Leslie Edward PLUMMER was born in Korumburra, Victoria on the 24 November 1893. Leslie was the third of six children born to George Alfred and Catherine (nee WHITE) PLUMMER. The couple’s first four children were born in Victoria, with the first of the last two being born in Perth in 1901. Records indicate that the Plummer family had moved to Perth sometime in 1898-99. Leslie was five foot six and a half inches tall, had brown eyes and dark brown hair. He wasn’t married and lived in the family home at 21 Fitzroy (now Berwick) Street, Victoria Park. Leslie was a wire worker, in which occupation he crafted wire cages, grills and other items.
Upon his enlistment in the Australian Imperial Force on the 26 June 1915 Private Leslie Edward Plummer became a member of the famed 11th Battalion. Leslie embarked for training at Tel-El-Kabir, Egypt on the ship Themistocles on the 13 September 1915, he was 21 years old. After completing training and suffering several admissions to hospital for influenza, Leslie arrived on the Western Front on the 5 April 1916. He was Killed in Action at the Cordonneire salient in France on the 30 May 1916 when German artillery bombarded, then their infantry raided the 11th Battalion’s trenches. Leslie was aged just 22.
Interestingly, the Coolgardie Miner reported in its edition of 15 July 1916, page 1, that “Leslie Edward Plummer, who was recently killed in France, came from a long line of soldiers. He is a descendent of Colonel Hutchinson [through his paternal grandmother] who fought bravely at the battle of Colloden [sic], and a grandson of the late Lord Horgan, of County Cork [Ireland].” Leslie’s father George Alfred was a civil servant working at the Postmaster General’s Department for more than 20 years and by all accounts was well loved. His obituary in January 1923 stated that upon hearing the news of the death of his son Leslie on active service, he enlisted himself, at the age of 44.
Leslie’s father George Alfred Plummer was a civil servant working at the Postmaster General’s Department for more than 20 years and by all accounts was well loved. His obituary in January 1923 stated that upon hearing the news of the death of his son Leslie on active service, he enlisted himself, at the age of 44.
George did return to Australia in 1918 and lived his remaining years with his wife in Berwick Street, and later 74 McMillan Street, Victoria Park. His death in 1923 at just 53 years of age was said to be from injuries received in the war.
The eldest Plummer sibling, George David and his wife Florence Jane Plummer named their first-born child in honour of their fallen brother, when Leslie Albert Cecil Plummer was born in Geraldton in 1918.
In 1919, on the third anniversary of his death, Leslie’s sister Daisy placed an “In Memoriam – Anzac Heroes” notice for her brother in The West Australian. The notice included the following poem that to this day paints a vivid picture of the grief of a nation over the loss of so many of its brave youth:
“In many Australian homes today
There’s a vacant chair, there’s a boy away;
There are falling tears and hearts that yearn
For the soldier boy who will never return.”
For more than ten years Leslie’s three sisters who were then in South Australia with their respective husbands, submitted notices to the Perth newspapers to remember their beloved brother. On the tenth anniversary of Leslie’s death in 1926, his sisters wrote: “PLUMMER – In loving memory of our dear brother Leslie Edward Plummer, killed in action May 30, 1916. As years go by we miss you more. Inserted by his loving sisters, Daisy, Betty and May.”
Plummer Street in East Victoria Park is named in honour of Leslie, and to this day, pays lasting tribute to the memory of a fallen son of Victoria Park.
Lest We Forget
Family Tree
Leslie Edward PLUMMER
Born: 24 November 1893 Korumburra, Victoria (3290/1893)
Father: George Alfred PLUMMER
Mother: Catherine WHITE
Married: Never married.
Died: Killed in Action, France 30 May 1916
George Alfred PLUMMER and Catherine WHITE [Leslie’s parents]
Married: 24 December 1889, Ringwood, Victoria.
At their marriage, George was a Labourer by trade and Catherine was a servant. Suspect Catherine’s parents were deceased at the time of her marriage as she was aged 17 (based on MCB recorded age at death) and a JP had to ascent to her marriage.
George Alfred PLUMMER, born: 1868 Alexandra, Victoria. Died: 28 January 1923, Victoria Park, WA. Catherine PLUMMER (nee) WHITE, died 5 September 1927, aged 55, Perth WA. George also served as a Private (2621) in WWI, enlisting: 29 June 1916, embarking: 9 November 1916, and returning to Australia: 15 February 1918.
Children of George and Catherine:
- George David
- Born: 8 September 1890, Victoria
- Married: Florence Jane LOWE (WHITMORE, listed as Florence’s maiden name on the birth registration of their first child Leslie in 1918), 19178, Geraldton, WA (Reg. No. 2900015).
- CHILDREN:
- Leslie Albert Cecil PLUMMER
- Born: 21 April 1918, Geraldton WA (Reg. No. 2900074).
- WWII service: WX5937. Enlisted 29 June 1940. Discharged: 6 July 1945.
- Married: Audrey Lillian Plummer
- Died: 29 November 1928, Perth (Reg. No. 101836) aged 40.
- Sarah Elizabeth
- Born: 1892, Ringwood, VIC (7715/1892)
- Married: Melville Thomas REES, 8 October 1912 in the Adelaide Registry Office, Adelaide, South Australia (Book: 253/Page: 59). Thomas Melville (also known as Melville Thomas) Born: 13 November 1893, Peterburg SA. Served in WWI, enlisting: 30/10/1914. Medically Discharged: 15/12/1916. Died: 29 October 1961, Port Adelaide, South Australia, aged 67.
