The AIF Project

William LEECH

Regimental number3164
Place of birthKerang, Victoria
SchoolChurch of England Grammar School, Bendigo, Victoria
ReligionChurch of England
OccupationClerk
Address538 Hargreaves Street, Bendigo, Victoria
Marital statusSingle
Age at embarkation23
Height5' 7"
Weight147 lbs
Next of kinMother, Mrs J N Leech, 538 Hargreaves Street, Bendigo, Victoria
Previous military serviceServed as Corporal in the Senior Cadets.
Enlistment date14 July 1915
Place of enlistmentMelbourne, Victoria
Rank on enlistmentPrivate
Unit name23rd Battalion, 7th Reinforcement
AWM Embarkation Roll number23/40/2
Embarkation detailsUnit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT A73 Commonwealth on 26 November 1915
Rank from Nominal RollSergeant
Unit from Nominal Roll58th Battalion
FateKilled in Action 19 July 1916
Age at death from cemetery records24
Place of burialPont-du-Hem Military Cemetery (Plot XI, Row D, Grave No. 4), La Gorque, France
Panel number, Roll of Honour,
  Australian War Memorial
166
Miscellaneous information from
  cemetery records
Commemorated in Bendigo Cemetery, Victoria. Parents: Johnston Melmore (d. 16 June 1940, aged 76; bu. Bendigo) and Annie Eliza LEECH (d. 12 April 1949, aged 79; bu. Bendigo), 558 Hargreave Street, Bendigo, Victoria
Other details

War service: Egypt, Western Front

Allotted to, and proceeded to 58th Bn from 6th Training Bn, Zeitoun, 23 February 1916; taken on strength of 58th Bn and reverts to the rank of Private, Tel el Kebir, 23 February 1916.

Promoted to Sergeant, 3 March 1916.

Embarked Alexandria to join the British Expeditionary Force, 17 June 1916; disembarked Marseilles, France, 23 June 1916.

Posted missing, 19 July 1916.

Court of Enquiry, held in the field, 1 September 1917, pronounced fate as 'Killed in Action, 19 July 1916'.

Note, Red Cross File No 1580302: 'No trace Germany. Cert. by Capt. Mills 10.10.19.'

Statement, 2087 Pte A.J. STONE, 58th Bn (patient, No 12 General Hospital, Rouen), 24 March 1917: 'At [the] Fromelles front he was killed and after the attack men went out and brought in the papers from his body, and handed them over to the orderly room.'

Second statement, 3122 Corporal R. HUMPHRIES, B Company, 58th Bn (escort resting at 51st General Hospital, Etaples), 15 May 1917: 'He was killed in the affair at Fleurbaix on July 19th. the last I saw of him he was lying up against Fritz's barbed wire dead. I saw his body lying there just as we retired. None of us got into the German trench at this point. The body had o be left there.'

Third statement, 4772 Pte R.A. DAVENPORT, A Company, 58th Bn (patient, Beaufort War Hospital, Bristol, England), 9 December 916: 'He was killed in a stunt on July 19th 1916, by machine gun fire. I saw him fall but it was impossible to get his body in.'

Fourth statement, 4296 Pte R.H. CONINSBY, A Company, 58th Bn, 1 June 1917: 'I saw him killed instantly at Fleurbaix - hit in the head by a bullet. We were attacking about 6-15 p.m. daylight. I was about 20 yards from him. We held the ground. I was hit a little after and do not know any more. I am sure he was killed.'

Medals: British War Medal, Victory Medal
Miscellaneous detailsSurname incorrectly entered on Embarkation Roll as LEACH.
SourcesNAA: B2455, LEECH William
Red Cross file 1580302

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