Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

This biography is an extract from the 'Connecting Spirits' site.  Article and research by Emma Bloomfield.

Leo King was born in June 1892 in Balhannah to parents William James and Mary King. He was the youngest of 8 children, with 2 sisters; May Victoria and Laurina, and 5 brothers; William John Anthony, Thomas Henry, Robert Henry, John and Gilbert.

Leo was a young man with fair complexion, blue eyes and auburn hair and weighed in at 130 lbs  5'8" tall.  Before enlisting he worked as a Railway Porter and was a member of the Lameroo Rifle Club.

Enlistment Details: On September 2nd 1914 Leo enlisted in the A.I.F at Morphettville. He was 22 years and 3 months old when he enlisted.

On the 20th of October 1914 Leo King along with the rest of his 10th Battalion left Outer Harbour aboard the H.M.A.T. A11 “Ascanius”. The first stop for the ship was on 25th October in Fremantle to pick up more troops before travelling on to Colombo, Ceylon, reaching port on the 1st of November. The final stop before reaching his final destination was in Aden, Yemen on the 25th of November where the boat picked up fresh water and coal before making it to Alexandria, Egypt around mid December 1914.
Leo then spent the next few months training in preparation for the landing at Gallipoli. But he was not to be part of the Gallipoli landing because on the 20th of June 1915 Leo was admitted to hospital in Alexandria. Two days later he was transferred to Cairo for further treatment and remained in hospital until on the 15th of August 1915 when he finally rejoined his battalion in Gallipoli.

But Leo’s time on Gallipoli would be short lived with him once again finding himself in hospital. On the 10th of September he was taken aboard the hospital ship H.S. “Gascon” and admitted with Enteric Fever (typhoid) which by that stage had become endemic in the ANZAC position due to poor santiation and hygiene.  More casulaties were sustained through typhoid than through enemy fire.

That same day the H.S. “Gascon” embarked to take all the sick and injured to a hospital in Malta. Six days later Leo found himself safely in the Malta hospital but his condition did not improve and on the 23rd of September he was reported to be dangerously ill. It took until the 12th November for Leo to recover enough to be declared out of danger but he was still showing signs of Enteric Fever so was transferred by the H.S. “Morea” to the 3rd Southern General Hospital in Oxford, England. He was admitted to the English hospital on the 15th of November and remained there for another 3 and ½ months.

On the 10th March 1916 Leo was finally well enough to be discharged and was taken back on strength to the 10th Battalion. It took until the 25th of May for Leo to finally reach the 10th Battalion in Etaples, France. In late July after preliminary deployment to the 'Nursery' sector near Armentieres, the 10th Battalion and its parent 3rd Brigade lined up for the attacks at Pozieres and later Mouquet fauntil on the 21st of August 1916 he was killed in action during the attack of Mouquet Farm.

"LATE PTE L. KING.

Mrs. Mary King, of Oakbank, has received information that her son, Pte. Leo King, was killed in action in France on August 20. The deceased enlisted from Lameroo, where he was employed by the Railways Department. He left South Australia with the first overseas contingent, and was attached to the famous 10th Battalion, with which he saw service in the landing at Gallipoli. After an attack of enteric fever he was sent to England to recuperate. Pte. King was born at Balhannah, and received his education there. At the time of his death he was in his twenty eighth year. He was the youngest son of a family of four boys, and was esteemed by all who knew him." - from the Adelaide Register 06 Oct 1916 (nla.gov.au)