MACDONNELL, Leonard Francis
| Service Number: | 1627 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 11 May 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Second Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | 26th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Gympie, Queensland, Australia, 23 June 1896 |
| Home Town: | Gympie, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Convent, Christina Brother's School, Boys' Central State School Gympie, Nudgee College, University of Queensland |
| Occupation: | Student |
| Died: | Killed In Action, Broodeinde Ridge, Belgium, 4 October 1917, aged 21 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" |
| Memorials: | Gympie & Widgee War Memorial Gates, Menin Gate Memorial (Commonwealth Memorial to the Missing of the Ypres Salient), University of Queensland WW1 Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 11 May 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Driver, 1627, 7th Field Ambulance | |
|---|---|---|
| 7 Jun 1915: | Involvement Driver, 1627, 7th Field Ambulance, Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '22' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Chilka embarkation_ship_number: A51 public_note: '' | |
| 7 Jun 1915: | Embarked Driver, 1627, 7th Field Ambulance, HMAT Chilka, Sydney | |
| 4 Oct 1917: | Involvement Second Lieutenant, 26th Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: awm_unit: 26th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Second Lieutenant awm_died_date: 1917-10-04 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Faithe Jones
Son of James and Mary MACDONNELL, South Side, Gympie, Queensland
Mr. and Mrs. James MacDonnell, South side, Gympie, received news on Friday, that their second eldest son, Lieutenant Leonard Francis MacDonnell, had been killed in action in France on October 4. The late Lieutenant MacDonnell was only 21 years of age last June, and enlisted in Brisbane in April, 1915. After being for some months in Egypt, he went to France. It was his third period in the trenches, he having been invalided to England with rheumatic fever, and after returning to the trenches, he was in April last sent to complete a four months' course at Cambridge University for a commission in the infantry, receiving his commission about August. When 13½ years
old he won a Grammar School scholar ship, coming first in Queensland. He received his first tuition at the Convent, then at the Christian Brothers' School, and finally at the Boys' Central State School, Gympie. He had the distinction of winning a University scholarship at the Nudgee College. After passing a very successful junior, a year later he passed the senior, achieving the unusual scholastic distinction of winning a University scholarship one year after the junior examination. He then became a University student, and passed the first year's examination. This is the second son Mr. and Mrs. MacDonnell have lost at the Front. There is still another son in the A.I.F.