Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Prosper Reginald Victor Le Roux, known as Reg, was born on 15th February 1884 in Melbourne VIC, the eldest of 4 children born to his parents Prosper and Caroline Le Roux.  His younger siblings were Henry…known as Harry, Dorothy and Albert…known as Bertie.  Reg attended the Lang Lang State School VIC then went on to work with his father on the family property at Red Bluff raising prize-winning Clydesdale horses, cattle and sheep.  By 1914 the 3 sons had expanded and modernised the property and “The Le Roux Brothers” name often appeared in prize winning lists of the Royal Melbourne Shows. 

On 8th February 1916, a week before his 32nd birthday, Reg enlisted for WW1 in the AIF at Melbourne VIC.  His youngest brother Bertie, aged 18, had enlisted a week earlier and was assigned as a Gunner to the 8th Field Artillery Brigade.  His other brother Harry, aged 30, stayed at home to help his father run the property. 

Reg is described as being 5ft 5ins tall with a fresh complexion, blue eyes and auburn hair.  His service number was 5856, his rank Private and he was assigned to the 23rd Infantry Battalion C Company.  He commenced training at the Army Camp at Royal Park VIC then on 31st May 1916 he transferred to the 24th Infantry Battalion 16th Reinforcements B Company, part of the 6th Brigade ,2nd Australian Division.  On 2nd August 1916 he was promoted to Lance Corporal then embarked from Melbourne on 2nd October 1916 on HMAT Nestor.  He disembarked at Plymouth, England UK on 16th November 1916 and proceeded to the 6th Training Battalion at Rollestone Camp on the Salisbury Plain. 

From late May to mid-June 1917 Reg attended the School of Musketry at Tidworth and qualified as a first class instructor.  On 9th July 1917 he embarked from Southampton UK for France and disembarked the next day at Le Havre.  He joined his unit at Wardrecques on 31st July 1917.  It was while here the 2nd Division was inspected by Field Marshall Sir Douglas Haig at Champagne.  The 24th Battalion was given the honour of representing the Brigade in the march past. 

On 12th September 1917 the Battalion moved to Steenvoorde then the next day they crossed the border and proceeded to Devonshire Camp in Belgium.  They moved 6 days later to Winnipeg Camp then back to Devonshire Camp on the 23rd September.  On 29th September they moved to Cavalry Barracks in Ypres before moving into the frontline trenches on 4th October 1917 to take part in the Battle of Broodseinde which was part of the 3rd Battle of Ypres.  This day was one of the worst for Australian Forces with 6,500 men killed, wounded or missing.  Reg was one of the 1,279 men who died taking the ridge at Broodseinde.  His body was never recovered.  He was initially listed as missing but that was later changed to killed in action.  He was 33.  He is commemorated on panel 23 of the Menin Gate Memorial which records the names of 55,000 men…6,000 of them Australians…who went missing in Belgium in WW1 and who have no known grave. 

Reg may not have known that just a week earlier his younger brother Bertie had been seriously wounded in the nearby Zillebeke area and was evacuated to the No. 3 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station at Remy Siding, Belgium, where he died on 27th September 1917 aged 20.  He was buried at Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery in Belgium.  The brothers lie in the soil of Belgium less than 15 miles apart. 

After the war their parents received a Memorial Scroll, Plaque and Royal Letter from the King for each of them.  These were presented to the next of kin of those who died while serving in the Australian Imperial Force in WW1, acknowledging the soldier’s service and their loss as a family.

An extract from the book “The Lost Boys” sums up the effect on the family back home at Red Bluff. “The news that both sons had died within a week of each other pitched the Le Roux family into unimaginable grief.  Within 2 years they sold Red Bluff, the property they had farmed for 50 years.  Chris Reid, grandson of Dorothy Le Roux, suspects the place had too many memories.  Harry the 3rd son, bought a new property near Albury, separating himself from his parents.  Caroline and Prosper bought a new property in the western districts of Victoria  at Camperdown.  Chris remembers hearing from his father that Caroline’s grief was profound and long-lasting.  She never talked about Reg or Bertie nor permitted discussion of them.  She died in 1925 aged 64.”

Reg and Bertie are both commemorated on the Lang Lang Roll of Honour, Lang Lang State School Roll of Honour and the Lang Lang Memorial Hall Honour Roll.  Both are commemorated on the Roll of Honour at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra ACT…Reg on panel 102 and Bertie on panel 15.   

In 1920 in a touching tribute to both her brothers lost in the war, Dorothy and her husband James named their newborn son Prosper Albert Le Roux Reid.          

Prosper Reginald Victor Le Roux was awarded for service in WW1 the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

Respectfully submitted by Sue Smith 3rd November 2023.

Sources

The Lost Boys written by Paul Byrnes (Book)