Private Leonard Ralph Bradshaw
| Date of Birth | c.1890 |
|---|---|
| Age at Death | 24 |
| Date of Death | 20 October 1914 |
| Service Number | 10753 |
| Military Service | 1st Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers |
| Merton Address | 30 Chapel Road Mitcham |
| Local Memorial | Mitcham War Memorial |
Additional Information
Leonard was born in Mitcham in 1890 to a family who had lived in the area for generations. His mother Eliza and Father Henry, a Carpenter, were the head of the large family and lived in Chapel Road, Mitcham at the time of the 1891 Census. Leonard’s siblings were Charles aged 16, Ernest 14, Harry 12, Frank 10, Emily 5 and Claude aged 3. An elder sister Florence had already left home. Leonard was aged one year.
In 1901 the family moved to 2 Belgrave Road, Mitcham and were joined by Percy aged 8 and Amy aged 6. Eliza had eleven children in total, but sadly one child had died. By 1911 the family were living at 2a Homewood Road, Mitcham and most of the children had left home. By the end of the war in 1915, the family had moved back to 30 Chapel Road.
On 11 February 1911, Leonard enlisted as a regular soldier with the Sussex Regiment and was in barracks at the time of the census. He was described as 5ft 3 inches in height, weighing 116 lbs, with blue eyes and brown hair. His profession was recorded as a Fitters Mate.
At some point, Leonard transferred to the Royal Welsh Regiment, as a private with the 1st Battalion. They were stationed in Malta when war broke out, returning to England in September 1914. The regiment joined the 7th Division and on 7th October landed at Zeebrugge, marching 120 miles to Ypres to join the effort to push the Germans out of Belgium. They were the first division to entrench at Ypres.
Leonard’s unit were involved in the First Battle of Ypres (19 October – 22 November 1914), also known as ‘The Race to the Sea’ which saw the Allies and the Germans battling for control of the city of Ypres and trying to outflank each other to secure the English Channel ports. But they were surprised by the strength of the enemy and after two days were reduced to 200 men. Sadly Leonard was killed in action on the second day of the battle, after having been on the front for just two weeks. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial at Ypres. He is also commemorated locally on the Mitcham War Memorial.