Born on 10th October 1895, Leonard was the seventh of ten children to Charles (1857-1936) and Emma May Webster (1859-1941) of Cottingham, Hull. His father ran the “Tiger Inn” pub in Cottingham. He worked as a Butcher before the war and lived in Cottingham. He queued to enlist on 1st September 1914 joining the fledgling 10th Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment, “The Commercials”, 1st Hull Pals.
After serving in Egypt over the winter of 1915-16, the battalion landed in Marseilles early in March and headed north to the trenches of the Western Front. Leonard was killed in action during the bombardment of 4th June 1916 and his name is commemorated on the Special Memorial at Sucrerie Military Cemetery.
The battalion left the front line that night and had to march past their dead comrades who were left lying at Sackville Street Dump awaiting the stretcher parties who would take them to Sucrerie for burial. Leonard was not among the living or the dead. His body was blown into so many pieces, or buried so deeply in the mud, that it was never found.
His name is recorded on the Cottingham War Memorial.
