Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Leslie Ernest Barlow was born in 1894, in Koolunga, SA. He was born to father Charles Barlow. His home address at time of enlistment was Meade Street, Exeter. He was raised a Methodist. He was described as having a fair complexion, with green eyes and blond hair. He worked as a blacksmith before enlisting in the military. He was almost 21 years of age at the time of his enlistment and he was not married and had no children. 

On the 26th of November 1914 he enlisted and was assigned to be a part of the 2nd reinforcements to the 10th Battalion. We can assume he was a very patriotic man who had a very strong sense of pride for his country. We can infer this due to how early in the war he enlisted. Barlow underwent basic training in Morphettville, the main training ground of the 10th Battalion. This training includes trench warfare, bomb throwing, bayonet combat, etc. On Boxing Day, Barlow embarked for Alexandria on the HMAT MacGillivray.

After training in Alexandria, 3 months later Barlow embarked for Gallipoli on the HMT Southlands. Here he would have fought with the 10th Battalion in the battle of Lone Pine, one of the battles in the initiation of the August Offensive. Unfortunately, Barlow contracted diarrhoea on the 8th of August 1915 and was transferred away from the fighting to the Mudros hospital in Greece. This was likely due to the poor conditions in the trenches at Gallipoli, specifically the contaminated water sources soldiers such as Barlow had to drink from. 

By the time Barlow was deemed ready to re-join the battalion, the ANZAC soldiers had been transferred to the Western Front, in Europe. Barlow was one of the numbers of South Australians who were transferred to the 50th Battalion, in an effort to expand and strengthen the number of soldiers who fought on the Western Front. On the 12th of June 1916, Barlow joined his fellow soldiers in Marseille. Infantrymen much like Barlow were a huge part of the war in the West, particularly in the battle of Mouquet farms. 50th battalion was a part of the coordinated attack against this strategically important ridge not far from the Pozieres battleground. The fighting was brutal for foot soldiers like Barlow, with a lot of close quarters combat which resulted in heavy casualties and brutal fighting. The Germans held the farms by incorporating underground cellars into their defences. The fighting at Mouquet resulted in 11,000 allied casualties, and none of the assaults ended up taking the farm. Barlow was one of these casualties, suffering a gunshot wound during the battle to his right arm on 19th August 1916..

On the 6th of September 1916, Barlow was transferred to an Allied hospital in Boulogne, a harbour town in the north of France. Barlow made a full recovery two months later, being declared fit to return in Etaples, a large Commonwealth base made up of hospitals and reinforcement camps. In late February 1917, Barlow was sent back to hospital with bronchitis. 

Whilst on the Western Front, Barlow was also part of the assault of the Hindenburg line. The Hindenburg Line was a defence made by the retreating Germans who had suffered large losses at the Somme. The fighting was extremely dangerous as the field was destroyed by heavy artillery fire. It was here that Barlow suffered the gunshot wound that ended his war. On the 11th of April 1917, Barlow’s injury was deemed severe enough that Barlow had to be sent to England. Soldiers were sent to England during war time because England was better equipped to take care of soldiers and help them recover from wounds than the military hospitals on the battlefield that were often overpopulated with wounded soldiers. On the 25th of August 1917, Barlow was declared unfit to return to service on the Western Front. This was likely both the severity of the wound he suffered on the Hindenburg line, and the culmination of all of the other injuries and diseases he had suffered from during his service. On the 8th of November, Barlow is officially relieved from military service and discharged.

Not much can be found about Leslie Ernest Barlow after his discharge. He was awarded the 1914/15 star, a medal awarded to the soldiers who enlisted in a military of the British Empire during the years 1914 and 1915, and the Victory Medal, which was awarded to anyone who served in a military of the British Empire during WW1.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P10501163

https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Gallery151/dist/JGalleryViewer.aspx?B=3049671&S=35&N=43&R=0#/SearchNRetrieve/NAAMedia/ShowImage.aspx?B=3049671&T=P&S=1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/50th_Battalion_(Australia)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10th_Battalion_(Australia)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fighting_for_Mouquet_Farm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindenburg_Line

https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1345871?image=3

https://www.awm.gov.au/people/roll-search

https://www.awm.gov.au/advanced-search?query=&collection=true

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Vaderland_(1900)