worked as a baker. Leonard had no previous military service. He was the 6th child of Eliza Ann (Jury) Whitbread and Josiah James Whitbread. His father died before Leonard departed to war (6th December 1912). He has 6 sisters and 3 brothers. He was the only child that went to the First World War. His family had immigrated from England. His next of kin was his mother, Eliza Whitbread as he was not already married. He followed the Methodist religion. In 1910 when putting a shoe on an emery wheel to polish it he almost cut off his fingers. After being rushed to the hospital, he was checked up by the doctors, but he was fine.

Life during the war

On the 20th of March 1916, Leonard travelled to Port Pirie to enlist in the war. Leonard joined the army to fight for his country, he could have been very patriotic coming from a British background. Soldiers were given a wage, a roof over their heads, food and healthcare, this could have been very appealing. He may have also sought adventure. Leonard was going to join the 10th Battalion in France. This was one of the first battalions to be created in South Australia.  His training began at the Morphettville Racecourse in South Australia. Here he received basic training before his embarkation and service overseas. On the 7th of October 1916, 201 days after enlistment Leonard boarded the HMAT A19 Afric on the way to England. After 63 long days at sea, the ship disembarked at Plymouth England. When arriving in England he continued his training the conditions were tough and difficult. He had to learn to be disciplined and to constantly be on the same routine every day with no days off. Holding a private position in the army, Leonard travelled to Etaples in France on the 6th of April 1917 where he joined the 10th Battalion to fight in the battle of Bullecourt.

He demonstrated true ANZAC spirit by signing up to fight in the war even though he would’ve heard all the horrific stories that had happened at war as he joined late 1916s when the enlistment numbers were dropping. Leonard also showed true spirit as he never gave up when he got sick and wounded multiple times.

Leonard’s first battle started after being only 4 days after he joined the Battalion. Due to poor planning, the attack was a disaster, on the 10th of April an attack was postponed leaving soldiers caught out in danger in deep snow. During this failed attack Australia suffered many horrible causalities. Leonard would’ve faced very tough conditions during this battle, under heavy artillery shelling, machine gun fire, mortar, grenade exchanges and very brutal hand-to-hand fighting.

Even through the constant fighting and terrible conditions, the soldiers would still try to participate in some ‘normal’ activities. On Electoral Voting day, 29/4/17 the soldiers of the 10th Battalion participated in a competitive football match against the 3rd M.G.Company. The soldiers also participated in what they called trench sports competing in athletic events against each other in their battalions including hurdles, sprints, tug of war, three legged races, relays and wheelbarrow.

During May, Leonard participated in the second battle of Bullecourt after the first failed attack in April. This battle was more successful than the first as the 10th Battalion advanced to enemy trenches. After a week of fighting, the Germans gave up, and then the Australian battalions were ordered to withdraw. Even after the intense fighting the Allies only managed to advance a kilometre at the cost of 7,000 Australian casualties many from the 10th Battalion.

Through until June he trained, fought and lived with the 10th Battalion. Leonard participated in a lot of training. On the 14/6/17 Leonard was struck off strength leaving the 10th Battalion for only 4 days when he returned on the 18/6/17. After returning he continued to fight and train for 3 weeks and then he was transferred to the hospital 8/7/17 from trench feet. He returned back to his unit 12 days later on the 20/7/17. The Allies were fighting hard on the Western Front as a continuous effort to wear down German defences using numerous strategic moves.

The conditions were very brutal with heavy rain during the battlefield into muddy ground. On the 24th of November 1917, Leonard was transported to hospital once again with trench feet and he wasn’t released until the 5th of December 1917. He was transferred to the 1st Australian Auxiliary hospital in England mainly dominated by Australian patients where he was cared for.

He continued fighting on the Western Front with the 10th Battalion during late December and early January, the battalion moved a lot around France marching to different locations such as Remilly, Enquin-sur-Baillons, Vaudringhem and Wizernes. The battalion also moved and trained at two camps in the early months of 1918 these were Wulverghem and Tournai camp. During April and May, Leonard spent most of his time at hospitals situated in England as he was very unwell. He had tonsilitis in April and an abscess in May.

In June, he returned from the hospital just as the Battalion had prepared an attack, in attempt to sieze lost ground from the Germans. This was called the Merris Sector. On the first attack on the 3rd of June, the Allies took 21 prisoners and captured 3 machine guns. During this attack, Leonard was wounded by a bullet through his muscles of anterior aspect of his left thigh. It was a clean wound with no complications but he was in hospital for two weeks. He was shot by a German automatic revolver. He returned on the 17th of June to Battle. During the final months of the war, Leonard fought on the western front trying to gain land on the Germans.

