Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Raymond Benjamin Leahy was a Private in World War 1 (1914-1918) as part of the 10th Battalion.  

Leahy was born in February 1894 in Adelaide, South Australia. He lived in Norwood, with his family. His mother’s name was Agnes Jane Leahy, and his father was a former contractor named J.J. Leahy. Leahy was the third son. One of his brothers, A.J. Leahy, also served in the Dardanelles in WW1. Leahy wasn’t in any romantic relationships, nor did he have any children before the war. He attended Christian Brothers College in Adelaide, South Australia. He was talented in sports, being a B-Grade football player.

Leahy was a clerk, although just before the war started, he was employed as a member of staff on SA Railways. As a clerk, he needed to be able to read and write well. This is one of the skills he equipped later in war. Before World War 1, Leahy had never served before.

Raymond Benjamin Leahy enlisted for war on the 19th of August 1914 in Morphettville, South Australia. His allocated service number was 15. After some basic training in Australia, Leahy embarked the HMAT Ascanius A11 on the 20th of October, 1914. First, the ship briefly went to Fremantle, Western Australia. The ship then left for Egypt. The journey there was very rough. The weather conditions were horrific, and soldiers on-board lived in fear as German ships and submarines were on the lookout for Allied ships. One of these scares took place on the 21st of November 1914 at 4:30AM, when the HMT Shropshire collided with the HMAT Ascanius. The collision bell was rung, and soldiers had to assemble in silence on the boat’s deck. Leahy had to stand in silence until 5:30AM. After this, the ship’s port bow had a 7-metre hole in it. Despite this, the Ascanius kept moving and eventually reached Alexandria, Egypt. Soldiers then disembarked the ship and went to Cairo where some training camps were. Leahy went to the main training camp in Mena. Soldiers trained six days a week for eight hours each day. They learnt how to work in a platoon, company, and battalion. They also learnt how to operate machine guns and use artillery. The conditions there were not good. There was a lack of water, insufficient number of farmers, and the quality of objects they used were not good, for example, binoculars. Soldiers also slept in white tents, which wouldn’t have been very comfortable. On their break day, they were allowed to explore Egypt. This would have been an incredible opportunity as soldiers were able to experience a different culture.  

After training had finished, the 10th Battalion embarked the SS Ionian. This would take them to Gallipoli. On the 25th of April, the 3rd brigade landed in Gallipoli at dawn. The Gallipoli campaign was considered one of the worst places to be in World War 1. This was due to several different factors including lack of water, a very unpleasant smell due to the inability to retrieve corpses, and horrible weather conditions. The Gallipoli Campaign was also a stalemate. The Ottomans were unable to force the ANZACs back into the sea, and the ANZACs were unable to penetrate further up.

On the 27th of April, Leahy was wounded for the first time. From the 25th to the 28th of April, the Ottoman troops made their way to the front, although they were under heavy fire. Turkish soldiers made their way obliquely, meaning that it was very indirect and subtle. Leahy’s injuries may have been from Ottoman soldiers who tried to move further towards the ANZACs. After this, he suffered a gunshot wound to the hip on the 4th of May 1915. One day later, Leahy experienced a gunshot wound to the right buttock. He was then transferred to Mtarfa Hospital for these injuries. Being injured three times within less than two weeks was incredibly rare, and very difficult to survive. Luckily, Leahy did survive and after recovering, he was transferred to an overseas base in Alexandria. This was most likely for more training after being injured. Leahy then rejoined the Gallipoli Campaign. Only three days later, he was hospitalised on the 23rd of June for an unknown illness. On the 8th of December 1915, Leahy was promoted to corporal. A corporal was typically in charge of a section in a battalion. After this, there is no record of any injuries or illnesses until August of 1916. This is because on the 19th of August 1915, Leahy was taken on strength in the Australian Base Records Department. Soldiers in the Australian Base Records Department often worked with paperwork. They wrote out unit diaries and would organise soldier’s service records. Leahy’s reading and writing skills were recognised by the army, which might be why he transferred units.

On the 15th of August 1916, Leahy went to hospital for ulcer tonsils. He went to the 21st General Hospital in Alexandria. Ulcer tonsils is normally caused by something someone has consumed. He returned to duty on the 19th of August 1916. Then, On the 18th of September 1916, Leahy was hospitalised for diphtheria. Again, he went to the 21st General Hospital in Alexandria. Diphtheria is a bacterial infection in the nose or throat which affects someone's breathing. It is usually spread from person to person by coughing and sneezing. People can also get diphtheria from touching an open ulcer or sore. Leahy just had ulcer tonsils around a month ago, so it is possible that this is how he contracted diphtheria. He returned to duty on the 28th of June 1916. Overall, Leahy spent more than two years in the Australian Base Records Department. On the 4th of May 1917, he was promoted to Acting Sergeant. A sergeant is usually in charge of a platoon. His leadership skills were recognised by the army. Because of Leahy’s efforts while fighting in Gallipoli and in the Australian Base Records, he was one of the select soldiers who were promoted. On the 14th of November 1917, he marched out to Cairo, meaning that he left his unit. Because of this, he also relinquished his role of acting sergeant, and went back to being a private. Around a year later, he marched into Moascar on the 28th of September 1918. In Moascar, there was an isolation camp used for the 1st and 2nd Australian divisions and the New Zealand A division. Leahy went to this camp for more training.

Finally, on the 15th of November 1918, he embarked the HMAT SS Port Darwin for return to Australia.

After the war, there is very little information about Leahy. However, he did receive three medals. The first one was the 1914/1915 Star. This medal was awarded to soldiers who had served in the war from the 5th of August 1914 to the 31st of December 1915. The second medal received was the British War Medal. This medal was awarded to nearly anyone who served in World War 1 from the 5th of August 1914 to 1920. The final medal Leahy received was the Victory Medal. The Victory Medal was given out to soldiers who received the 1914/1915 Star or the British War Medal.