Leslie Charles Mills

BIRTH & BAPTISM First name(s) Leslie Charles Last name Mills Sex Male Birth year 1897 Birth place Briagolong Father's name Thomas Mother's name Rach Burton Registration number 16930 State Victoria

CHILDHOOD The Weekly Times Sat 10 Nov 1906: MAY WRITE AGAIN. Letter have been received from the following children who are accepted as nieces and nephews and may write again— Evelyn Sleep Annie and Emily Wade. G. S. Jobling I e-e Johns. Ada Maisie Poulter. Ella Ford, Hannah Munzel, Frances Martin. Rose Draner, Agnes Mason, Gertie Martin, Ellen M. Wills and Leslie C. Mills.

Stratford Sentinel and Briagalong Express Fri 8 Dec 1911 At the school committee meeting on Monday night, it was decided to give the children a little treat on the Thursday prior to breaking up for their Xmas holidays. The committee desire assistance in the way of refreshments and the presence of the parents on that afternoon. With part of the surplus over from the coronation festivities, it is intended to present each child with a prize. The school committee are also giving a special prize to the Dux of the school—both for boys and girls. The decision for the prizes will be arrived at by a vote taken amongst the children themselves.—I have just been informed that the voting resulted in Master Leslie Mills and Miss Marion McKinnon winning.

Ditto Fri 5 Jan 1915 The annual distribution of prizes took place at the State school on Thursday, 22nd December. Before the prizes were distributed Mr. McKinnon (chairman) and Mr. A. H. B. Kelly gave short and instructive addresses to the children; after which recitations, songs, readings, etc., were given by the following children:— Misses Harbeck, Gellatly, Neva and Meriam Cruth, Farrant, Maloney, Maxwell, McKinnon, and Williams, and Masters Maloney, Mills, Cruth and Williams. The prizes were then presented by Mr. T. Lamb, who also gave an address, and promised a special prize for next year. The principal prizes were gained by the following:— School Committee prizes.—Dux— Boys, Leslie Mills; Girls, Marion McKinnon. Mr. J. Forbes' prize.—Good behaviour—Kitty Wuillemin, 1; W. Forbes, 2. Mr. McKinnon's prize.—Nature Study—Senior—Rene Gellatly. Junior—Gordon Dugan. VI. Class.—Miriam Cruth, 1; Myrtle Bennett, 2; Alice Harbeck, 3. V. Class.—Elsie Cruth, 1; Millie Farrant, 2; Ida Williams, 3. IV. Class.—Kitty Wuillemin, 1; Elsie Linaker, 2; Irene Lotton, 3. III. Class.—Eilleen Culhane, 1; Ruby Linaker, 2; Lyla Maxwell, 3. II. Class.—Gordon Dugan, 1; Doris Dugan, 2; Alex Kenihan, 3. Refreshments supplied by the parents, were then handed out to the children. The Head Teacher, Mr. Jenkin, thanked the gathering on behalf of the children and himself for taking such an interest in the school.

ENLISTMENT The Maffra Spectator Thu 22 Jul 1915, BRIAGALONG: Report on recruiting meeting held at the Briagalong reserve on Saturday afternoon where Les Mills was one of the volunteers.

Stratford Sentinel and Briagalong Express Fri 23 July 1915, BRIAGALONG Briagolong. (From our correspondent.) The patriotic sports meeting held here last Saturday was a greater success that even the rnost sanguine oould expect. The net proceeds for the day and evening amounted to over £60. Much of the success was due to the hardworking and never-tiring secretary) Mr A. Bennett, who was ably backed-up by a very enthusiastic committee of gents, and ladies. During the afternoon speeches were delivered by the Hon. W. Pearson, M.L.C. and Mr McLachlan, M.L.A., and the speeches were so telling that when recruits were called for, no less than 12 volunteers responded, and jumped on to the platform, They were heartily cheered, backed by the strains of "Tipperary" from the Brass Band under the baton of Mr W. H. Carter, of Stratford, who generously gave his assistance to them for the day. The volunteers were as follows :—Leslie Mills, J. D. Sim, J, A, McKenzie, Jas. Black, Stan. Freeman, Garfield Riley, Syd. Hubbard, H. A. Hair, Wallie Missen, Syd. Lestrange, J. Tutchell, Les. Blair. News has come to hand that Private Syd. May, of Bushy Park, has been seriously wounded by a bullet in the chest. Syd. went to Egypt with, the Light Horse which body was dismounted and taken to the Dardanelles as infantry. Mrs W. LeStrange of Bushy Park is a sister of the wounded soldier.

