Carmel School
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The Selfless Soldier Who Worked Cricket into Combat By: Eden Paletz Carmel School The legacy of fellow-citizens whose lives had once been devoted to our service and defined by their courage and willingness to essentially loose it all, is immortal. At the outbreak of World War I, after a young Serbian nationalist named Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand on June 28, 1914i, populations eager to validate their loyalty to their respective countries prepared for the declared war between the Central Powers and the Allies. Amongst them, half a million Jews donned Russian uniforms, ii while on the opposing side, almost 100,000 Jews served in the German army. From Australia’s population of less than five million people, 416 809 men enlistediii, an estimated 2304 were with Jewish heritageiv, one of which was British born Leonard Maurice Keyzor (sometimes spelt Keysor). Leonard payed, as a giving soldier, a significant contribution to the war through displaying multiple acts of heroism and selflessness. His bravery resulted in saving numerous lives and helping achieve positions of power in the battlefields. Leonards journey to a becoming heroic figure started with a simple life in Maida vale, London. He was born on the 3rd of November 1885. Leonard was the third of five children to his parents Benjamin Kyezor, a Jewish clock importer and Julia A studio portrait of Lieutenant Leonard Benjamin. Leonard was educated at Townley Castle in Ramsgate where he Kyesor VC had a keen interest in cricketv, in which he excelled, this later served a big part in his contribution in Gallipoli. After his schooling at age 19, in 1904, he immigrated to Canada. After 10 years in Canada Leonard decided to join his brother Stanley and sister Madge in Sydneyvi, New South Wales, in search for employment. Here he undertook clerical work; this, however, did not last as Leonard was only in Australia for about three months before the war broke out. On August 18th 1914, he enlisted as a private in the Australian Imperial Force and became an original member of the 1st Australian Infantry Battalion, with service number 958.vii He embarked from Sydney with his unit, on board HMAT Afric A19 on October 18thviii. The unit arrived at King George's Sound in Albany, Western Australia, where it joined the convoy of 38 transports to Egypt. Egypt was the start of building of the brave soldier he came to be. From December he trained for five long months to regain his fitness after the long voyage and served in Egypt with the Australians involved in defending the Suez Canal. Then, landing in Gallipoli on the 25th of April 1915 at approximately 7:30amix, On the 20th of June Keysor was promoted lance corporal.x Before long, he found himself in the terror of mud, disease and the constant threat of shellfire in the trenches of Gallipoli. The landscape made fighting difficult and the Turks created a strong system of trenches that were difficult to break down. The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps made a decision to attack from another base, so they moved to Lone Pine. It was in the battle of Lone Pine that Leonard flourished, as a selfless hero. Early in the morning on the 6th of August, the brigade moved forward to take part in a diversionary attack on the Turks, designed to draw the attention of the enemy forces away form where the British troops would be landing, at Suvla Bay (north of Anzac Cove) and the other Anzac operations such as the August Offensive (the main assaults against Sari Bair, Chunuk Bair and Hill 971). xiThe 2nd and 3rd brigades had already earned recognition for their efforts at Helles and the Landing. The main thought at the forefront of the soldiers’ minds was that “[i]t’s the turn of the 1st Brigade to show what it can do”, claims Historian Charles Beanxii. The attack was launched at 5.30 in the evening and ended with the Australians managing to capture the main Ottoman trench line. The Turks retaliated by launching numerous counter-attacks in an attempt to regain the position and ground they had lost. Though initially in a position of reserve, the entire 1st Brigade was given the opportunity to prove themselves as they were absorbed into the front line. What followed was three days of “brutal hand-to-hand and close-quarter combat”.xiii Improvised bombs were thrown between the close range trenches. Officially made grenades were not yet available at Gallipoli so improvised bombs, made from empty jam tins filled with explosives and jagged metal shrapnel, were manufactured on site. The Turks used cast iron bombs which, like the Australian bombs, had an external fuse xiv(about 8 seconds