HESKETH, Leonard
| Service Number: | 2847 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 1st Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Tasmania, Australia, 23 November 1891 |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Railway Signalman |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 20 August 1916, aged 24 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Picardie, France. |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Gordon St Ives Public School Honor Board, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Turramurra Memorial Park Memorial Gates, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 30 Sep 1915: | Involvement Private, 2847, 1st Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '7' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Argyllshire embarkation_ship_number: A8 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 30 Sep 1915: | Embarked Private, 2847, 1st Infantry Battalion, HMAT Argyllshire, Sydney |
Help us honour Leonard Hesketh's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by John Oakes
Leonard Wickham HESKETH (Service Number 2847) was born on 23rd November 1891 in Tasmania.
He commenced a railways career on 23rd April 1907,as a probationer in the Traffic Branch. By December of the same year, he was repositioned as a porter. After being promoted to porter in 1912, and to signalman in 1913, he was granted leave on 19th June 1915 to join the AIF. He was 23-years-old when he enlisted. He embarked from Sydney on 30th September 1915 on the HMAT A8 ‘Argyllshire’.
On 6th January 1916, he was taken on strength in Tel-el-Kebir (Egypt) with the 1st Battalion. He was transferred to the 53rd Battalion on 13th February, but he re-joined his original battalion by late February. He joined the British Expeditionary Force from Alexandria on 22nd March 1916 and disembarked at Marseilles (France) on 28th March.
On 20th August 1916 he was killed in action at the age of 24 in France. He is commemorated in the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France.
Following his death, his father was given some of his personal items, such as handkerchiefs, photos, and letters. He also was given the 1914/15 Star, the British War Medal, and the Victory Medal on behalf of his son’s service.
- based on the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll and notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board.