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Leslie John Samuel Genner - Information

Leslie was born in Camden c1894 to John and Elizabeth Genner. The Genners eventually settled down on William St in Belligen on the North Coast. Here, Leslie found work as a labourer, before deciding to serve the war effort, at the age of 22. He and his younger brother, Arthur, travelled down to South Western Sydney to join the AIF on the 17th of January 1916. Leslie signed up with the Light Horse in Liverpool. Training at the Menangle Light Horse Camp, he was posted to the 10th Reinforcements, 12th Light Horse Regiment. He then departed Sydney on the RMS Mongolia on the 8th of July 1916.

Leslie landed in Egypt, and was marched out to the 2nd Light Horse Training Regiment in Moascar. He was marched out to a School of Instruction in mid December, and taken to the 4th Light Horse Training Regiment in late February 1917. The following month, he was assigned to the 12th Light Horse Regiment. Leslie and his unit patrolled Palestine for Turkish forces, before going to a School of Instruction at Zeitoun from 25th August to 16th September 1917. Shortly after this, his brother was killed in action on the Western Front in Belgium. Leslie had to carry on fighting, as the Turkish bastion of Gaza fell in November 1917, followed by Jerusalem in December. In 1918, operations moved into the Jordan Valley, as the Allies were pushing the Turks further back. However, by July, Leslie was feeling rather unwell, reporting to hospital until early September. He was still out of action, when the Turks surrendered at the end of October. He rejoined his unit a week after the Armistice on the 18th of November. Leslie remained in the Middle East for some time. He was sent back to Australia from Kantara onboard the HT Morvada on the 20th of July 1919. He was discharged from military service in October, and returned to his family in Belligen. Luckily, his parents were able to get one son back safe from the war.