LEEDHAM, William Ernest
| Service Number: | 3312 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 26th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Ross, Tasmania, Australia, 20 November 1898 |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Farm labourer |
| Died: | Railton, Tasmania, Australia, 1985, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Campbell Town Kirklands Presbyterian Church Honour Roll, Campbell Town Roll of Honour, Campbell Town St Andrew's Presbyterian Church Honour Roll, Municipality of Ross Roll of Honour, Ross War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 13 Dec 1915: | Involvement Private, 3312, 26th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '15' embarkation_place: Hobart embarkation_ship: HMAT Ajana embarkation_ship_number: A31 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 13 Dec 1915: | Embarked Private, 3312, 26th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ajana, Hobart |
Pte William Earnest Leedham
From: The Museum at The Tasmanian Wool CentreLike Page
William Earnest Leedham
William enlisted in September 1915, at the age of 18.
He arrived in France in April 1916, serving at the Somme with the 1st Pioneer Battalion, and then with the Australian Mining Corps, the corps responsible for tunneling operations and laying mines beneath enemy trenches.
He returned to the Battalion and was wounded in the arm and hand during fighting in October 1917. He suffered a gunshot wound to his thigh in September 1918.
William returned to Tasmania in 1920 and was welcomed home with a public reception in Campbell Town. He married Olive Davies and they made their home on Baskerville near Campbell Town. They had two daughters and a son. In 1942, William again enlisted for service in the Volunteer Defence Corps. William later lived in the Railton district. He died in 1985.
William's story is part of our exhibition: Our Grateful Thanks and Loving Remembrance, a moving and deeply personal exhibition remembering the soldiers whose names are immortalised on the Ross War Memorial.
Submitted 4 September 2019 by Evan Evans
Click images to start slideshow.