long) that was lit before they were thrown at the enemy. Keyzor was considered an excellent bomb thrower and was well aware of the limitations and potential of both bomb types. With this, Leonard took it upon himself to save those around him, selflessly disregarding his safety for that of others. On two occasions on the 7th of August, Leonard caught two live grenades in mid air at the expense of his life, and hurled them back at the enemy. The Turks soon learned to reduce the length of the fuses, Leonard’s response; to smother them with sandbags or even his own greatcoat. With his cricketing skills, he caught and threw grenades continuously, even after being injured. On August 8, Keysor successfully bombed the enemy out of a temporary commanding position they had over his trench, and was again wounded. xvAlthough marked for hospital he declined to leave for treatment, and volunteered to throw grenades for another company which had lost its grenade throwers in the battle. xviLeonard continued to throw grenades until the situation was relieved. Twice wounded, he nevertheless maintained his inspiring efforts almost continuously for fifty hours in what is described in the History of the First Battalion A.I.F. as ‘days and nights of slaughter; of fierce hand to hand encounters; of men struggling through dark tunnels toward the enemy; of inspired heroism as Turkish counter-attack after counter-attack was flung back as violently as it was launched; of screaming shells and blinding flashes; of nerve racking nights and red dawns shot with blood...’ xvii This series of actions not only supported the idea of Leonard being heroic, but also proved his priceless quality of selflessness. Leonard put his life on the line with every grenade he laid his hands upon, and even being fully aware of the possible outcomes, he handled countless numbers. This heroic act of continuously risking his life also goes to show his selfless quality as it was done with the intention of protecting those around him. A more specific example is when Leonard smothered the bombs with his great coat when pressured for time on the fuses. This act shows that Leonard was willing to give up a valuable item of his, to save others lives and valuables. Further supporting Leonard’s qualities is that despite being wounded, or maybe because of it, Leonard acts selflessly to protect more people. It is the fact that he declined evacuation for medical attention to instead continue fighting that verifies his selflessness as he disregards his own troubles to assist in those of others. After the battle was over Keysor, while being treated in Mudros, was diagnosed with enteric fever and was transported back to England to recover. He was considered unfit for military service until late 1916, when he rejoined the 1st Battalion after they had been transferred to France. Then in November he was transferred to the 42nd Battalion and was promoted to the rank of sergeant on the 1st of December. On the 13th of January 1917 he was commissioned and again promoted to the rank of second lieutenant only to be shortly changed six months later, when he was promoted to lieutenant. On the 26th of May 1918, fighting at Villers-Bretonneux, Leonard suffered a mustard gas attack and was taken off the xviii line for the last time. Leonard was one of ten Victoria Cross recipients who embarked for Australia on 24 August on HMAT 'Medic' for rest and recreation, and to help with the government’s recruiting efforts. On the 12th of December 1918 he was discharged as he was deemed medically unfit. For now he resided in Sydney from until February 1919 during which time he worked as a clerk. xix Leonard then returned to England where he received the Victoria Cross at Buckingham Palace from HM King George V. xxIn the announcing of his award they spelt his surname Keysor. He settled close to his birthplace and a year later on the 8th of July he married Gladys Benjamin, his cousin which whom he later had a daughter Joan. Around this time thieves broke into his home and among the items stolen was his VC, but it was returned to him in an unstamped envelope with an apology from the thieves scrawled on the front. At this point lieutenant Keyzor formally changed the spelling of his name to Keysor, to suit the spelling in his award announcement and avoid confusion. xxi Leonard preferred to live a quiet life but attended special VC events when asked to. Leonard even just subtly debating his attendance at the special VC events reveals that he did not expect special recognition for his acts, he was humbled in his selflessness. In 1927, 9 years after the war, Keysor was persuaded to re-enact his heroic actions at Lone Pine, in a silent film, For Valour.