Birth

Enlistment Information

Military Service

Embarkation Information

Military Awards

Death

Biographical Notes

Patrick Joseph Leonard was born on 6 December 1893 at Glenavy, the seventh son of Maurice and Mary (née Walsh) Leonard. Maurice and Mary had married in 1872 in their native County Kerry, Ireland, and had two, maybe three, children born there before they emigrated. By 1879 they had settled in the Waimate district, their son John born at Glenavy. They raised a family of eight sons and five daughters. Along with his siblings, Patrick was educated at Tawai School. The Waitaki School held its annual picnic and breaking up ceremony in the school grounds on 18 December 1902. Master P. Leonard sang a solo for which he was loudly applauded. Tawai School was first known also as Waitaki Village Settlement School until 1909. Indeed, the address for Maurice and Mary was Waitaki until at least 1908. In May 1909, Jones’s Buckjumpers were performing in a paddock at Waimate. After some good exhibitions in the boys’ competition, P. Leonard won first prize. Nine riders came forward in response to invitations to ride dynamite (a pony that doesn’t buck) and after hey had all had a try it was found that 2 seconds was the longest period that any of them had “stopped there”. H. Pollard and P. Leonard tied at this figure. In 1911 the Leonard parents were at Kapua.

Enlisting simply as Patrick Leonard on 8 February 1916 at Featherston, he gave his address as Kanangaroa, Wanganui and his occupation as farmer for A. Maison, Aberfeldie. Single and Roman Catholic, he named his mother as next-of-kin – Mrs M. Leonard, Arno via Waimate. Medically examined on 4 February 1916 at Wanganui, he was 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighed 158 pounds., and had a chest measurement of 34-37 inches. His complexion was medium, his eyes and hair brown. His sight, hearing, heart and lungs were all normal, his colour vision good, and his limbs and chest well formed. He was free from diseases, and had had no illnesses, fits or absences from work from accident or ill health. He was vaccinated and in good bodily and mental health. Private P. Leonard embarked with the 13th Reinforcements, departing from Wellington on 29 May 1916 per the “Tofua” and disembarking at Devonport, England on 27 July.

He was posted to Strength with the 1st Otago Company on 30 July 1916 at Sling. But on 1 August he was evacuated to hospital with V.D. Discharged from Bulford Hospital to Codford, he was taken on Strength on 4 August. Leaving for Sling on 24 August, he joined up with the 2nd Brigade and was posted to the Otago Company. It was 19 September 1916 when he proceeded overseas from Sling. Not a week later, on 25 September 1916, he was admitted to No. 18 General Hospital at Camiers (V.D.) in France. It was 29 October 1916 when he was discharged from No. 51 General Hospital (V.D. section). On 22 November he joined his Battalion in the Field. He forfeited 14 days’ pay for absenting himself from fatigue party without permission while on Active Service with the Otago Regiment in the Field on 8 January 1917. He was sent to hospital sick on 1 April 1917 and admitted to 3rd New Zealand Field Ambulance. After being admitted to No. 2 NZ Field Ambulance on 3 April, he was discharged to Reinforcements Camp the next day. After rejoining his Unit from hospital in France on 14 April 1917, he incurred another punishment – awarded 14 days Field Punishment No. 2 on 5 May. “When on active service conduct to the prejudice of good order and military discipline in that he used improper language on parade 28.4.17.” He was detached to No. 2 NZ Machine Gun Corps on 12 May 1917 and rejoined his Battalion from there on 18 May.

