Joseph Frederick Leonard (1905 - 1967)

Born 8 Apr 1905 in Mosman, New South Wales, Australia

Ancestors

Husband of Dulcie Newton (Hammond) Leonard — married 1926 in Chatswood, New South Wales, Australia

Descendants

Died 6 Mar 1967 at age 61 in Bega, New South Wales, Australia

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Biography

Joseph Frederick Leonard, Freddy to everyone who knew him, was born on 8th April 1905 in Mosman, New South Wales, Australia. He was the seventh child and third son of Daniel Leonard and Eliza Turnbull. ^[1]

He married Dulcie Hammond in 1926 in Chatswood, New South Wales. ^[2] They had three sons:

• Frederick Joseph (1925-)
• Alan James (1927-77)
• Ronald Vincent (1929-)

Freddy Leonard is a Military Veteran.
Served in the Second Australian Imperial Force 1940-1945
2/6th Australian General Hospital

On 12th July 1940 at Lane Cove, New South Wales, Freddy enlisted in the Second Australian Imperial Force for military service during the Second World War. ^[3] He was posted to the 2/6th Australian General Hospital (AGH), initially based at Ingleburn and then Bathurst in New South Wales. The hospital staff embarked aboard HMT Queen Mary and departed on 28th December for the Middle East, via Ceylon (Sri Lanka). They established the hospital at Gaza Ridge. In March 1941, they transhipped for Greece, however, the German onslaught meant they did not get the hospital set up before evacuating to Crete and then back to Gaza Ridge in the May. On 1st January 1943 the hospital's personnel boarded the HMT Queen of Bermuda for Fremantle where they boarded the Queen Mary for Sydney. The 2/6th AGH next depolyed to the Atherton Tablelands, behind Cairns in North Queensland. On 12th June 1945 the 2/6th AGH sailed from Cairns for Labuan via Morotai. Their primary purpose soon after changed to receiving ex-Prisoners of War from Singapore and Kuching (all nations) and to prepare them for either a flight back to Australia or a journey by hospital ship. ^[4][5] Freddy was demobilised on 31st October 1945. ^[3] For his service during the war he was awarded the 1939-1945 Star, Pacific Star, Defence Medal, War Medal 1939-1945 and Australia Service Medal 1939-1945.

Aged almost 62 years, whilst on vacation, Freddy drowned in the surf at Bega, on New South Wales' South Coast on 6th March 1967. ^[6]

Sources

1. ↑ New South Wales Birth Index #15219/1905
2. ↑ New South Wales Marriage Index #7399/1926
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Department of Veterans' Affairs nominal roll: NX57294 Sergeant Joseph Frederick Leonard; accessed 9 Jan 2022
4. ↑ Australian War Memorial unit record: 2/6th Australian General Hospital; accessed 18 Apr 2018
5. ↑ 2/6th Australian General Hospital; accessed 9 Jan 2022
6. ↑ New South Wales Death Index #16587/1967