First name(s) Leslie Charles Last name Mills Service number 3582 Rank Private Birth year 1898 Marital status Single Occupation Grocer Religion Baptist Age at Embarkation 18 Embarkation year 1916 Embarkation date 05 Jan 1916 Embarkation regiment/unit 6th Infantry Brigade Unit information 23rd Infantry Battalion Unit information 2 8th Reinforcements Departure port Melbourne, Victoria Ship name Hmat A19, Afric Enlistment date 06 Aug 1915 Address Briagolong City Gippsland State Victoria Country Australia Next of kin's first name(s) Thomas Next of kin's last name Mills Relationship Father Next of kin address Briagolong Next of kin city Gippsland Next of kin state VICTORIA Next of kin country - Record set Australian Imperial Force Embarkation Roll 1914-1918

The Argus Mon 18 Sep 1916, CASUALTIES IN FRANCE: Mr and Mrs. Thomas Mills, of Millbank, Briagalong have received a letter from their son, James Henry Mills, stating that on July 19 he was shot through the left shoulder and is now progressing favourably in a London hostpitaL Their youngest son, Leslie Charles Mills, has been missing since July 19 in France.

DEATH & BURIAL From Briagalong Cemetery records. 349 MILLS Leslie Charles, 19 y, born 1897, died July 19 1916, memorial only Section F, lot 25, Briagalong. Son of Thomas Mills and Rachell Burton. Lost and presumed buried and killed in action in No Man's Land, France, in WW1. First name(s) Leslie Last name Mills Birth year - Death year 1916 Death date 19 Jul 1916 Cemetery Briagolong Cemetery City Briagolong State Victoria

3582 Pte MILLS Leslie Charles, 59th battalion, enlisted 6 August 1915, KIA 19 July 1916. Service records at the Australian national Archives. Very easy to access.

The Argus Sat 22 Sep 1917 Family Notices: MILLS.- Officially reported killed at Pozieres, on 19th July, 1916 (previously reported missing), Leslie Charles, dearly beloved youngest son of Thomas and Rachel Mills, of "Mill Bank," Briagolong, and loved brother of Janie (Mrs. L. Thorpe), Belle (Mrs. L. Buttsworth), Walter, Alice (Mrs. J. B. Herbert), Jessie, Jack, James (A.I.F.), and Frank (A.I.F.), aged 19 years. "The supreme sacrifice."

MILLS.- Officially reported killed, 19th July, 1916, at Pozieres (previously reported missing), Leslie Charles Mills, youngest beloved son of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Mills, of "Mill Bank," Briagolong, and dearly loved brother of Mrs. J. B. Herbert, and loving uncle of Leslie and Kingsley, of "Albayne," Princess street, Kew. "Duty bravely done."

Leslie died in the battle of Fromelle, and may be one of the lost Australians being found lately. Unfortunately he was not, but cousins have given DNA so one day he might be found. .......the shell-damaged village of Fromelles standing on a strategically important ridge behind the German front line. The surrounding battlefield had been fought over by the British during 1915, and now a fresh attack against the ridge was planned. It was hoped that a strong diversionary attack here would prevent the Germans sending troops to reinforce their defences on the Somme. The attack was set for the evening of 19 July and the Australians and another untried British division, the 61st, were chosen to make the effort. The attacking troops were not familiar with Fromelles itself because it was in German hands; for them the nearest village was Fleurbaix which stood behind their own lines. For a long time afterwards many would refer to the events about to unfold as the battle of Fleurbaix, but eventually the name of Fromelles stuck and today it is by that name that the battle is known. Early next morning while Major General McCay was still considering further attacks, he received reports of the overnight disaster and passed the news to the British commander and architect of the whole scheme, General Richard Haking. It was obvious that the idea of any further attacks had to be abandoned. By mid-morning most men who were able had withdrawn to their own starting lines. However, many of the wounded had to be left, while some groups of men became surrounded and had to surrender. At 9.20 a German officer noted that the remaining enemy had withdrawn, or been captured. Almost 500 Australian and British troops became prisoners of war. The recovery of wounded went on over the next three days and nights. The Germans gathered in many behind their own lines and elsewhere sometimes shifted men to where the Australians might reach them. Having driven the attacking forces back, the Germans re-occupied and re-developed their trenches which were surrounded by the dead from the fighting. Many of the British and Australians killed in the battle were later buried by the enemy. There were other parts of no man's land were the bodies lay exposed, unable to be reached, for the next two years. Immediately the war ended, Australians went back to Fromelles. "We found the old No-Man's Land simply full of our dead. In the narrow sector west of the Laies River and east of the sugar-loaf Salient, the skulls and bones and torn uniforms were lying about everywhere." The losses incurred at Fromelles made this battle the most expensive in terms of lives lost over a 24-hour period in Australia's war history. It must be remembered, however, that there were heavy losses throughout the war, and there were other days that were almost as terrible. In addition, there would be battles that would go on much longer with the death reaching even a higher level. For example, there were many more Australian deaths in the battle of Pozières, which began just a few days after the disaster at Fromelles and lasted almost seven weeks. The high proportion of those men killed whose bodies were either not recovered or could not be later identified added to the tragedy at Fromelles. It also brought about a unique memorial on the Western Front, called VC Corner. The memorial stands over 410 Australian graves in a cemetery bearing no headstones; each man was lost in the battle. Their names, with almost a thousand others, are on the memorial's wall and each one of these 1,299 names represent an Australian lost or unidentified after the fighting.

