Leslie was born on 21st February 1897 and attended Ilford County High School between 8th September 1908 and 30th May 1912. He joined from Highlands Elementary School and had an Essex County Council Scholarship to pay for the school fees.
Before he left the school in 1912, he passed the Oxford Senior Local Examination with 2nd Class Honours. He went on to become a boy clerk in the civil service. By the time that he enlisted for the army, he had a job at the Admiralty in Whitehall.
Leslie’s father, Charles was a cashier in a bank when he started at the school. However, by 1911, his father was unemployed (which probably explains the granting of a scholarship). He was the only son of Charles and his wife, Minnie. They lived at 46 Stanhope Gardens. However, by the time of their son’s death in 1916, the family had moved to Southend.
Leslie died, aged 20, on 7th October 1916 whilst serving as a private with the 1st/15th Battalion of Prince of Wales’ Own Civil Service Rifles. His service number was 6598. He is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial (Pier and Face 13C).
Research by Andrew Emeny, History Teacher at ICHS
Sources:
Ancestry.com
ICHS school records and magazines
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Note
Ilford County High School started life as the Park Higher Grade School in 1901 in Balfour Road, Ilford. It was renamed Ilford County High School (or initially County High School, Ilford) in the years after the school’s management was transferred from Ilford School Board to Essex Education Committee in 1904.