Extra Regimental Sergeant Leslie William Page
Title
Extra Regimental Sergeant Leslie William Page
Identifier
P.013
Bibliographic Citation
Page, Leslie William'. (1892). England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915. FreeBMD. Retrieved: https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?r=88516923:0816&d=bmd_1634648714
'Leslie William Page'. (1963). Death Record (1963/B/60289). Queensland Births Deaths and Marriages, QLD, Australia.
Bean, C. E. W. (2014). Anzac to Amiens. Penguin: London.
National Archives of Australia: Australian Imperial Force, Base Records Office; B2455, First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920; PAGE L W, Page Leslie William : SERN 704, 1914 – 1920.
Australian War Memorial: Australian Imperial Force unit war diaries, 1914-18; AWM4 10/7, 2nd Light Horse Regiment.
Bourne, G. H. (2009). The history of the 2nd Light Horse Regiment, Australian Imperial Force August 1914-April 1919. John Burridge Military Antiques: Swanbourne.
Queensland Museum Inwards Correspondence #00323 (1933)
National Archives of Australia: Australian Imperial Force, Base Records Office; B884, Citizen Military Forces Personnel Dossiers, 1939-1947; PAGE Leslie William : Service Number - Q141573, 1940 – 1947.
'Leslie William Page'. (1921). Marriage Record (13971/1921 ). New South Wales Births Deaths and Marriages, NSW, Australia.
Australian War Memorial: Australian Imperial Force unit war diaries, 1914-18; AWM4 10/7, 2nd Light Horse Regiment.
Australian War Memorial: Australian Imperial Force unit war diaries, 1914-18; AWM4 10/6, 1st Light Horse Regiment.
Australian War Memorial: Australian Imperial Force unit war diaries, 1914-18; AWM4 10/12, 7th Light Horse Regiment.
Australian War Memorial: Australian Imperial Force unit war diaries, 1914-18; AWM4 10/2, 2nd Light Horse Brigade.
Australian War Memorial: Australian Imperial Force unit war diaries, 1914-18; AWM4 3/6, Assistant Provost Marshal, ANZAC Mounted Division.
Australian War Memorial: 2nd AIF (Australian Imperial Force) and CMF (Citizen Military Forces) unit war diaries, 1939-45 War; AWM52 1/8/24, No 1 Line of Communication Area (New Guinea and Townsville Fortress).
L W Page (1915). Queenslander Pictorial Supplement, 6 March, 1915. State Library of Queensland, Brisbane. Retrieved: http://onesearch.slq.qld.gov.au/permalink/f/1oppkg1/slq_alma21284541280002061
ANZAC DAY IN CAIRO. (1919, June 13). Toowoomba Chronicle (Qld. : 1917 - 1922), p. 3. Retrieved November 10, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article252914948
Eighty-ninth List. (1915, October 15). The Week (Brisbane, Qld. : 1876 - 1934), p. 30. Retrieved November 10, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article181475613
PRICKLY PEAR PULPER (1923, August 4). Western Star and Roma Advertiser (Qld. : 1875 - 1948), p. 4. Retrieved October 14, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article98193056
WARRA. (1920, July 21). The Dalby Herald (Qld. : 1910 - 1954), p. 3. Retrieved October 14, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article215442217
GOLD DREDGING CLAIMS GRANTED NEAR SOUTHPORT (1937, July 21). The Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld. : 1872 - 1947), p. 12 (SECOND EDITION). Retrieved October 14, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article184553865
VOLUNTARY DEFENCE (1941, December 24). South Coast Bulletin (Southport, Qld. : 1929 - 1954), p. 2. Retrieved October 14, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article188882654
R.S.L. DELEGATES VISIT SOUTHPORT (1947, June 11). South Coast Bulletin (Southport, Qld. : 1929 - 1954), p. 8. Retrieved October 14, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article188791530
