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Biographical Dictionary - Coorow, Carnamah, Three Springs


Surname

Leslie Charles LONGSON

Born 1890 in Perth, Western Australia [15]
Son of Charles Darcy LONGSON and Harriet Ellen BRITTAIN [15]
Married Julia Adelaide DAVIS in 1914 [66]
In 1916 was working as a Bookkeeper and was living in Stirling Street in the Perth suburb of Guildford [30]
Enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in Perth on 13 May 1916 [30: item 8204758]
     On enlistment was described as being 5 feet 4 inches tall, weighing 121 lbs. with blue eyes, auburn hair, and a fresh complexion [30]
     At the time of his enlistment he was the father of one child, who was aged 18½ months [30]
     Underwent military training at the Blackboy Hill military camp [30]
     Embarked Fremantle, Western Australia on the Miltiadeson 29/1/1917 and disembarked in Devonport, England on 27/3/1917 [30]
     After undergoing further training in Codford, Wiltshire, England embarked for France on 17 September 1917 [30]
     Private 3472 in the Australian Imperial Force's 9th Reinforcements  of the 51st Battalion in France during the First World War[30]
     Served with his Battalion from his arrival in France until being hospitalised due to illness on 8 March 1918 [30]
     As he was suffering from colitis and catarrhal he was returned to England on 10 April 1918 and then back to Australia [30]
     Discharged from the Australian Imperial Force on 10 December 1918; received the British War Medal and the Victory Medal [30]
Clerk for the Midland Railway Company in Perth in the early 1920s [44]
His brother Edward D. LONGSON managed the National Banks in Mingenew and later Moora [9: 2-Feb-1923, 6-Apr-1923]
In 1926 was working as a bookkeeper and was living at 75 Swan Street in the Perth suburb of Guildford [61]
On 17 March 1921 purchased 1,001 acres of virgin land from the Midland Railway Company for 2/6 per acre [27]
     He likely purchased the land under an offer from his employer to sell 1,000 acres of land to their office staff at a nominal price[34]
     The 1,001 acres was Lot M1311 of Victoria Location 2023 and its cost totalled £125/2/6, payable by instalments [27]
     In the early 1920s his 1,001 acre block was listed in rate books as being located in Winchester [44]
     By 1931 the 1,001 acres was listed as being in Coorow (not Winchester) and had been sold to William H. MELVIN & Sons [3]
He and Robert R. IRONSIDE conducted the Tote for the Carnamah Race Club at their Annual Race Meeting in 1924 [10]
     The Race Meeting was held at Macpherson Park in Carnamah on Thursday 10 April 1924, and carried stakes totalling £150 [10]
     It was reported that "they carried out their duties with promptness and exactitude" [10: 17-Apr-1924]
On 14 May 1924 purchased from the Midland Railway Company 1,335 acres of virgin land in Waddy Forest for £166/9/5 [27]
     Purchased another 1,100 acres of virgin land in Waddy from the Midland Railway Company on 2 December 1925 for £275/4/5 [27]
     The collective 2,435 acres in Waddy Forest were adjacent Lots M1298 and M1297 of Victoria Location 2023 [27]
His 2,435 acre property in Waddy was farmed by R. MACDONALD under the partnership of "Longson & MacDonald" [3] [5: 27-Jan-1933]
     A fire broke out on his farm in Waddy Forest in January 1933 which was extinguished through the efforts of 40 locals [5: 27-Jan-1933]
     He made a hurried trip to Coorow on Sunday 29 October 1933 to inspect his crop and make arrangements for harvest [5: 3-Nov-1933]
     By 1942 he had sold his 1,435 acre farm in Waddy Forest to local farmer Donnell E. FOWLER [3]
Resided of late in the Perth suburb of Mount Lawley [2]
Died 10 December 1959; buried Karrakatta Cemetery, Perth WA (Anglican, FA, 350)[2]


Reference:  Carnamah Historical Society & Museum and North Midlands Project, 'Leslie Charles Longson' in Biographical Dictionary of Coorow, Carnamah and Three Springs, retrieved 29 March 2024 from www.carnamah.com.au/bio/leslie-charles-longson [reference list]




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