Leslie James Dillon

Role: Dillon-branch descendant of Elizabeth Beattie Telfer (1832–1896) — killed in action, WWII
Born: 2 December 1916
Died: 9 July 1941 (aged 24) — Libya (Tobruk siege)
Father: Robert Telfer Dillon
Mother: Mary Ann Dillon
Branch: Tea Tree Gully, South Australia (Dillon line of Elizabeth Beattie Telfer)

War Service

Private Leslie James Dillon (Service No. SX5551), 2/43rd Australian Infantry Battalion. Killed in action in Libya in 1941 and recognised as one of the "Rats of Tobruk."

Buried Tobruk War Cemetery, Tobruk, Libya. Commemorated on the Tea Tree Gully SA Roll of Honour and on panel 62 in the Commemorative Area at the Australian War Memorial.

Son of Robert and Mary Anne Dillon, of Tea Tree Gully, South Australia; husband of Elizabeth Alice Dillon, of Tea Tree Gully, South Australia.

Life Summary

Leslie James Dillon, of the Tea Tree Gully DILLON branch (descendants of Elizabeth Beattie Telfer's marriage to John Charles Dillon), served in the Second World War with the 2/43rd Australian Infantry Battalion. He was killed in action during the siege of Tobruk in July 1941 and has no marked personal grave — he is commemorated at the Tobruk War Cemetery and on the AWM Roll of Honour panel.

Anecdote

🖊️ Anecdote — as told in A Telfer Family Tree (Supplement 2008, p.201): Leslie James Dillon, a "Rat of Tobruk," was killed in action at Tobruk in July 1941 and lies in the Tobruk War Cemetery in Libya. Commemorated on the Tea Tree Gully Roll of Honour and AWM panel 62.

Sources

• Source: Find a Grave — Pte Leslie James Dillon (1916–1941), memorial 56089296 — accessed 12 Aug 2026 (verified: born 2 Dec 1916, died 9 Jul 1941 aged 24, Tobruk War Cemetery, 2/43rd Bn, killed in action Libya, Rats of Tobruk; son of Robert & Mary Anne Dillon)
• Source: Australian War Memorial — Leslie James Dillon, R1710900 — accessed 12 Aug 2026 (verified: Private, 09 July 1941, Libya, Tobruk War Cemetery)
• Source: Virtual War Memorial Australia — Leslie James Dillon, 603627 — accessed 12 Aug 2026 (403 anti-bot block; corroborated by the two primary sources above)
• Source: A Telfer Family Tree (Supplement to From the Borders to the Bush, 2008), p.201 — family book record of the service and death