CHIT CHAT (1952, February 13). South Coast Bulletin (Southport, Qld. : 1929 - 1954), p. 18. Retrieved October 14, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article225641071
CHIT CHAT (1952, November 12). South Coast Bulletin (Southport, Qld. : 1929 - 1954), p. 22. Retrieved October 14, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article226261576
CHIT CHAT (1953, January 7). South Coast Bulletin (Southport, Qld. : 1929 - 1954), p. 18. Retrieved October 14, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article226263032
QLD. INTEREST IN U.K. HONOUR (1953, January 1). Brisbane Telegraph (Qld. : 1948 - 1954), p. 13 (LAST RACE). Retrieved October 14, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article217254436
LEAGUE HUMOUR (1954, January 27). South Coast Bulletin (Southport, Qld. : 1929 - 1954), p. 5. Retrieved October 14, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article226272771
No Title (1953, November 28). South Coast News (Southport, Qld. : 1952 - 1954), p. 5. Retrieved October 14, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article226671890
SOUTHPORT MAY BE 'CONVENTION CITY' (1954, May 2). Sunday Mail (Brisbane, Qld. : 1926 - 1954), p. 3. Retrieved October 14, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article101724198
PENSIONER'S LEAGUE (1954, December 15). South Coast Bulletin (Southport, Qld. : 1929 - 1954), p. 18. Retrieved October 14, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article226330430
Top Level Conference on Main Beach Erosion (1954, December 4). South Coast News (Southport, Qld. : 1952 - 1954), p. 5. Retrieved October 14, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article226675813
Hammond, P. W. (ed.). (1998). 'Anne Bayliss Page.' In The Complete Peerage or a History of the House of Lords and All its Members From the Earliest Times, Volume XIV: Addenda & Corrigenda. Stroud: Sutton Publishing. Retrieved: http://www.thepeerage.com/p6376.htm#c63757.2
Relation
C.013.001
C.013.002
C.013.003
C.013.004
C.013.005
C.013.006
C.013.007
C.013.008
C.013.009
C.013.010
C.013.011
C.013.012
C.013.013
C.013.014
C.013.015
C.013.016
C.013.017
C.013.018
C.013.019
C.013.020
C.013.021
C.013.022
Contributor
Mr James Donaldson
Biographical Text
Leslie William Page was born on 23 August 1892 to Lydia 'Lily' Horton (nee Fisher) and Charles Ernest Page at the village of Christchurch, outside Newport, Wales. Leslie's brother, Eric Charles Randle Page, was born in 1896, but in 1898 their mother died and by 1902, their father had remarried. By 1911, Leslie was working on Ryding's Farm in Wrington, southwest of Bristol and over the Severn Estuary from Newport where he had grown up. In 1912, Leslie emigrated to Australia on board the Otrano, bound for Fremantle, Western Australia.
Page is next found in Townsville as a stockman and in December 1914, he enlisted with the 2nd Reinforcements of the 2nd Light Horse Regiment (SN: 704). On 9 Feb 1915, the reinforcements departed Brisbane on board the Itria to join the rest of the 2nd Light Horse Regiment in camp at Heliopolis, Egypt. After training in camp for several months, the unit eventually embarked at Alexandria bound for Gallipoli in early May, 1915. They disembarked on 12 May and went into bivouac near Quinn's Post. The following day the unit relieved the 15th Battalion at Quinn's Post, where they suffered heavily with 13 wounded in a single day. The unit was inexperienced, and the conditions at Quinn's Post were particularly difficult due to the exposed nature of the area. Bomb attacks were frequent, and there was the constant threat of snipers. On 14 May the unit was again relieved by the 15th Battalion, except for C Squadron who latter attacked at Quinn's Post, leaving 50 men killed, wounded or missing.