He was sent to hospital and admitted to No. 1 NZ Field Ambulance on 13 July 1917, rejoining his Battalion again on 17 July. Casualty lists published on 26 and 27 October 1917 included Patrick Leonard of Waimate among the wounded in Flanders. Suffering a gunshot or bomb wound to the left forearm in action on 12 October 1917, he was admitted in succession to No. 1 NZ Field Ambulance, No. 3 Australian Casualty Clearing Station, and to No. 54 General Hospital at Boulogne, France. Two days later he embarked by the “Princess Elisabeth” and was admitted to the New Zealand General Hospital at Brockenhurst. He was admitted to the 3rd NZ General Hospital at Codford on 22 October, then transferred to the Convalescent Depot at Codford on 6 November. He was improving. Having been admitted to the Convalescent Hospital at Hornchurch on 7 November 1917, he left there on 30 November, was attached to Strength and went on leave, to report at Codford on 17 December. Mrs M. Leonard, Arno, had received word on 25 October 1917 that her son, Private P. Leonard, who left with the 13th Reinforcements and went through Messines, had been admitted to hospital on 13 October, having been wounded in the left forearm. Mr M. Leonard, Arno, received word in early November that Private P. J. Leonard had been transferred to N.Z. General Hospital at Brockenhurst on 15 October, severely wounded. About two weeks later, Mrs Leonard, Arno, received further word that Private James Leonard had been admitted to the military hospital at Bethnal Green on 19 October [1917], severely wounded on the left thigh, and that Private Pat Leonard had been transferred to a convalescent depot at Hornchurch.

Private Leonard was transferred to the 4th NZ Infantry Reserve Brigade and marched into Sling from Codford on 4 March 1918. Admitted to the 3rd New Zealand General Hospital at Codford, England on 9 April 1918, with tonsillitis, he was discharged to the Convalescent Depot at Codford two weeks later and taken on Strength. Marching into Larkhill, he proceeded overseas on 18 September 1918 and rejoined his Unit (Otago Regiment) in France. On 14 January 1919 he was detached to the UK for return to New Zealand. Private P. Leonard, of Arno, Waimate returned on board the “Kia Ora” which left from Liverpool on 27 March 1919 and was due at Lyttelton on 7 May 1919. Leonard was one of the Waimate men who were to arrive at Studholme Junction by special train on 9 May. Cars were got together at very short notice to convey to their homes those who arrived. He was discharged on 16 December 1919, no longer physically fit for War Service on account of illness contracted on active service, and headed for Arno, Waimate. He was awarded the British War Medal and the victory Medal for his service in Western Europe.

Patrick married Mary O’Rourke (née Sullivan) at Waimate in 1933. Mary had married David O’Rourke in 1928. David died in December 1930 and was buried at Karori Cemetery with their infant son. Initially, Patrick farmed at Arno. Patrick and Mary then spent all their married life at Norton Reserve, Waimate. Many of Patrick’s siblings remained in the Waimate district. Patrick Joseph Leonard died on 27 February 1966 at Waimate Hospital, of Nortons Reserve, aged 72 years. Following a Requiem Mass at St Patrick’s Church, he was buried in the Waimate Cemetery, where his grave is marked with a services plaque. Mary died at the Waimate Hospital in December 1967 and was buried alongside him. Patrick died intestate, letters of administration being granted to his widow Mary who was the sole beneficiary of his estate.

The name of P. J. Leonard appeared regularly on the Waimate Daily Advertiser Roll of Honour under the sub-title of Answered the Call. The name of P. J. Leonard is inscribed on the Arno Hall Roll of Honour, beneath the inscription “Lest We Forget”. The Arno Soldiers’ Memorial Hall at Kapua was opened on 27 August 1919 with a social and dance, there being high quality entertainment in the evening. The crowd, which packed the Soldiers’ Memorial Hall, included settlers from the Forks, McCulloch’s Bridge, Morven, Willowbridge, and Douglas and the Downs; while the Waimate people present could be counted in scores. The promoters of the Memorial Hall and the district which had supported them were worthy of warm congratulation, said the guest speaker of the evening. The hall was a credit to them, and not only would it serve a felt want in the district, but would stand as a fitting memorial to those brave boys who so materially assisted in securing the great victory which had released a suffering world from the savagery of war. The heroism of our brave lads on Gallipoli, in Flanders, and in Palestine had foiled the plans of the brutal oppressor, the Prussian. His suggestion that the names of the boys from the district who went on active service be placed in gold letters on a panel in the hall, met with applause. The National Anthem was sung about 10.30, and supper served, whereafter the hall was cleared for dancing, which continued till the “wee small hours.” On 19 November 1920 the Roll of Honour in the Arno Soldiers’ Memorial Hall at Kapua was unveiled. The roll which contains the names of the local men who made the supreme sacrifice, and of those who went and were fortunate enough to return, is a handsome piece of work, In the centre of the tablet is a silver shield bearing the names of the nurse and seven local men who laid down their lives. Grouped around this are the names of 18 who also answered the call. Before the unveiling a short concert was given. The Union Jack was duly pulled away, the audience standing in silence. Mr W. O’Connor, on behalf of the returned soldiers, said he wished to express appreciation of the way in which Arno had honoured the names of the dead and the living. Arno did a big thing in erecting a hall like this as a memorial. A very enjoyable supper concluded the evening. The name of P. J. Leonard is inscribed on the Arno Hall Roll of Honour, beneath the inscription “Lest We Forget”.

