2nd Lieutenant Leslie Linsey

2nd Lieutenant Leslie Lisney was born in Bray in County Dublin to an English father and an Irish mother. His father, Arthur Lisney, had been a land surveyor and set up an estate agents called Lisney and Son, which still exists today as one of the biggest estate agents in the Republic of Ireland.

Leslie was the ‘son’ of Lisney and son and was expected to take over the company. However, he was dyslexic and fared badly at school, struggling to find a career suitable for a middle class boy. He was very interested in mechanics, helping a friend of his who entered a car in the races at Phoenix Park in Dublin but was very much dissuaded from this line of work.

When the war broke out, he went North to join the Crown Forces, first of all with the RAF, where he completed basic training but washed out. Then, he joined the army and went through officer training.

He was sent out to Burma, originally to an operational training unit, as the officer of an Indian regiment. However, after six weeks at the OTU, Leslie was still unable to speak a word of Urdu, despite intensive training.

He was reassigned to the South Staffordshires but had been there little more than a week when, while out on patrol, his platoon came under fire from a Japanese machine gun. He was hit and was left ‘apparently seriously wounded’ on a sand spit in the middle of a river they were patrolling.

His father Arthur received a letter describing, very starkly, the circumstances of his son’s death. The letter continues: "No further information is available but every endeavour is being made to ascertain what subsequently happened to your son, and you may rest assured that you will be informed immediately of all further developments. I am to convey to you an expression of sincere regret for the additional distress this letter must cause you but it is felt that you would wish to be informed of the circumstances in which your son became missing."

Leslie's brother-in-law William Skillen, himself a veteran of the First World War, did a lot of letter writing in the 1970s to try and find more information. Specifically, he tried to find where Leslie had died, but came away with very little.

Leslie's dates in India/ Burma

1942 April 12 – ​Arrival in India. Posted  O.T.S. (Officer Training School), Bangalore.

1942 April 18 – ​Promoted Lieutenant.

1942 June 18 ​– Attached 16/10 Baluch Regiment, Bangalore, 51st (Indian) Infantry Brigade, 25th (Indian) Division.

1942 July 26 – ​Attached 51 Indian Infantry Brigade, Bangalore.

1942 August 31 – Reattached 16/10 Baluch Regiment, Bangalore, 51st (Indian) Infantry Brigade, 25th (Indian) Division.

1942 October 23​ – Adverse confidential report by Brig. L.V. Hawkes, stating he was not suitable for the Indian Army due to his inability to learn Urdu and that he should be attached to a British Battalion in another Brigade. This document appears to be a fair copy done by Leslie

1942 December 3 – Attached 9 York & Lancs Regt. In the field.

1943 February 6​ – Rejoined 16/10 Baluch Regt. In the field.

1943 May 5​ – Posted British Base Reinforcement Camp, Deolali.

1943 July 4​ – Posted to 1 Battalion, North Staffordshire Regt. In the field. (NA WO172/2547 not reviewed).  (WGRS: It seems unlikely that this posting was taken up as he was killed whilst with the 16/10 Baluch.)

1943 July 17​ – Reported missing.