Honouring Australian World War One Personnel
Name - Leslie Charles Anderson (enlisted as Charles Leslie Anderson)
Rank - Corporal
Official Number - 478
Enlistment Date - Feb 6th, 1915 aged 26
Regiment - 19th Battalion
AWWOD descendant - Arline Ronsisvalle
Service Detail - Leslie trained at Liverpool NSW and embarked on the HMAT Ceramic on the 25th June 1915 with 32 Officers and 980 other ranks. They arrived in Alexandria Egypt on the 23rd July 1915, camping at Heliopolis and embarked on the HMT Saturnia on the 16th August 1915 for Lemnos.
On the 21st August 1915 the "Fighting Nineteenth" landed on Gallipoli and were involved in the fighting at Hill 60, under Major General Cox. Leslie was admitted to the hospital ship Formosa on the 16th September 1915 suffering Varicosele and transferred to Port Said on the 22nd September 1915. After recovering there, he was attached to the 5th Training Battalion. He was rehospitalised and eventually declared unfit for Active Service because of heart disease.
He returned to Australia on the HS Karoola which left Suez on the 15th July 1916, embarking in Sydney on the 1st September 1916. He was hospitalised in the Prince of Wales Hospital Randwick for some time after his return. Family stories say that he was suffering from Shell Shock when he returned, but there is no record of this on his official papers. He was honourably discharged on 4th January 1917.
Members thoughts / recollections - Leslie Charles Anderson, my Grandfather, was born in Bega NSW on 2nd May 1886, the Great Grandson of a Marine, William Britten, who arrived in Australia on the ship, Active, part of the third fleet in January 1791. His family were amongst the first farmers that opened up the Bega Valley for dairy farming. Leslie did an apprenticership with Weyman Bros in Bega in carriage building. He was working in Sydney as a carriage painter with the NSW State Railway at the time of his enlistment. After his return to Australia he returned to his previous employment with NSW Railways and stayed with them until his retirement at age 65. He married in November 1917 and they only had one child, a daughter.
Leslie died 25th March 1958, age 72, at the Home of Peace, Marrickville Sydney. He was survived by his wife, Ina, his Daughter and two grandchildren. I knew him very well as he and my Grandmother always lived with us. I was fourteen when he died. One of my treasured memories was standing beside him while he polished his medals on Anzac Eve and then going into the City on Anzac Day, to cheer him on as he and so many other proud Australians marched down George Street. He has left a legacy now of two grandchildren, six great grandchildren and eleven great, great grandchildren.