KING, Philip Gidley Leslie
| Service Number: | 6295 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 14th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Maffra, Victoria, Australia, 1882 |
| Home Town: | Cobram, Moira, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Wheat farming |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 5 February 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
Bancourt British Cemetery V M 2 |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Scott's & Cowley's Creek Roll of Honor |
World War 1 Service
| 7 Sep 1916: | Involvement Private, 6295, 14th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '11' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Port Sydney embarkation_ship_number: A15 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 7 Sep 1916: | Embarked Private, 6295, 14th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Port Sydney, Melbourne |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
6295 Private Philip Gidley Leslie King, 14th Battalion AIF, killed in action 5th February 1917, age 34. He was the son of Philip Gidley King and Octavia Charlotte King, and native to Maffra, Victoria.
Philip King was a wheat farmer at Cobram prior to enlisting. He grew several crops at “Naranghi”. He was a descendent of Phillip Gidley King, the Third Governor of NSW, who had over 50 descendants who served in the First World War.
King was killed in an action on 5th February 1917 called the battle of Stormy Trench, in which success was largely due to the leadership of Captain Henry William Murray, who won the VC during the fight.
Captain Albert Jacka VC was also in D Company with King, and wrote to the Red Cross confirming "Pte. P. G. L. King was killed during the attack on Stormy Trench; he is buried just behind the front line and not in a cemetery. If necessary I can give you the exact map reference of his grave. He was in D Coy and we can still remember him. Our attack was very successful and there can be no doubt about the identity. Trusting this information will be useful to you." signed Captain A. Jacka 14th Bn, France 1918.
Les King, as he was known, left a wife and an infant son and daughter. His body was found after the war and reinterred in Bancourt British Cemetery, France.
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