Page spent the rest of May and all of June and July with the 2nd Light Horse Regiment in or around Monash Valley where they suffered a constant stream of killed and wounded. The unit spent time garrisoning both Pope's and Quinn's Posts during this time, but were most often held in reserve behind the Australian lines to respond to attacks. Here they witnessed the major Turkish attack on the Australian line on 19 May, and the subsequent armistice on 24 May. They also helped to repulse an attack on the night of 29 and 30 June against Walker's Ridge, and the valley between Pope's Post and Walker's Ridge. Alongside the numerous casualties, many soldiers also fell sick due to the poor conditions owing to the difficulty in obtaining fresh supplies and water, and the swarms of flies across the peninsular that spread disease. On 28 July Page was among the sick evacuated from Gallipoli to Malta due to 'debility' (generalised weakness). He was initially treated at the St Andrews Military hospital on Malta, but in late August was transferred to England to the Lewisham Military Hospital. He spent the subsequent nine months, from September 1915 to May 1916 in Hospital and camp in England, before re-joining his unit in Egypt in June 1916.
In April 1916, while still in England, an entry in his service record states that Page “Is not – nor has he been illegally absent from duty”. This entry may be associated with Page joining the camp police of the Monte Video Camp at Weymouth in England, where he was stationed prior to his return to Egypt. In Egypt, he seems to have spent several months in the 1st Light Horse Training regiment, possibly attached as a camp guard from the 2nd Light Horse Regiment. In November 1916 the various camp police in Light Horse Units in Egypt were amalgamated under the Australian Provost Corps. It appears that Page was one of these guard, or one of several volunteers from the Australian Training Regiments, who joined the Provost Corps at this time.
Military police were usually attached to other units to assist in keeping good order around camps. In 1917 a typical Light Horse Military Policeman had a range of duties including providing information to troops, directing and overseeing traffic, inspecting passes and keeping the bounds of the camp, ensuring soldiers saluted and did not fraternise with “natives”, and to prevent stealing and marauding. In action, Military Police had special duties: guarding prisoners of war and protecting against spies.
At the beginning of February 1917, Page was first attached to the 1st Light Horse Regiment, then at El Risa east of El Arish in Sinai, and a week later, he was transferred to the 7th Light Horse Regiment, then at Masaid. Here he was promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal and stayed with the 7th Light Horse Regiment until the beginning of April. During this time the unit moved to Sheikh Zowaid on the border of Sinai and Palestine and undertook a series of raids towards Rafa, Khan Yunis, Dier el-Belah, and the Wadi Guzze in support of the Allied advance into Palestine. This series of 'stunts' culminated in the First Battle of Gaza on 26 March, where the 7th Light Horse Regiment was part of the close encircling screen to the north of Gaza. Page would have played a role in guarding the over 150 prisoners taken by the Regiment during the battle. Following this failed attack, the unit went into bivouac at Dier el-Belah, and on 1 April, Page was transferred for Police Duty to the Eastern Force HQ, also stationed at Deir el-Belah.
While at Deir el-Belah in 1917 Page uncovered a series of mosaic tesserae, nails, coins and human bones from a hilltop. In a letter to the Queensland Museum in 1933, he records finding the tesserae and other finds buried at a depth of 6-8 inches below the surface, with the coins deposited below the mosaic. Page notes that “the floor was probably the floor of a temple as I have been told the ancient people of those parts built their temples on hilltops”. This kind of quasi-archaeological information was common amongst Australian troops in Sinai and Palestine during this period, and several mosaic floors and other chance discoveries were made by troops in the region. Unauthorised excavations of these finds were commonplace.
April to June 1917 were spent at Headquarters camps around Deir el-Belah, including at Abu Sitta, Absan el-Kebir and Tel el-Fara. In the Middle of June 1917 a new General Routine Order (2563) was issued concerning the “sealing” of “native workers” in the Canal Zone and Sinai. These workers were to have a cord tied around their neck and the knot sealed as a way of marking authorised workers in the Canal Zone. On 14 June 1917 Page was transfer to the Assistant Provost Marshall to help with this “sealing” of the Canal Zone, and with the policing of “sealed” workers moving within and through the Zone. It is difficult to track Page while stationed in this area and the next we hear from him is a promotion to acting Corporal in April 1918 and a transfer the Australian Provost Corps in Cairo in June 1918.
