Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

The original Irish Aherns came to Australia where Leslie’s great-uncle John founded a contracting company called Ahern and Sons in the late 1890’s in the Rushworth-Euroa district, north of Melbourne (and perhaps named for the ‘worth’ of the gold ‘rush’ in the mid-century). Leslie’s father, Herbert Henry, worked for his brother, an occupation that Leslie was also later to be involved with.
Leslie, known as Les, was born on the 29th April, 1907, the second son and fourth child of Herbert Henry and Catherine Florence, who had eleven children, but two of the daughters did not survive. Leslie was almost four when a newborn sister, Freda died aged three weeks in 1911. A second sister, eleven-year-old Jean died in 1923 with both girls being buried in the Rushworth Cemetery. Leslie’s remaining siblings included Ivy, Herbert George, Eileen, Gladys, Joyce, Doreen and Keith Francis. All attended the local Rushworth State School.
Post school, Leslie worked with his father in the Ahern road building business. However, he had also started to make poor decisions regarding property belonging to others. Barely 21 years old, he was before the Courts at Sandringham charge with breaking and entering a grocery shop, by removing a sheet of iron from the roof and stealing a huge volume of groceries, listed in the Argus as ‘24 boxes of butter, 146 pounds of tea, 38 dozen eggs, 24 tins of milk, 72 packets of jelly crystals-and other articles., valued at £40.’ He also was less subtle when he broke into a draper’s shop by smashing a plate glass window stealing ‘a quantity of men’s clothing and under clothing valued at £82/11/6.’ Les admitted the charges and on-selling the articles, which were later recovered from a private home. When asked who was with him when the robberies were conducted, Les refused to ‘dob in’ his accomplice “I would rather do ten years than tell you.” Consequently, he spent time in a Reformatory until he was released, aged 22, in November ’29 and placed on probation for two years.
Following his release, Leslie began working with his 60-year-old father, Herbert and a cousin, John as part of a road construction team. According to reports, Herbert was making a ‘wad’ whilst preparing fuses for blasting when he was killed in a work-related road construction accident at Fernhill early that the month. Leslie and his cousin had gone to have their lunch together. On their return they found Herbert on the ground with a severe head wound. Despite being take to the Euroa hospital with a fractured skull, suspected to have been acquired by his fall, Herbert died. An inquest into his death, initially labelled as ‘under suspicious circumstances’ was conducted. Herbert subsequently was buried in the same cemetery as his young daughters. This left Catherine with eight children ranging in age from seven to twenty-five.
The family mourned his loss. Age Wednesday 4 December 1929, AHERN -on the 29th November, accidentally killed at Euroa, Herbert Henry, dearly be-loved husband of Kathrine Florence, and loving father of Ivy, Bert, Les, Eileen, Gladys, Joyce, Doreen and little Keith, aged 61 years. Remembrance is a golden chain That binds us till we meet, again. —Inserted by his loving wife and children. AHERN - On 29th November (result of accident), Herb the dearly loved brother of Jack (Rushworth), Lizzie (Mrs. Lummis, (Gilgandra, N.S.W.), George (Ascot Vale). At rest.
The following year, Les, described as a ‘young man with vigor’ was again before the Courts for stealing a car, found at his home, and illegally using it. Les admitted the charge to save his then girlfriend with vagrancy. He was found to have failed to serve the conditions of his probation whilst on parole (with three other youths) and further sentenced to eighteen months hard labour for shoplifting again. At the conclusion of that time, Les was to be returned to the reformatory.
However, Les’ misplaced loyalty was eventually undone in Court when the shop owner charged with receiving the stolen goods was supported by his son who had seen Les and his offsider leave their car in the accused’s garage, with the stolen contents seen by the son. He had also heard that his father had received tobacco good at ‘half price’. The son had also heard Les and his partner boast "We are 'crooks': we go out at night and get this stuff." The charged father then admitted, "I have been a fool. I will tell you everything. I bought them from two men named Ahern and Ballock. I wish I had never met them.”
In November ‘30 Les was sentenced to eighteen months hard labour for shop breaking. He and his fellow accused were to return to a reformatory at the conclusion of the sentences they were then serving. Once out in the community, in April 1934, Les married Edna May in Melbourne, but less than five years later she filed for divorce on the ground of his desertion.
Les had continued to dabble in other easy money ventures He and his cousin, John were both fined £20 for illegal betting in September ‘37. Following his divorce in ‘39 Les left Malvern to briefly live in Mount Gambier.
His older brother, Herbert was the first to enlist to serve in WWII in October ’39 at Prahran, Victoria as VX3836. He was a recent widower at the time as his wife, Kathleen died that year with the two having three sons. Herbert nominated his oldest, James, as his next of kin. Being 36 years old, service was challenging for Herbert, with several instances of him being absent without leave, then deserting and eventually being discharged for misconduct in April ’40. (He re-enlisted in July ’42 as VX80793 at Caulfield serving in Darwin. Unfortunately, he continued to have a record of being AWOL and problems with alcohol culminating with him again being discharged in July ’46.)
By the time 33-year-old Leslie enlisted to serve in WWII in June ’40 at Mount Gambier, he was already very familiar with his life being controlled by orders and restrictions. He was allocated the number SX7723 with the newly formed 2/48th Battalion. Following leave, Les embarked on the Stratheden on the 17th November, arriving in the Middle East on the 7th December. He was soon attached to the Postal Unit, but the following year developed colitis causing him to be hospitalised for several weeks. On his return to the Postal Unit Les was charged and fined 15/- for his conduct. He was again transferred , initially to the 2/28th but by August returned to his original battalion, the 2/48th. He remained with them until the whole battalion was able to return to Australia via Melbourne at the start of February ’43.
He travelled back to Mount Gambier where he was part of a group of 90 returned servicemen feted in the Civic Hall in March. They were acclaimed for having seen service overseas in the present war, with most fresh from their triumphs in the Western Desert where they met and repulsed Rommel's army at El Alamein. They had served in Greece, Crete, Syria, Palestine, the Western Desert, Tobruk, and New Guinea. The men received generous applause for their service and were warmly welcomed home, being congratulated on their behaviour and bearing during their short period of leave. The men themselves were extremely generous in their appreciation of the support given by the F.F.C.F., Salvation Army, Red Cross and nurses.
By April, ’43 Les was experiencing chronic knee arthritis, plus problems with both his feet and toes (from wearing ill-fitting shoes) which restricted his ability to serve. He was moved to Queensland in June but within days went ‘exploring’ unofficially for four days with a costly punishment of four day’s pay.
By January the following year, Les ‘neglection to obey standing orders’ followed in March by again being AWOL inevitably resulted in a penalty of both loss of pay and a fortnight of detention with the 2/1. He was finally discharged on the 27th March ’44. Post his discharge, Les re-married young Margaret Gregg Kerr on the 3rd June 1944. She had two children to which Les and Margaret added their three, creating a family of Keith, Neil, Gary, Lorraine and Lynette.
72-year-old Les died on the 22nd February 1980 with his remains interred in the Mount Thompson Memorial Gardens. A plaque commemorating his service is also in the Queensland Garden of Remembrance Wall 42 Row E.
Margaret lived to be 93 and died on the 12th September 2010 at Coorparoo. Her remains are now with Leslie in the Mount Thompson Memorial Gardens.
Tribute researched and written by Kaye Lee, daughter of Bryan Holmes, SX8133 2/48th Battalion.