Richard Leonard

“Richard William Leonard was born at Gateshead near Newcastle, England in 1893, one of four brothers. With the tragic death of the boys the family migrated to Western Australia and young Richard developed into an excellent sportsman as did his younger brother, Johnny. Apparently both Richard and Johnny played soccer although the younger brother was destined to become an Australian Rules champion. Richard (or ‘Dickie as he was called) played soccer with the newly formed Caledonians and the newspaper reports of the time mentioned his dashing style as a half-back. With the outbreak of war Richard became an Officer Engineer in the Merchant Marine Service and initially joined the Transport Ship Thistleban at the port of Fremantle on the 8th June, 1915. The Thistleban was torpedoed and sunk and Leonard was transferred to the transport ship Thistleleard which travelled the North Sea delivering ammunition and supplies to Archangel, Russia. On 24 April 1917 the Thistleleard too was torpedoed and sunk. No lives were lost, but Officer Engineer Leonard subsequently contracted dysentery. He died on 2 July 1917, aged 24 years.”
Excerpted from John Williamson’s Soccer Anzacs: The Story of the Caledonian Soccer Club.