On 11th of 1918 after 4 years of horrific fighting and many losses, the Western Front fell silence the war was over as an armistice was signed. The withdrawal of Allie and German forces meant no more fighting and suffering. Leonard disembarked from England on the 18th of June 1919 and returned to Australia on the 11th of October 1919 almost a year after the war concluded.

Life After the War

After Leonard returned to war, the 10th Battalion AIF Association was created. the association is still going as of today but it is unknown if Leonard attended at the time. When he finished the war he was awarded a British War Medal and Victory Medal for his service in the war. He moved jobs to a lineman Leonard aged 33 married Alice Louisa Palmer on the 2nd of April 1927 in Clayton Congregational Church, Norwood; South Australia. His death place and date was unknown and his grave is unknown.

Bibliography

“| the Australian War Memorial.” Www.awm.gov.au, www.awm.gov.au/collection/E84354.

“WHITBREAD, John Leonard.” Freepages.rootsweb.com, freepages.rootsweb.com/~moadfamily/family/Family/PS293/PS293_472.HTM. Accessed 20 Mar. 2024.

Tibbitts, Craig. “The Battles for Bullecourt | the Australian War Memorial.” Awm.gov.au, 3 Apr. 2007, www.awm.gov.au/articles/blog/the-battles-for-bullecourt .

“Weapons Used by the Australian Army in World War I | Anzac Portal.” Anzacportal.dva.gov.au, 7 Nov. 2019, anzacportal.dva.gov.au/wars-and-missions/ww1/military-organisation/army-weapons.

“France.” Www.awm.gov.au, www.awm.gov.au/collection/PL1004. Accessed 20 Mar. 2024.

“Details.” Www.aif.adfa.edu.au, www.aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=320527. Accessed 20 Mar. 2024.

“| the Australian War Memorial.” Awm.gov.au, 2016, www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1339170.

“Session Expired | RecordSearch | National Archives of Australia.” Recordsearch.naa.gov.au, recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/DetailsReports/ItemDetail.aspx?Barcode=7545703&isAv=N. Accessed 20 Mar. 2024.

“Australian Soldiers, Memorials and Military History.” Vwma.org.au, 2019, vwma.org.au/.

“Mallala.” Yorke’s Peninsula Advertiser, 16 Apr. 1880, trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/216305367?searchTerm=Mallala%20Whitbread. Accessed 20 Mar. 2024.

“Family Notices.” North Western Advocate and the Emu Bay Times, 26 Aug. 1904, trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/64671742?searchTerm=Eliza%20Whitbread#. Accessed 20 Mar. 2024.

Burness, Peter. Eighty-Five Years Ago, Australian Soldiers Began a Terrible Struggle in France. 1914.

“First World War the Western Front.” Department of Veterans’ Affairs, 14 Mar. 2023, www.dva.gov.au/newsroom/media-centre/media-backgrounders/first-world-war-western-front#:~:text=The%20AIF%20suffered%20its%20greatest.

“Eliza Ann (Jury) Whitbread (1861-1948) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree.” Www.wikitree.com, 11 May 1861, www.wikitree.com/wiki/Jury-1121. Accessed 20 Mar. 2024.

“Life Story: Leonard John Whitbread | Lives of the First World War.” Livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk, livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/7628038. Accessed 20 Mar. 2024.

corporateName =Department of Veterans’ Affairs; address=21 Genge St, Civic/Canberra City. “Enlisting in the Australian Forces during World War I.” Anzac Portal,

Department of Veterans' Affairs. “Enlisting in the Australian Forces during World War I.” Anzacportal.dva.gov.au, 11 Mar. 2020, anzacportal.dva.gov.au/wars-and-missions/ww1/military-organisation/enlistment.

corporateName =Department of Veterans’ Affairs; address=21 Genge St, Civic/Canberra City.

“Bapaume to Bullecourt: The Fighting in France, 1917 | Australian War Memorial.” Www.awm.gov.au, www.awm.gov.au/articles/blog/bapaume-to-bullecourt-the-fighting-in-france-1917.

“Anzac Spirit | the Australian War Memorial.” Www.awm.gov.au, www.awm.gov.au/articles/encyclopedia/anzac/spirit#:~:text=Anzac%20came%20to%20stand%20for.