P. Leonard’s name is also inscribed on the Tawai District Memorial as Served Overseas. There was a large attendance of residents at the Tawai School on the afternoon of 23 August 1923, on the occasion of the unveiling of the Tawai Soldiers War Memorial and Roll of Honour. The proceedings opened with the singing of the National Anthem, followed by various speakers. It was proposed to place a sheet containing the military history of all those on the Roll of Honour, including the place of death and burial, in a drawer of the memorial, so that in the years to come it would be a permanent record of service of all those who had made the supreme sacrifice. Tawai had a war record to be proud of. After the unveiling of the memorial, “To the glory of God, and in memory of the men from Tawai District who made the great sacrifice”, the prayer of dedication was said, the Benediction was pronounced, and the singing of Rule Britannia and the National Anthem concluded the ceremony. Refreshments handed round with the usual Tawai hospitality, concluded a very pleasant function.

Mary Leonard died in July 1933, and Maurice Leonard (senior) died in March 1939. They were buried at Waimate, as were several of their children. Three brothers of Patrick served in World War One – Michael Martin Leonard, James Leonard (enlisted as Leonard James; died in 1922 and remembered on the Tawai War Memorial – “The supreme sacrifice”, his death believed to be as a result of his war service) and Joseph Thomas Leonard. The two oldest sons of the family – Maurice Leonard and John Patrick Leonard – were both listed on the Reserve Roll, being married men with children. Four cousins – Thomas Leonard, Michael Joseph Leonard, Michael Vincent Foley (with the Australian forces under an assumed name) and Timothy Joseph Foley – all served in the War. Nephews who served in World War Two were Regnault Maurice Leonard, Redmond John Leonard, Martin Joseph Leonard, Leo Dennis O’Connor, and Francis Leonard Howard who was killed in action in Italy on 30 July 1944. His niece, Dympna Ita Kane served in both the Clerical Division and the Medical Division of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps in World War Two.

Sources

Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [27 November 2013]; NZ Defence Force Personnel Records (Archives NZ Ref. AABK 18805 W5544 0067707) [04 November 2015]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [27 November 2013]; Waimate Daily Advertiser, 23 December 1902, 10 May 1909, 26 October 1917, 6 & 19 November 1917, 30 May 1918, 30 April 1919, 9 May 1919, 9 & 28 August 1919, 20 November 1920, Otago Daily Times, 26 October 1917, 28 April 1919, NZ Times, 26 October 1917, Press, 26 October 1917, 28 February 1966, Sun, 26 October 1917, Timaru Herald, 27 October 1917, 30 April 1919, 24 August 1923, New Zealand Herald, 7 November 1917, Lyttelton Times, 28 April 1919 (Papers Past) [23 October 2015; 08 February 2018; 29 August 2019; 01 & 18 September 2019; 09 February 2020; 04 March 2021; 18 July 2022; 03 December 2022; 03 & 05 January 2024; 05 December 2024; 08 December 2025]; Timaru Herald, 28 ebruary 1966 (Timaru District Library) [06 November 2015]; School Admission records (South Canterbury Branch NZSG); Waimate Cemetery burial record (Waimate District Council) [27 July 2014]; Waimate Cemetery headstone transcription (South Canterbury Branch NZSG cemetery records microfiche) [04 November 2015]; Probate record (Archives NZ/FamilySearch) [23 June 2017]; NZ Electoral Rolls (anestry.com.au) [03 January 2024]

External Links

• Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph record
• Military personnel file
• Other military personnel file

Related Documents

No documents available. 

Researched and Written by

Tony Rippin, South Canterbury Museum; Ann Munro, SC branch NZSG; Teresa Scott, SC Geneology Society

Currently Assigned to

TS