Duties for Military Police in Cairo in June 1918 involved the patrol of Cairo neighbourhoods, camps and other military installations to keep watch over troops and locals. Usual charges delt with in Cairo included soldiers out of bounds, absent without leave, improperly dressed or lacking their identity disc. Another common charge was drunkenness and there was a widespread ban on the sale of alcohol in Cairo to troops during this period. Page spent the balance of 1918 and most of 1919 stationed in Cairo. This was a challenging time for the Military Police due to the influx of returning troops out of Palestine awaiting repatriation to Australia, and the Egyptian uprising in March and April 1919. In March 1919 Page was promoted to the rank of Extra Regimental Sergeant, and in June 1919 he took part in ANZAC day commemorations in Cairo where he was a cross bearer at the service held in All Saints Church, Cairo. It wasn't until August 1919 that he was granted leave to England, leaving Port Said aboard the Caledonia. He eventually returned to Australian embarking on the Borda on 9 December 1919 and arriving back into Australia on 2 Feb 1920. He received the 1914/15 Star, Victory Medal and British War Medal for his Service.
Soon after his return, Page married Constance Mary Page (it seems that Constance's maiden name was also Page) in Sydney in 1921, before moving to Chinchilla to where they owned a dairy station, Huscote, at Warra on the Condamine River. Here they welcomed a son, William James Baylis Page, and a daughter, Anne Baylis Page, in the early 1920s. Page is reported to have invented a machine to turn prickly pear into useful fodder for his cattle in the Dalby Herald of 1923. He was also active in the local RSL. The family lived at Huscote until the early 1930s, and welcomed a second daughter, Althea Baylis Page, around 1927. By 1932 the family had moved to Toowoomba where they lived at 90 Lindsay St, East Toowoomba and Page worked now as a manufacturer's agent and salesman.
By 1936 the family had moved again, this time to the coast at Southport where they lived at Chester Terrace and Page continued his work as a salesman. He was also the secretary of Queensland Metal Recoveries Pty Ltd, who were dredging the local waters for gold and other minerals. By the 1940s Page was now working as a Journalist with the Brisbane Telegraph and served as an officer in the local Volunteer Defence Corps. In 1942 he re-enlisted in the regular army for service during the Second World War, again with the Provost Corps (SN Q141573). He was appointed a Lieutenant with the Provost Company of the 1st Line of Communication Sub Area Headquarters, stationed in Townsville. He served a total of 596 days before relinquishing his appointment on 28 December 1943.
Following the war, the family moved again to Short St at Southport, first to a house named “Tregeare” in 1949, and then to a house named Wroxton at 15 Short St. Page, known locally as “Peter” was active in the local community at Southport, and was a member of the local Chamber of Commerce and Progress Association. In 1949 he served as president of the local RSL sub-branch and the early 1950s was chairman of the Southport United Services Building Association, in charge of raising funds to construct a new services club building, which was completed in 1957. The Page children, Althea and Billy were both on the land in western Queensland in the 1950s with their own families, while Anne lived in the United kingdom where she was married to WL Baillieu, later 2nd baron Baillieu. Page continued to work as a journalist until his death on 11 August 1963.
Page is next found in Townsville as a stockman and in December 1914, he enlisted with the 2nd Reinforcements of the 2nd Light Horse Regiment (SN: 704). On 9 Feb 1915, the reinforcements departed Brisbane on board the Itria to join the rest of the 2nd Light Horse Regiment in camp at Heliopolis, Egypt. After training in camp for several months, the unit eventually embarked at Alexandria bound for Gallipoli in early May, 1915. They disembarked on 12 May and went into bivouac near Quinn's Post. The following day the unit relieved the 15th Battalion at Quinn's Post, where they suffered heavily with 13 wounded in a single day. The unit was inexperienced, and the conditions at Quinn's Post were particularly difficult due to the exposed nature of the area. Bomb attacks were frequent, and there was the constant threat of snipers. On 14 May the unit was again relieved by the 15th Battalion, except for C Squadron who latter attacked at Quinn's Post, leaving 50 men killed, wounded or missing.
