Leonard Eastman ©
| Date of birth: | 1890 |
| Place of birth: | Southampton |
| Service No.: | 508441 |
| Rank: | Private |
| Regiment: | Royal Army Medical Corps |
| Battalion: | 2/1st (London) Field Ambulance |
| Died: | 25th March 1918 aged 27 years |
| Death location: | France and Flanders |
This photograph is © Richard Taunton Sixth Form College. Southampton Cenotaph Families and Friends Group have received permission to reproduce this photograph and extracts from the narrative on the Old Tauntonians’ online War Memorial:http://www.ota-southampton.org.uk/memorial/index.html
Please do not reproduce the photograph or any wording from this page. If you want permission to use this photograph or narrative please contact the College on email@richardtaunton.ac.uk.
Life before the War
Leonard was the oldest of 4 siblings born to Frank Arthur and Mary Ann, nee Haskell, who married in Southampton in 1889.
Frank was born in the city in 1862 and he died in 1929. Mary was born in Cranbourne in 1860 and she passed away in the city in 1937.
The family lived at 44 Portsmouth Road, Woolston from the early 1900’s.
Leonard’s 3 younger siblings – 1 sister and 2 brothers – were:
Olive Mary b. 1894 Bitterne and d. 1943 Bournemouth. Married Robert W Gandy in Southampton in 1926.
Alec Charles b. 1895 Bitterne and d. 1976 Southampton. Married Muriel C. Cook in Southampton in 1923.
Ralph Victor b. 11 June 1897 Bitterne and d. 1968 Cuckfield.
War Service
The 2/1st (London) Field Ambulance was assigned to the 58th (2/1st) London Division until February 1916, when it transferred to the 56th (London) Division. It remained in that Division until November 1918.
Leonard was probably badly wounded on 21st March 1918 when the Germans bombarded the Allied frontline between Oppy and Gavrelle (near Arras), where the 56th Division was based.
During its 1,010 days in France and Flanders the 56th (London) Division had spent 100 days in action during major operations, 385 days in an active sector of the Western Front, 195 days in quiet sectors and 330 days rest. Its total casualties were 1470 officers and 33,339 men.
Leonard is interred at the Aubigny Communal Cemetery Extension, France (Plot III, Row C, Grave 33). From March 1916 to the Armistice, Aubigny was held by Commonwealth troops and burials were made in the Extension until September 1918. Leonard’s headstone reads:
“Risen with Christ”
The 42nd Casualty Clearing Station used this cemetery for burials during the whole period, the 30th C.C.S in 1916, the 24th & 1st Canadian C.C.S in 1917 and the 57th C.C.S in 1918.
Old Tauntonians’ Memorial Roll
Time at Taunton’s School: 1903 – 1907
Education & Employment: Leonard passed the matriculation exam, and gained prizes in french and English. He also won the Chipperfield Moral Worth prize and a medal for attendance while at Taunton’s. He worked as a Civil Servant after leaving school.
Life during the War: Leonard was born in Woolston and lived in Southampton during his childhood. By 1911 he was living in St. Pancras and he enlisted at Bedford Square in London on 9th Septmeber 1914. He was part of the Royal Army Medical Corps, serving with the 2nd / 1st London Field Ambulance. Leonard arrived in france in June 1916 and returned home briefly in 1917 before returning to the field on 6th October 1917. He was hit by a shell which penetrated his lungs and he died of his wounds.
Leonard died on 25th March 1918 aged 27 years.
| Researcher: | Mark Heritage |
| Published: | 20th July 2015 |
| Updated: | Insert dates here |
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