LANDON, Lionel Wallace
| Service Number: | 5046 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Lance Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 35th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Bombala, New South Wales, Australia, 26 March 1893 |
| Home Town: | Auburn, Auburn, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Railway Porter |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 22 August 1918, aged 25 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Goulburn District Railway Employees Great War Honour Roll, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 5 Jul 1916: | Involvement Private, 5046, 20th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '13' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Ajana embarkation_ship_number: A31 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 5 Jul 1916: | Embarked Private, 5046, 20th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ajana, Sydney | |
| 22 Aug 1918: | Involvement Lance Corporal, 5046, 35th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 5046 awm_unit: 35th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Lance Corporal awm_died_date: 1918-08-22 |
Help us honour Lionel Wallace Landon's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by John Oakes
Lionel Wallace LANDON (Service Number 5046) was born in Bombala on 26th March 1893. He joined the NSW Government Railways as a junior porter in the Sydney District. He then lived at Auburn.
He resigned in June 1912 but was re-employed as a porter in July 1914. In May 1915 he transferred to the Goulburn District.
On 31st December 1915 he was medically examined at the Sydney Town Hall Recruiting Depot, and found fit for active service. In January 1916, when he was noted as a goods porter stationed at Galong, he was released from duty to enlist in the AIF at Casula.
He embarked from Sydney in July 1916 and landed in England in August. He was ‘taken on strength’ by the 36th Battalion at the end of September and went to France in November 1916. He was detached from the 36th for various special duties until re-joining it in August 1917. In January 1918 he was sent back to England on a fortnight’s leave. After re-joining his unit in February, he had a week in hospital with Influenza. In March he was detached for duty at Divisional Headquarters in Belgium. In mid-April he re-joined his unit but was transferred to the 35th Battalion at the end of April.
He was appointed Lance Corporal in July and spent a week at a training school before re-joining the 35th on 3rd August.
He was killed in action on 22nd August, near Bray-sur-Somme, less than a month before the Armistice.
His Sergeant reported that he was:
‘killed at the left of Bray by machine gun fire right through the heart. He only lasted about a minute… He met his death as bravely as any man I ever saw. We were consolidating a shell hole to be used as a machine gun post… then about midday and well forward from the line. He was buried that night by the Church of England Padre… he was a splendid soldier and as a section Corporal I had every confidence in him and was just waiting my chance to recommend him for his three stripes, which he would have got easily. He was a fine big fellow, well made and was a perfectly clean living man, being a credit to the AIF uniform.’
Although the map reference of his grave was noted, it could not be located after the war, and he is remembered with honour on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial.
- based on the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll and notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board.
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