Page spent the rest of May and all of June and July with the 2nd Light Horse Regiment in or around Monash Valley where they suffered a constant stream of killed and wounded. The unit spent time garrisoning both Pope's and Quinn's Posts during this time, but were most often held in reserve behind the Australian lines to respond to attacks. Here they witnessed the major Turkish attack on the Australian line on 19 May, and the subsequent armistice on 24 May. They also helped to repulse an attack on the night of 29 and 30 June against Walker's Ridge, and the valley between Pope's Post and Walker's Ridge. Alongside the numerous casualties, many soldiers also fell sick due to the poor conditions owing to the difficulty in obtaining fresh supplies and water, and the swarms of flies across the peninsular that spread disease. On 28 July Page was among the sick evacuated from Gallipoli to Malta due to 'debility' (generalised weakness). He was initially treated at the St Andrews Military hospital on Malta, but in late August was transferred to England to the Lewisham Military Hospital. He spent the subsequent nine months, from September 1915 to May 1916 in Hospital and camp in England, before re-joining his unit in Egypt in June 1916.
In April 1916, while still in England, an entry in his service record states that Page “Is not – nor has he been illegally absent from duty”. This entry may be associated with Page joining the camp police of the Monte Video Camp at Weymouth in England, where he was stationed prior to his return to Egypt. In Egypt, he seems to have spent several months in the 1st Light Horse Training regiment, possibly attached as a camp guard from the 2nd Light Horse Regiment. In November 1916 the various camp police in Light Horse Units in Egypt were amalgamated under the Australian Provost Corps. It appears that Page was one of these guard, or one of several volunteers from the Australian Training Regiments, who joined the Provost Corps at this time.
Military police were usually attached to other units to assist in keeping good order around camps. In 1917 a typical Light Horse Military Policeman had a range of duties including providing information to troops, directing and overseeing traffic, inspecting passes and keeping the bounds of the camp, ensuring soldiers saluted and did not fraternise with “natives”, and to prevent stealing and marauding. In action, Military Police had special duties: guarding prisoners of war and protecting against spies.
At the beginning of February 1917, Page was first attached to the 1st Light Horse Regiment, then at El Risa east of El Arish in Sinai, and a week later, he was transferred to the 7th Light Horse Regiment, then at Masaid. Here he was promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal and stayed with the 7th Light Horse Regiment until the beginning of April. During this time the unit moved to Sheikh Zowaid on the border of Sinai and Palestine and undertook a series of raids towards Rafa, Khan Yunis, Dier el-Belah, and the Wadi Guzze in support of the Allied advance into Palestine. This series of 'stunts' culminated in the First Battle of Gaza on 26 March, where the 7th Light Horse Regiment was part of the close encircling screen to the north of Gaza. Page would have played a role in guarding the over 150 prisoners taken by the Regiment during the battle. Following this failed attack, the unit went into bivouac at Dier el-Belah, and on 1 April, Page was transferred for Police Duty to the Eastern Force HQ, also stationed at Deir el-Belah.
While at Deir el-Belah in 1917 Page uncovered a series of mosaic tesserae, nails, coins and human bones from a hilltop. In a letter to the Queensland Museum in 1933, he records finding the tesserae and other finds buried at a depth of 6-8 inches below the surface, with the coins deposited below the mosaic. Page notes that “the floor was probably the floor of a temple as I have been told the ancient people of those parts built their temples on hilltops”. This kind of quasi-archaeological information was common amongst Australian troops in Sinai and Palestine during this period, and several mosaic floors and other chance discoveries were made by troops in the region. Unauthorised excavations of these finds were commonplace.
April to June 1917 were spent at Headquarters camps around Deir el-Belah, including at Abu Sitta, Absan el-Kebir and Tel el-Fara. In the Middle of June 1917 a new General Routine Order (2563) was issued concerning the “sealing” of “native workers” in the Canal Zone and Sinai. These workers were to have a cord tied around their neck and the knot sealed as a way of marking authorised workers in the Canal Zone. On 14 June 1917 Page was transfer to the Assistant Provost Marshall to help with this “sealing” of the Canal Zone, and with the policing of “sealed” workers moving within and through the Zone. It is difficult to track Page while stationed in this area and the next we hear from him is a promotion to acting Corporal in April 1918 and a transfer the Australian Provost Corps in Cairo in June 1918.
