Leslie was born on 25th August 1898 and attended Ilford County High School between September 1910 and April 1914. He was the son of Robert and Emma McAdam. His father worked as a commercial clerk and his family lived in Meath Road, Ilford. Prior to attending Ilford County High School, Leslie was educated at Cleveland Road Elementary School.
Upon leaving school, Leslie worked in a drapery warehouse.
The Autumn 1918 edition of the school magazine, Chronicles, reported that Leslie had began the war with the London Scottish. However, when he died, he was serving with the 56th Battalion of the Machine Gun Corps (Infantry) at Croiselles. His service number was 152207. He was shot through the heart by a sniper on 27th August 1918, just two days after his twentieth birthday.
He is buried at Douchy-Les-Ayette British Cemetery (Grave I. A. 4).
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.