Leslie was in the 59th Battalion but fought with the 60th at Pozieres. He was 18 years old. 29/6/1916 - Les disembarked at Marseilles 18/7/1916 - Missing in France 19/7/1916 - Reported Missing 19/7/1916 - now reported killed in action. [Fromelles aka Fleurbaix] 20/10/1916 - Tom and Rachel write to the Prime Minister, Billy Hughes, suggesting he contact the Germans re prisoners of war. 29/8/1917 - Court of Inquiry Killed in Action held in France It concluded that Les was presumed buried in No Man's Land 24/10/1917 - Rachel writes to the Army to know whether Les has been reported killed because he has been "missing for a certain time", or "have they found some trace of him. We would like to know no matter how small the details may be". 27/7/1921 - "Notwithstanding the efforts of our Graves Services Unit, we have so far been unable to find any trace of the last resting place of your son....." The letter goes on to ask that Tom and Rachel provide the army with any "reference to the circumstances surrounding his death", presumably given by fellow soldiers who were witnesses. Tom and Rachel reply that "We cannot hear of any one that saw him after he went over the top." 19/11/1921 - Tom signs acceptance slip for a memorial scroll.

Leslie's brother, Jim, was wounded in the same battle. Leslie's cousin, L/Cpl Arthur Charles Horsnell of 8th Battn, was KIA three weeks later in the Battle of Pozieres, on 18/8/1916, and buried N E of Poziers but never found. There were no living witnesses to the deaths of Leslie and Arthur, and it is very likely they were hit by shell fire and there is nothing of them left to be found. Parents of both were devastated and pressed the Defence Department for information re their sons for several years after the war. The enormous death rate for the Australians in this battle means that possible witnesses were probably also killed. However, DNA samples have been provided by close male relatives, so if a grave is ever found, they might be identified.

See documents Battle of Fromelles 18 - 20th July 1916. The attack was the début of the AIF on the Western Front and the Australian War Memorial described it as "the worst 24 hours in Australia's entire history". Of 7,080 BEF casualties, 5,533 were suffered by the 5th Australian Division; the Germans lost 1,600–2,000 men and 150 prisoners. The battle caused one of the greatest numbers of Australian deaths in action in 24 hours, surpassed only at the Battle of Bullecourt in 1917. The 5th Australian Division lost 5,513 casualties, 2,000 men in the 8th Brigade, 1,776 men of the 15th Brigade, 1,717 men in the 14th Brigade and 88 men from the divisional engineers; two battalions had so many casualties that they had to be rebuilt. Of 887 personnel from the 60th Battalion, only one officer and 106 other ranks survived unwounded and the 32nd Battalion suffered 718 casualties. The 31st Battalion had 544 casualties and the 32nd Battalion lost 718 men killed and wounded. The 61st Division was already under strength before the battle, engaged half as many men as the 5th Australian Division and lost 1,547 casualties. German casualties in the 6th Bavarian Reserve Division were 1,600–2,000 men. Allied soldiers killed in the area that was re-taken by the Germans, were buried shortly after the battle. The burial pits were photographed from a British reconnaissance aircraft on 21 July but marked as dugouts or trench-mortar positions. The bodies were taken by narrow gauge trench railway on 22 July and buried in eight 10 m × 2.2 m × 5 m (30 ft × 7 ft × 20 ft) pits.