Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Private Leslie Albert “Les” McFarlane 6th Reinforcements 5th Battalion, Infantry Brigade - landed at Gallipoli for only nine days and wounded on his first day of action at Lone Pine, ultimately losing a leg and being the first man in the district repatriated home. His mother Annie planted a Norfolk (or Bunya) pine tree on his return and in recent years the present owner of the old McFarlane property, Mr Tom De Voil, organised a beautiful dedication to the tree which many locals and McFarlane descendants attended and spoke at. This historic tree can be seen beside the home on your right immediately as you cross the Nicholson River heading east.

Albert Leslie (Les) McFarlane (1888 – 1973) was born on 31st March 1888, the second son and one of 8 children of John McFarlane and his wife Annie (nee Petterson) of Nicholson, Victoria. 

According to official military service records and his personal diary, Les enlisted at Bairnsdale on 20th March 1915, after resigning (as required) from the volunteer 13th Australian (Gippsland) Light Horse Regiment – Bairnsdale, in which he had served for 5 years.

After basic training with his friend Stan Burt at Broadmeadows and Seymour Camps, he sailed from Sydney Harbour on SS Ceramic (A40), on 25th June 1915, travelling via Aden, Suez, Port Said and arriving at Alexandria, Egypt on 23rd July 1915.  

From there Les travelled by train to the camp at Heliopolis (5 miles outside Cairo), where the troops undertook several weeks of training, parading, socialising, climbing pyramids, riding camels and generally enjoying the sights and sounds of nearby Cairo. Returning to Alexandra by train on Sunday 1st August 1915; this was the point of embarkation for reinforcements to the 37,000 troops who took part in the second major offensive at “ANZAC” on the Gallipoli Peninsula (The August Offensive). 

Crossing the Mediterranean on the SS Haveford, Les was issued with 150 rounds of ball ammunition, declaring he now felt like a ‘fair dinkum solder’. The ship arrived at the Port of Mudros (Lemnos) on Wednesday 4th August 1915, from there Les was transhipped in a smaller vessel, landing on the Gallipoli Peninsula at “Z” (Brighton) Beach ANZAC at 11.00 pm and was  ‘taken on strength of Battalion’ on Thursday 5th August 1915. 

The “Second Offensive” was launched on Friday 6th August with a diversionary ANZAC attack on Lone Pine, which in three days of frantic hand to hand combat cost over 2,000 Australian lives.  Les was held in reserve trenches until Tuesday 10th August 1915 when he was moved to the new firing line at 8.00pm. 

On Wednesday 11 August, according to his diary entry:

Still lying in our Saps and it was at 12 noon that a high explosive shell burst through the roof of our Sap and caught three smashing my foot and making a lot of small wounds on my:  legs and arms and breaking another mans nose, the third only received small scratches.  I was completely knocked out by the explosion and the pain was very great had it dressed and was removed to the beach then to the hospital ship where they took my foot off in front of the ankle.

According to official military records, Les was admitted to the Australian Casualty Clearing Station at ANZAC, then transferred to Mudros (Limnos Harbour), taken on board the Hospital Ship Valdavia, and subsequently evacuated to St Elmo Hospital at Valetta Malta, where his right leg was amputated below the knee on 20th August. 

Following 8 weeks convalescence in Malta he embarked on the Hospital Ship Kanowna, departing for Australia on 5th October 1915, collecting additional patients at Alexandria, Egypt and arriving at Melbourne on 22nd November 1915. 

After further hospitalisation and rehabilitation Les was declared medically unfit for active service and was discharged from the AIF on 1st June 1916.  

On his return to Bairnsdale Les is said to have received a great ovation from the residents, being the first of their volunteers to return.  He also received a service medallion enscribed: ‘Presented by his Johnsonville friends for service rendered in the Great European War 1915.’

Les returned to farming at Nicholson, and later at Johnsonville.  On 26th March 1920 his father John McFarlane died age 67 years of pneumonia. (His mother Annie died on 11th October 1939, age 72 years) they are buried together at Bairnsdale Cemetery).

In May 1923 Les married Gertrude Logan of Bairnsdale.  They raised three children John (Jack) (1924-2003), Jean (1925-1981) & Heather (1932-) at their Johnsonville property “Tambo Park”.

Gertrude died on 10th June 1971 age 78 years (they were married for 48 years).

Les died on 2nd July 1973 age 85 years, and is buried alongside Gertrude at the Bairnsdale Lawn Cemetery.