- CHILDREN:
- Harold Edgar REES, Born: 12 March 1912, Mile End, Hindmarsh SA (Book/Page: 883/19)
- Reginald Alfred William REES, Born: 8 June 1913, Mile End, Hindmarsh SA (Book/Page: 912/177)
- Ella May REES, Born: 1915, Victoria Park WA (Reg. No. 100069)
- Died: 3 June 1965, aged 73, Adelaide SA (Book/Page: 992/3556).
- Leslie Edward
- Born: 1893, Korumburra, VIC (3290/1893)
- Married: Never married
- Died: KIA France, 30 May 1916
- Daisy
- Born: 1895 Korumburra, Victoria (22113/1895)
- Married: Alfred J. ALLARD 1914, Perth (reg. no. 329)
- Died: Unknown date/place.
- Harold Alfred
- Born: 1901 Perth, WA (4004)
- Married: Ceciel Telluride BRADLEY, 29 September 1923, at Maughan Church in Adelaide, SA (Book/Page: 296/924). Ceciel died: 3 July 1964, aged 66, Mount Henry WA.
- CHILDREN:
- Mary Adair PLUMMER, Born: 28 July 1924, Adelaide SA (Book/Page 138A/422)
- Betty Doreen PLUMMER, Born: 5 March 1926, Adelaide SA (Book/Page: 170A/350).
- WWII Service: WX5428 at the rank of Private. Enlisted: 27 July 1940, Claremont WA, aged 39. Discharged: 24 September 1945.
- Died: 29 April 1976, Victoria Park, WA
- Evelyn May
- Born: 1904, Perth WA (4693)
- Married: Unknown
- Died: Unknown date/place.
Leslie’s Paternal Grandparents:
David PLUMMER and Susannah Hutcheson Horgan DIXON married 1867 Victoria (1061/1867)
- David was born in London, England
- Occupation at marriage: Brickmaker
- Emigrated 1857 aged 20. Occupation was listed as Blacksmith
- On emigration records, David’s brother Thomas was also listed as coming to Victoria. His occupation was listed as Engineer. They both came on the ship “Essex” from Gravesend, England to Melbourne, Victoria. The ship arrived in Melbourne on 25 July 1857.
- Susannah was born in the City of Cork, Ireland
- Occupation at marriage: not listed
- Widowed prior to this marriage, in 1856
- Had five children to first husband
- CHILDREN:
- Richard Henry, Born: 1862, Victoria (17962/1862); Marriage and Death details unknown.
- John, Born: 1864, Victoria (12096/1864). Marriage and Death details unknown.
- William Charles, Born: 1866, Kennedy F, Victoria (11746/1866). Marriage and Death details unknown.
- George Alfred, Born: 1868, Alexandra, Victoria (6566/1868). Married: Catherine WHITE, 24 December 1889, Ringwood VIC. Died: 28 January 1923, WA.
- Sarah Ann, Born: 1870 Alexandra, Victoria (20479/1870). Marriage and Death details unknown.
Leslie’s Paternal Great Grandparents
Thomas PLUMMER and Sarah ABBOTT
Children of Paternal Grandparents:
- Thomas PLUMMER: Aged 25 when he emigrated with his brother from England to Melbourne, Victoria in 1857
- David PLUMMER:
- Born: London England, c. 1831
- Married: Susannah Hutcheson Horgan DIXON
- Died: 1918 Korumburra, Victoria
References:
1916 'PERSONAL.', Coolgardie Miner (WA : 1913 - 1917), 15 July, p. 1. , viewed 12 Mar 2021, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article86184505
1916 'Family Notices', The West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954), 23 June, p. 1. , viewed 12 Mar 2021, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article26983078
1917 'ILLUSTRATED SECTION', Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954), 13 April, p. 23. , viewed 12 Mar 2021, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article37988556
1917 'Family Notices', The West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954), 31 May, p. 1. , viewed 12 Mar 2021, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article27300469
1923 'Family Notices', The Daily News (Perth, WA : 1882 - 1950), 29 January, p. 10. (THIRD EDITION), viewed 12 Mar 2021, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article82513641
1923 'Family Notices', The Daily News (Perth, WA : 1882 - 1950), 5 February, p. 5. (THIRD EDITION), viewed 12 Mar 2021, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article82512872
1926 'Family Notices', The West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954), 29 May, p. 1. , viewed 12 Mar 2021, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article31927773
Ancestry.com. Victoria, Australia, Assisted and Unassisted Passenger Lists, 1839-1923 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2009.
Hewitt, Jane and Hewitt, Paul Jack 2009, Dictionary of Old Occupations, Family Researcher, online, https://www.familyresearcher.co.uk/glossary/Dictionary-of-Old-Occupations-Index.html
Metropolitan Cemeteries Board, Perth Western Australia, https://www2.mcb.wa.gov.au/NameSearch/
National Archives of Australia, World War I Service Record of: Plummer, Leslie Edward : Service Number - 3103 : Place of Birth - Gippsland VIC : Place of Enlistment - Perth WA : Next of Kin - (Father) PLUMMER George Alfred, Item ID: 4734124
National Archives of Australia, World War I Service Record of: PLUMMER George Alfred : Service Number - 2621 : Place of Birth - Alexandra VIC : Place of Enlistment - Perth WA : Next of Kin - (Wife) PLUMMER Catherine, Item ID: 8019152
Victoria State Government 2021, Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria, online database, https://www.bdm.vic.gov.au/research-and-family-history
| This article was first published online in Victoria Park Dictionary of Biography, Town of Victoria Park Library, 12 March 2021. Updated 28 September 2024. |