STANSFIELD, Leslie
| Service Number: | NX83525 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 13 January 1942 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/4th Armoured Regiment |
| Born: | Wallasley, England, UK, 28 July 1921 |
| Home Town: | Adelong, Tumut Shire, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Wallasley Grammar School, England |
| Occupation: | Jackeroo (Big Brother Movement) |
| Died: | Heart related, Yarra Creek, King Island, Tasmania, Australia, 5 November 1961, aged 40 years |
| Cemetery: |
Currie Public Cemetery, King Island, Tasmania In 2016 The AWGC accepted his death was due to his war service and he now has a war grave. |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 13 Jan 1942: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, NX83525 | |
|---|---|---|
| 25 Aug 1944: | Involvement Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Trooper, NX83525, 2nd/4th Armoured Regiment, Bougainville, Fought on Bougainville where he lost his best mate Trooper John Arkley-Smith. When the war ended he was sent to guard Japanese POW's at Rabaul, along with good mate Trooper Gerry Manion. | |
| 14 Aug 1946: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, NX83525 | |
| Date unknown: | Involvement Trooper, NX83525, 2nd/4th Armoured Regiment |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Robert Kearney
In 1939 Les then aged 18, emigrated from England to join the Big Brother Movement as a jackeroo. At the end of 1940 he enlisted in the Second AIF and by 1942 was a trooper in the Second Fourth Australian Armoured Regiment. He was soon part of a four man tank crew, with four tanks making up a troop. He must have soon started to understand the Australian sense of humour; the tank call signs were A Beer, A Rum, A Whisky and A Chaser.
Almost three years were spent preparing for war and on 25 May 1945 he was in the jungles of Bougainville, fighting the Japanese. A few weeks later he was in the thick of it and saw the point tank in front of his tank take a direct hit. As a result, he lost his best mate and fellow Jackeroo, John Arkley-Smith, who died of wounds two weeks later. - Courtesy of daughter - Margaret Bennett
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