Leslie Frank Dillon

Role: Dillon-branch descendant of Elizabeth Beattie Telfer — grandson; killed at Gallipoli, WWI
Born: 4 June 1893, Hilton, South Australia
Died: 25 April 1915 (aged 21) — Gallipoli, no known grave
Branch: Tea Tree Gully / Houghton, South Australia (Dillon line of Elizabeth Beattie Telfer)

War Service

Private Leslie Frank Dillon, service number 1330, 10th Australian Infantry Battalion, 2nd Reinforcements, Australian Imperial Force.

• Enlisted 7 December 1914, aged 21, a labourer by occupation.
• Address at enlistment: Lower Hermitage via Houghton, South Australia.
• Next of kin: Father, J. Dillon, Millbrook, SA.
• Embarked 2 February 1915 from Melbourne aboard HMAT A46 Clan Macgillivray.
• Killed in action at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915 — among the first Australians to land. He was reported missing for some time before confirmation of his death reached the family.
• He has no known grave. His name is commemorated on the Lone Pine Memorial, Gallipoli, Panel 32.

Life Summary

Leslie Frank Dillon was born at Hilton, South Australia, on 4 June 1893, the youngest child of John Boswell Dillon (1859–1926) and Emily Jane Goodwin (1859–1941). He was a grandson of John Charles Dillon (1827–1906) and Elizabeth Beattie Telfer (1832–1896).

The family lived first at Millbrook and later on an orchard property near Glen Ewin, Houghton — at Lower Hermitage, which is the address Leslie gave when he enlisted in December 1914. Before the war he was an active member of the Para Quartet Club.

He was killed in action at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915, aged 21, and has no known grave. He is remembered on the Lone Pine Memorial, and shares a family headstone with his parents at Payneham Cemetery.

Siblings

Anecdote

🖊️ Anecdote — From the Borders to the Bush / A Telfer Family Tree (2008, p.197): Leslie Frank Dillon of the Telfer line was killed at Gallipoli in the ANZAC landings of late April 1915 and has no known grave — his name sits on the Lone Pine Memorial. The 1915 press remembered him as "of a bright and genial disposition", an active member of the Para Quartet Club.

Sources

• A Telfer Family Tree (Supplement 2008), pp. 195–196 and p. 197 — descendant chart entry "(2.) Leslie Frank DILLON, b. 4 Jun 1893 Hilton, SA, d. 25–29/4/1915, bur. Lone Pine Memorial, Gallipoli" — gold book source
• FindAGrave: Leslie Frank Dillon (memorial 56799588) — Lone Pine Memorial; b. 4 Jun 1893, Hilton, City of West Torrens SA; d. 25 Apr 1915 aged 21; Panel 32
• AWM: Private Leslie Frank Dillon, P10327985 — Private, 10th Australian Infantry Battalion, service no. 1330, KIA 25/04/1915
• AWM Nominal Roll R2186717 — enlisted 7 Dec 1914; fate 25 Apr 1915
• AWM Gallipoli Peninsula (Lone Pine) commemorative roll, PL503649
• The AIF Project (UNSW Canberra), pid 79288 — address Lower Hermitage via Houghton; next of kin Father, J Dillon, Millbrook SA; embarked 2 Feb 1915 HMAT A46 Clan Macgillivray
• Trove: The Chronicle (Adelaide), 21 Aug 1915, p.43, "THE LATE PRIVATE LESLIE FRANK DILLON" (article 89146324) and p.42 (article 89146344) — one article, two page locations
• Payneham Cemetery headstone index — family stone "DILLON, John & Emily & L F DILLON"