Angelo, Leith John Newton

1208 Private Leith John Newton Angelo - 16th Battalion

Leith Angelo was born on Rottnest Island off Fremantle in 1892 to Colonel Fox and Mary Angelo. Colonel Angelo had been State Commandant for the Militia and had also been a magistrate at Roebourne and Rottnest Island. The Angelo’s remained on Rottnest until 1898 when the Colonel retired from public office. Leith then moved with his siblings and mother to Peppermint Grove while his father moved in with his eldest daughter in Albany. In 1902 Colonel Angelo returned to the family home where he died the same year.

The family then moved to Cottesloe where Leith completed his education. After leaving school Leith took up work as a Grocer. On the 12^th July 1915 Leith went to the Swan Barracks in Perth to enlist in the AIF. He was found to be fit for service with the medical examiner recording his physical attributes as;

Height:                                     5 feet 2 & ¼ inches;

Weight:                                    115lbs;

Chest Measurement:              33-35 inches;

Complexion:                            Dark;

Eyes:                                       Brown;

Hair:                                        Dark Brown;

Religious Denomination:         Church of England

Distinctive Marks:                   4 vaccination scars

After his successful enlistment Leith was sent to No.16 Depot Company where he received his basic infantry training. He spent almost a month in the depot but on the 16^th August Leith was sent to form a part of “D” Company of the 32^nd Battalion. This was a new unit made up of two Companies from South Australia and two from WA. The WA Companies trained locally till October when they were sent to Adelaide to join with the SA Companies. They then completed their training and they embarked from Port Adelaide on the HMAT Geelong on the 18^th November 1915. After arriving in Egypt in December they were disembarked and sent into camp. The men would have been expecting to be sent on to Gallipoli, but with the Dardanelles being evacuated the 32^nd Battalion was retained in Egypt where they took up Garrison duty on the Suez Canal defence line.

Leith was appointed a Driver and took care of a lot of the Battalion transport. In February he got into trouble for overstaying leave for which he was confined to camp for a day. Leith’s brother Clennell was in the 16^th Battalion and on the 1^st March 1916 he was able to get Leith transferred into the 16^th Battalion. Considering the 32^nd Battalion almost ceased to exist at the Fromelles action this move may have saved Leith’s life.

On joining the 16^th Leith reverted back to being a Private and he trained with his new unit for the next few months in the Egyptian desert. With the reorganisation of the AIF the 4^th Brigade became part of the 4^th Division AIF. As many were new units, the 4^th Division would embark on hard training in Egypt until June 1916. The 16^th Battalion boarded the H.M.T. “Canada” at Alexandria on the 1^st June 1916 and arrived at Marseilles France on the 9^th June.

After being disembarked, the 16^th Battalion travelled north up to the region around Armentieres. They spent the rest of June and the early part of July in this area until they were relieved by the 5^th Division AIF. In mid July they were sent down to the Somme battlefield and would continue the advance at Pozieres over ground won at a great cost to the 1^st & 2^nd Divisions. The 16^th Battalion went into the line in early August and launched assaults towards the position at Mouquet Farm. Clennell was wounded though Leith came through unscathed. Leith also participated in the unsuccessful 30^th August assault at Mouquet farm.

The 16^th Battalion was then sent to the Ypres front which was then a quieter part of the front line. They remained here till November when they returned to the Somme and they would endure the harsh 1916/17 French winter in the mud of the battlefield. In late February 1917 the Germans began their systematic withdrawal to the Hindenburg Line. The Australian and British divisions pushed them all the way and several sharp engagements took place. The 16^th Battalion as part of the 4^th Division were ordered to attack this line without the assistance of artillery and just with the support of tanks. As the men went forward on April 11^th 1917 the tanks were failing miserably, and the Germans, not being under artillery fire were clear to shoot the Australians down. Amazingly the 16^th Battalion managed to fight their way into the German trenches and held the German line for a period of time in the morning. But without reinforcements or supplies coming through the surviving men had to either withdraw under heavy fire or surrender. It was the heaviest Australian defeat of the war, though the troops involved showed much bravery. It was the lack of artillery support which proved their undoing. Clennell was captured by the Germans before he could retire from their trenches and he was thus made a Prisoner of War. Fortunately Leith came through the action unscathed.

In June the 16^th Battalion saw action at Messines and they remained at this front for the next few months. Leith was granted leave to the UK from the 9^th to 19^th August. On his return the battalion were still in the Messines sector but in September they moved to Ypres to take part in the current offensive. The 16^th Battalion saw action at Menin Road, Broodseinde and Zonnebeke. On the 10^th October 1917 Leith was wounded by shrapnel in the back. He was sent to the 4^th New Zealand Field Ambulance and from there to the 10^th Casualty Clearing Station. On the 19^th October Leith was admitted to the 14^th General Hospital at Wimereux and two days later was shipped to England, where he was admitted to Keighley War Hospital.

Leith remained under treatment here until the 3^rd December 1917, and as he as now well enough he was given two weeks of furlough. On the 17^th December he reported for duty to No.1 Command Depot Camp at Sutton Veny and he would be here for Christmas. On the 29^th December Leith was transferred to the Overseas Training Brigade Camp at Longbridge Deverill. He remained here for over four weeks and on the 23^rd January 1918 he boarded a transport ship at Southampton and set sail for France. On arrival at Le Havre Leith was marched into the Australian Infantry Base Depot. Leith only had a few days here as he rejoined the 16^th Battalion on the 29^th January 1918.

The 16^th Battalion were then in the Warneton sector near Messines and they would remain in this sector until late March. As a result of the German spring offensive which broke through the Third & Fifth British Armies, the 3^rd & 4^th Australian Divisions were sent south to the Somme to defend Amiens against the German advance. While on their way south the 4^th Brigade were stopped at Hebuterne and joined up with the New Zealanders to defend this sector against the German advance. It was a successful defence the Anzacs soon went on the offence, taking back territory from the Germans.

In late April 1918 Leith and the 16^th Battalion were finally sent south to join up with the remainder of the 4^th Division near Villers-Bretonneux. They held the line in this sector for the next few months and on July 4^th 1918 took part in the successful capture of Hamel village. The following month on August 8^th the 16^th Battalion took part in the great allied advance from Amiens which sent the Germans into retreat.

The 16^th Battalion successfully took their objectives but Leith was wounded in the arm. He was sent to the 20^th Casualty Clearing Station and then sent on an Ambulance train which took him to the 22^nd General Hospital. On the 26^th August Leith was transferred to England for further treatment and he was a patient in a military hospital in Colchester until the 7^th September. Leith was then transferred to the 1^st Auxiliary Hospital in Harefield. Leith spent the remainder of the war in England in the various depots while he waited to be fit enough to return to France.

With the announcement of the Armistice he was kept in England and was able to greet Clennell on his return to England. On the 24^th January 1919 the Angelo brothers boarded the HMT Delta and set sail for Australia, disembarking in Fremantle on the 28^th February 1919.

After being sent to No.8 AGH in South Terrace Fremantle for a medical check-up, Leith was released from hospital and for a short time resided at his mother’s residence at 62 Ord Street Fremantle. He was officially discharged from the AIF on the 21^st April 1919.

Unfortunately Leith did not live for long after the war as he died in Menzies Hospital in the Goldfields on the 8^th December 1923.