Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

(A consolidated narrative based on multiple Red Cross Wounded & Missing Bureau eyewitness statements)

Private Leonard Jordan, known to his mates as “Geordie,” served as a Lewis Gunner in A Company, 17th Battalion, AIF. He had come from Australia in October 1916 with several of the men who would later witness his final moments, and he remained with them in the same company throughout his service on the Western Front.

On 20 September 1917, during the opening phase of the Battle of Menin Road Ridge, the 17th Battalion advanced through the shattered landscape of the Westhoek Ridge, near Anzac House and Polygon Wood, in the Ypres sector. After capturing their objective, the men began consolidating their new line among a series of shell holes that served as makeshift positions.

Jordan and his closest mates—Pte. T. W. Drew, Pte. Saunders, Pte. Carter, and others—were manning a Lewis gun team. Jordan, who was in charge of the gun, believed he could find a better firing position. Despite the persuasion of the men around him, he left the relative safety of their shell hole to scout ahead.

Moments later, he was struck by a sniper’s bullet to the head, killing him instantly. Several witnesses, including Drew and Saunders, later confirmed that he fell without suffering. One account also mentioned that a fragment of shell struck him at the same time, but all agreed that the fatal wound was the shot to the head.

When Jordan did not return, Pte. Drew went out to look for him and found him lying dead where he had fallen. Drew returned to the team and reported what had happened. Two of Jordan’s mates—most consistently identified as Pte. Carter and Pte. Drew, with Pte. Calfe also mentioned—went out under fire, recovered his body, and carried him back to a nearby shell hole.

There, they dug a rough battlefield grave and buried him as respectfully as the conditions allowed. Several men recalled attempting to mark the grave, though any temporary marker was unlikely to have survived the ongoing shelling. The location was described as just behind the trench the 17th Battalion had dug, roughly 1000 yards to the right of Anzac House, on the forward slope toward Polygon Wood.

Jordan’s personal effects were removed from his pockets. His watch and photographs were later sent to his mother in Marrickville, Sydney, and his paybook was handed in to the battalion. His mates described him as fair‑haired, a bit plump, fresh‑complexioned, and around 5'6"–5'7" in height. One witness also recalled a distinctive birthmark on his right side.

Every eyewitness agreed on the essential facts:
Jordan was killed instantly, buried by his mates near where he fell, and not taken prisoner. Despite their efforts, the exact location of his grave was lost in the shifting front lines and heavy shelling that followed. He is now commemorated among those with no known grave.