Leslie Huon Truman
From Our Contribution
 Western Mail 27 Aug 1915 page 1s | |
 | |
| Personal Information | |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth |
not known "not known" contains an extrinsic dash or other characters that are invalid for a date interpretation. |
| Place of Birth | Huon Lane, Victoria |
| Death | 28 Jun 1915 |
| Place of Death | Gallipoli Peninsular, Turkey |
| Age at Enlistment | 24 years, 9 months |
| Description |
5'9" (1.75m) tall ; 152 lbs 68.946 kg ; fair complexion ; brown eyes ; brown hair |
| Occupation | Timber worker |
| Religion | Church of England |
| Address | Jarrahdale, Western Australia |
| Next of Kin | Mother , Mrs Louisa Truman |
| Military Information | |
| Reg Number | 1649 |
| Date of Enlistment | 26 Sep 1914 |
| Rank | Corporal |
| Unit/Formation | 11th Battalion, 3rd Reinforcement to D Company / 3rd Brigade, 1st Division |
| Date of Embarkation | 22 Feb 1915 ‒ 24 Mar 1915 |
| Ship Embarked On | HMAT A50 Itonus |
| Fate | Killed in Action 28 Jun 1915 Gallipoli |
| Monument |
Jarrahdale War Memorial Jarrahdale Honour Roll ANZAC Memorial Park (Byford) Australian War Memorial |
| Medals |
1914-15 Star British War Medal Victory Medal |
Contents
Pre War
War Service
On 1 Jan 1915 Leslie was promoted Corporal in the Depot Company at Blackby Hill. He and the rest of the 3rd reinforcement draft for the 11th Battalion arrived in Egypt aboard HMAT A50 Itonus the day before the Anzac landing, and joined the battalion later on Gallipoli. Leslie was taken on strength of the 11th Battalion on 7 May 1915 when they were in reserve having lost 53 killed, 263 wounded, and 128 missing. He was allocated to 'D' Company.
An edited extract from the 11th Battalion's War Diary for 28 Jun 1915 gives an idea of the circumstances in which Leslie was killed.
In order to prevent the Turks from sending reinforcments from opposite the 11th Battalion to reinforce their southern flank, two companies of the 9th Battalion were to attack enemy trenches opposite, and the 11th Battalion's role was to give strong supporting fire on the enemy positions. In order to do this it necessitated the men to leave the relative safety of their trenches and take positions in the open that provided better sight lines to the enemy tenches they were to concentrate on. D Company were required to advance over a small knoll to take up their position, and were particularly exposed. The action started at 1:00pm, and the enemy, seeing men in the open, directed heavy shrapnel fire at them, causing a considerable number of casualties. As a result the men in the open needed to retire to their earlier positions, and the 9th Battalion attack ceased with all who could retire, doing so. The engagement lasted until 5:30pm, with the enemy continuing to fire on Australian positions for some time after. 11th Battalion casualties, which included Leslie, were 21 killed in action and 42 wounded.
Notes
Beach Cemetery is at the southern end of Anzac Cove.