PRITCHARD, Leslie George
| Service Number: | 518 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 18 July 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 5th Machine Gun Company |
| Born: | Carrington, New South Wales , Australia, 30 July 1891 |
| Home Town: | Hamilton, Newcastle, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Toronto Public School, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Cleaner |
| Died: | Acute nephritis & ureamia, 2nd General Hospital, Le Harve, France, 16 December 1916, aged 25 years |
| Cemetery: |
Ste. Marie Cemetery, Le Havre Division 3. Row B, Grave No. II |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Hamilton Loco Employees Great War Honour Roll, Hamilton War Memorial, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Toronto Public School Pupils HB |
World War 1 Service
| 18 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 518, 30th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 9 Nov 1915: | Involvement Private, 518, 30th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '16' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Beltana embarkation_ship_number: A72 public_note: '' | |
| 9 Nov 1915: | Embarked Private, 518, 30th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Beltana, Sydney | |
| 25 Mar 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 5th Machine Gun Company |
Help us honour Leslie George Pritchard's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Evan Evans
From Gary Mitchell, Sandgate Cemetery
Awaiting memorialisation at Sandgate Cemetery, have I been forgotten?
105 years ago today, on the 16th December 1916, Private Leslie George Pritchard, 30th Battalion (Machine Gun Section, Reg No-518), cleaner and fireman (Hamilton Loco Sheds, N.S.W.), of 115 Tudor Street, Hamilton, New South Wales, Died of Disease (acute nephritis & uraemia), age-25.
Born at Carrington, New South Wales on the 30th July 1891 to Richard (Dick, died 1920) and Louisa (died 1904?) Pritchard, Leslie enlisted July 1915 at Liverpool, N.S.W.
Leslie is resting at Ste. Marie Cemetery, Le Havre, France. Division 3 Row B Grave II.
Mr. Pritchard’s name has been inscribed on the Hamilton (Gregson Park) War Memorial, Hamilton Municipal District Roll of Honor, Hamilton Loco Employees Roll of Honour (photos, unveiled on the 8th October 1916, 76 names originally inscribed, 97 names now inscribed, only 8 designated as Fallen, Leslie’s name not marked as Fallen, probably many more names to be inscribed), Toronto Public School Roll of Honour and the NSW Govt Railways and Tramways Roll of Honour, 1914-1919.
There is no memorial inscription on the headstone plaque to tell us of the supreme sacrifice of Richard’s son Leslie, so June 2021 I placed a memorial cross adorned with poppies on the gravesite, taken a photo of the memorialised grave and uploaded the photo onto the Northern Cemetery website as a permanent record of his service. ANGLICAN 1-67. 29.
Contact with descendants would be greatly appreciated.
Lest We Forget.
Biography contributed by John Oakes
Leslie George PRITCHARD was born at Carrington in Newcastle, NSW, on 30th July 1891. He received his schooling at the public school at Toronto, NSW. His mother died at Toronto in 1904 and subsequently his father moved with him and his sisters to Hamilton in Newcastle. On 13th October 1913 he joined the NSW Government Railways and Tramways as a sand burner in the Locomotive Branch at Hamilton. On 18th July 1915 he was released to join the Expeditionary Forces.
He joined the AIF on 18th July 1915 as a Private (Service Number 518) and was posted to B Company in the 30th Infantry Battalion. For his next of kin, he nominated his father, Richard Pritchard.
Leslie embarked for Egypt aboard HMAT ‘Beltana’ at Sydney on 9th November 1915 and disembarked at Suez on 11th December 1915. On 19th March 1916 he was transferred to the Machine Gun Section of the 30th Infantry Battalion. On 16th June 1916 he embarked at Alexandria for France, disembarking at Marseilles on 23rd June 1916.
He remained on duty with the 30th Infantry Battalion until 1st December 1916 when he was evacuated, sick. He was firstly taken to the 1st Anzac Dressing Station where he was diagnosed as having cerebro-spinal meningitis and promptly transferred to the 39th Casualty Clearing Station where he was diagnosed as having tonsillitis. On 4th December 1916 he was sent on to hospital via ambulance train due to a new disease supervening, this being incontinence of urine. On 6th December 1916 he was admitted to the 2nd General Hospital at Le Havre with possible cerebro-spinal meningitis.
On 16th December 1916 he died due to the effects of acute nephritis and uraemia.
Leslie’s grave is in Ste Marie Cemetery, Le Havre, Haute-Normandie, France. His place of association is Hamilton, Newcastle, NSW.
His father died in May 1920, so that when the time came to issue war medals for him in 1922 his oldest sister, Irene Olive Pritchard, who was living at Rockdale in Sydney by then, became his legal next of kin.
- based on the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll and nates for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board.
Click images to start slideshow.