SWIFT, Leslie Alfred
| Service Number: | 2158 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 24 March 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1) |
| Born: | Not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Northcote, Darebin, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Jockey |
| Died: | Died of wounds, France, 14 August 1916, age not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
St. Sever Cemetery, Rouen Plot B, Row 31, Grave No. 18. HE LAID DOWN HIS LIFE IN THE DEADLY STRIFE TO KEEP AUSTRALIA FREE |
| Memorials: | Adelaide National War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 24 Mar 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2158, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1) | |
|---|---|---|
| 23 Jun 1915: | Involvement Private, 2158, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1), --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '12' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Borda embarkation_ship_number: A30 public_note: '' | |
| 23 Jun 1915: | Embarked Private, 2158, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1), HMAT Borda, Adelaide |
Help us honour Leslie Alfred Swift's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Peter Rankin
He served under the alias of William Alfred Smith and was only 16 years old when he died.
Biography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Private Leslie Alfred Swift was a jockey from Clifton Hill, Victoria. He enlisted in March 1915 at Keswick, South Australia under the alias of William Alfred Smith. The original attestation has "Smith" as just under 22 years of age and as a jockey with next-of-kin given as "friend, Miss Smith" living at 190 Mitchell Street, Northcote, Melbourne. According to birth records he was born in 1899 and may have only been 15 years old when he signed up. His enlisting under a false name was probably designed to allow him to enlist without his parents’ permission, and how he got South Australia at that age is another mystery. He was the son of Thomas and Mary Jane Swift of Northcote, Victoria.
Leslie was wounded on 6 August 1916 near Pozieres and died eight days later from gunshot wounds to his chest. He is buried in the St Sever Cemetery, France. He was 16 years old. Leslie’s brother Thomas George Lionel Swift was killed in action at Mont St Quentin in August 1918, aged 24. Another brother Charles Newbry Swift also served in the AIF with the 60th Battalion.
His mother noted in the local newspaper, "I think Leslie has done his duty, and I would be glad if some of the other strong men left behind would go and take his place."