The Sydney suburb of Carlingford, sits atop the northern boundary of the Sydney basin. From the junction of Marsden and Pennant Hills roads one can look over Parramatta and Granville and down toward the Kings School. In one of its earliest incarnations the area was known as Mobbs Hill. Private Leonard Ellis Kells was born into the Mobbs clan, the eldest of eight.
A sparsely populated area known mainly for its orchards, the closest football club to Carlingford at the time would have been Granville, and just how an orchard labourer from Carlingford found his way into football is anyone’s guess, but find it he did. Private Kells had previously enlisted on 11 August 1915, but was discharged before Christmas at his parents’ behest due to him being under age.
Len had another crack in January 1917 not long after turning 21, and was posted to the 45th Battalion of the AIF Sent to serve in France and then Belgium. Kells the flying winger became Pte Kells the chronic sufferer of influenza and other illnesses like bronchitis. His time at the front was also marked by losing a few days’ pay here and there as a result of going AWL.
He returned in February of 1919 and again took up football, but with Parramatta United, not returning to the Granville Magpies with whom he had played prior to enlisting. He married Violet Clarke in 1925 in the Newcastle suburb of Charlestown, his wife dying only eight years later.
Private Kells lived a solitary life until his death in 1947, his last occupation listed as orchard worker.