Leith John Newton Angelo

Leith John Newton Angelo

Western Mail 18 Jan 1918, page 1S
Personal Information
Date of Birth	c1893
Place of Birth	Rottnest Island, Western Australia
Death	8 Dec 1923, aged 31.
Place of Death	Kurrawong Station Menzies
Age at Enlistment	22 years, 2 months
Description	5' 2¼ " (1.58m) tall ; 115 lbs 52.163 kg ; dark complexion ; brown eyes ; dark brown hair
Occupation	Grocer
Religion	Church of England
Address	'Iverna', Armadale, Western Australia
Next of Kin	Mother , Mrs Mary Fox Angelo
Military Information
Reg Number	1208
Date of Enlistment	19 Jul 1915
Rank	Private
Unit/Formation	32nd Battalion, transferred to 16th Battalion, D Company / 4th Brigade, 4th Division
Date of Embarkation	24 Nov 1915 ‒ 18 Dec 1915
Ship Embarked On	HMAT A13 Katuna Fremantle to Port Suez
Date of Return	25 Jan 1919 ‒ 28 Feb 1919
Ship Returned On	HMHS Delta Devonport to Fremantle
Fate	Wounded in Action 18 Oct 1917 at Passchendaele Wounded in Action 8 Aug 1918 near Amiens (3rd Battle of the Somme) Returned to Australia
Monument	Armadale War Memorial (Armadale panel) Kelmscott-Armadale Parish Roll of Honour Armadale and Districts Roll of Honour
Medals	1914-15 Star British War Medal Victory Medal

War Service

At Blackboy Hill camp, after a month's basic training 'Jack' as he was known was allocated to 'D' Company of the 32nd Battalion which at that time was being raised jointly in South and Western Australia. Prior to travelling to Egypt they gathered in Adelaide before sailing for Egypt in Nov 1915 aboard HMAT A13 Katuna. On 4 Feb 1916 he forfeited a day's pay for overstaying leave at Ismailia In Egypt he met up with his brother and arranged a transfer to join him in the 16th Battalion at Tel-el-Kebir on 1 Mar 1916. On 1 Jun 1916 Jack and his unit boarded HMT Canada for Marseilles in southern France where they arrived without incident on 7 Jun 1916, entraining soon after for Bailleul in northern France where they arrived on 10 Jun 1916.

A little more than a year later, during August 1917 Jack was granted leave in England. Soon after he rejoined his unit (18 Oct 1917), while a member of a working party on Westhoek Ridge south of Zonnebeke, he suffered a bomb wound to his back. Treated first by the 4th New Zealand Field Ambulance before being passed on to the 10th Casualty Clearing Station, where he was assessed and placed on Ambulance Train No. 20 for the 14th General Hospital in Wimereux, just north of Boulogne. He was then transferred to the Keighley War Hospital in England on 22 Oct 1917 for further treatment. Granted furlough on 3 Dec 1917 following his discharge from hospital, he reported back to the No. 1 Command Depot at Sutton Veny on 17 Dec 1917. On 29 Dec 1917 he began his return to active service by transferring to the Overseas Training Brigade at Longbridge Deverill. His return to France followed on 23 Jan 1918 via Southampton.

Jack rejoined the battalion on 29 Jan 1918, joining them at 7pm as they settled into the front line trenches near Ypres. He was again wounded when on 8 Aug 1918 he received wounds to his left forearm (fractured ulna) and left foot while participating in the Battalion's advance along the Somme River near Mericourt. He was one of the 105 casualties from his unit that day. After early treatment by the 13th Field Ambulance, and then the 22nd General Hospital in Dannes-Camiers, he was placed on Ambulance Train No.24 for the 22nd General Hospital in Dannes where two operations on his arm were carried out. On 26 Aug 1918 Jack was again sent to England aboard HS Princesse Elisabeth for treatment, and was admitted to the Coombe Lodge Auxiliary Hospital in Great Warley, Essex. Discharged to the 1st Australian Auxiliary Hospital on 7 Sep 1918, he reported to the Littlemoor Camp, one of the camps at Weymouth on 13 Sep 1918.

However, before he could be invalided home, influenza struck, and from 26 Oct 1918 he spent 11 days in the Sutton Veny Military Hospital, delaying his return. On arrival in Australia he spent from 7 - 11 Mar 1919 in the 8th Australian General Hospital at Fremantle before being discharged by the 5th Military District on 21 Apr 1919.

"Enlisted in July 1915, went to the East, and sailed in November with the 32nd Battalion to Egypt, where he met his brother and joined him in the 16th Battalion, with which he went to France."

Post War

Death notice. Died in Menzies Hospital aged 31. Single. 1916 Electoral Roll gives his address as "Iverns", Armadale, grocer's assistant. Death notice revealed that his father was Lieut Col E. Angelo. 'Jack' was working at Kurrawong Station near Menzies with Kodack, another returned serviceman, at the time of his death which was due to double pneumonia.

Notes

Known as 'Jack'. A grocer who was a friend of Armadale POW Hartland Richards who sent him a card from prison camp in Germany.

External Links

• AIF Project
• RSL Memorial[[