Ashtead War Memorials - WWI - Pte Leonard Drake
4th Bn Royal Fusiliers

Soldiers who died in the Great War records that Leonard had been born in “Chiswick” but this seems to be an incorrect transcription of “Chideock” because his birth was registered at Bridport, 9/1881, probably as a son of John Drake [born Barnstaple, Devon], Blacksmith and Fitter, and his wife, Elizabeth [born Chideock, Dorset], Schoolmistress, of Sea View Cottage, Chideock.

He could have been orphaned early in life because in the 1891 Census he is found living with his maternal grandparents, Manning, and for 1901 was enumerated at the residence of his aunts of the same name in Sea Lane, Chideock, as a Grocer’s Porter. By 1911 he had come to Epsom, his wedding to Hannah H. Clark being registered at Dorking for the June Quarter of that year. As a married couple, they set up home in Ashtead at The Nook, Skinners Lane.

At the outbreak of WWI, Leonard enlisted in Ashtead for military service: first with Bedfordshire Regiment, Service number 7573, later renumbered 240466, but re-assigned to 4th (City of London) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers as Private 295327.

4th Bn. Royal Fusiliers became part of 9th Brigade, 3rd Division to serve on the Western Front for the duration of the war. The third Battle of Ypres began in June 1917 and Pvt. L. Drake seems to have killed in action on the first day of the Battle of Menin Road, to have his name inscribed on Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial

Battle of Menin Road 20 - 25 September 1915

“By now, 1,295 guns were concentrated in the area, approximately one for every five yards of attack front. On 20 September at the battle of Menin Road, after a massive bombardment, the Allies attacked and managed to hold their objective of about 1,500 yards (1,400 m) gained, despite heavy counterattacks, suffering twenty-one thousand casualties. The Germans by this time had a semi-permanent front line, with very deep dugouts and concrete pillboxes, supported by artillery accurately ranged on no-man’s land.

The attack was a major success and caused no small panic to German commanders; proving quite clearly to them that well-prepared defences could no longer fend off a properly organised attack under good conditions. It convinced them that the standard defences of lines of trenches that had served so well up until now was obsolete, and that a more elastic defence system would have to be put in place.”

Photographs: Menin Road September 1915

text by Brian Bouchard: if you can add to this page please contact the editor
page added 4 Mar 2009: 28 Nov 17