Duties for Military Police in Cairo in June 1918 involved the patrol of Cairo neighbourhoods, camps and other military installations to keep watch over troops and locals. Usual charges delt with in Cairo included soldiers out of bounds, absent without leave, improperly dressed or lacking their identity disc. Another common charge was drunkenness and there was a widespread ban on the sale of alcohol in Cairo to troops during this period. Page spent the balance of 1918 and most of 1919 stationed in Cairo. This was a challenging time for the Military Police due to the influx of returning troops out of Palestine awaiting repatriation to Australia, and the Egyptian uprising in March and April 1919. In March 1919 Page was promoted to the rank of Extra Regimental Sergeant, and in June 1919 he took part in ANZAC day commemorations in Cairo where he was a cross bearer at the service held in All Saints Church, Cairo. It wasn't until August 1919 that he was granted leave to England, leaving Port Said aboard the Caledonia. He eventually returned to Australian embarking on the Borda on 9 December 1919 and arriving back into Australia on 2 Feb 1920. He received the 1914/15 Star, Victory Medal and British War Medal for his Service.
Soon after his return, Page married Constance Mary Page (it seems that Constance's maiden name was also Page) in Sydney in 1921, before moving to Chinchilla to where they owned a dairy station, Huscote, at Warra on the Condamine River. Here they welcomed a son, William James Baylis Page, and a daughter, Anne Baylis Page, in the early 1920s. Page is reported to have invented a machine to turn prickly pear into useful fodder for his cattle in the Dalby Herald of 1923. He was also active in the local RSL. The family lived at Huscote until the early 1930s, and welcomed a second daughter, Althea Baylis Page, around 1927. By 1932 the family had moved to Toowoomba where they lived at 90 Lindsay St, East Toowoomba and Page worked now as a manufacturer's agent and salesman.
By 1936 the family had moved again, this time to the coast at Southport where they lived at Chester Terrace and Page continued his work as a salesman. He was also the secretary of Queensland Metal Recoveries Pty Ltd, who were dredging the local waters for gold and other minerals. By the 1940s Page was now working as a Journalist with the Brisbane Telegraph and served as an officer in the local Volunteer Defence Corps. In 1942 he re-enlisted in the regular army for service during the Second World War, again with the Provost Corps (SN Q141573). He was appointed a Lieutenant with the Provost Company of the 1st Line of Communication Sub Area Headquarters, stationed in Townsville. He served a total of 596 days before relinquishing his appointment on 28 December 1943.
Following the war, the family moved again to Short St at Southport, first to a house named “Tregeare” in 1949, and then to a house named Wroxton at 15 Short St. Page, known locally as “Peter” was active in the local community at Southport, and was a member of the local Chamber of Commerce and Progress Association. In 1949 he served as president of the local RSL sub-branch and the early 1950s was chairman of the Southport United Services Building Association, in charge of raising funds to construct a new services club building, which was completed in 1957. The Page children, Althea and Billy were both on the land in western Queensland in the 1950s with their own families, while Anne lived in the United kingdom where she was married to WL Baillieu, later 2nd baron Baillieu. Page continued to work as a journalist until his death on 11 August 1963.
Rank
Extra Regimental Sergeant
Occupation
2nd Australian Light Horse Regiment
1st Australian Light Horse Training Regiment
Australian Provost Corps
7th Australian Light Horse Regiment
General Headquarters, Egyptian Expeditionary Force
Birth Date
23/08/1892
Birthplace
Death Date
11/08/1963
Death Place
Files
Collection
Citation
“Extra Regimental Sergeant Leslie William Page,” First World War Antiquities, accessed April 19, 2024, https://ww1antiquities.omeka.net/items/show/218.
Comments