4/1230 - Lieutenant

Leslie

MAY

Main Body - Section No.3

Timeline


1915

1915

25 October

Enlistment

Wellington Military District

Initial training

Avondale, Auckland

1915

18 December

Transfer to England

S.S. Ruapehu

1916

1916

3 February

Marched in to the Company Training Camp, Falmouth

1916

9 March

Embarked for France

1916

16 March

From the Front

The Company joined the underground warfare in the North of France

Chantecler, Sector of Arras

1916

23 June

Gassed in a mine

Admitted to hospital

1916

1 July

Embarked for England

1916

2 July

Admitted to hospital

1916

24 July

Granted leave

1916

19 August

Marched in to NZ Depot, Hornchurch

1916

3 September

Marched in to NZ Sling Camp, Bulford

1916

22 September

Embarked for France

1916

23 September

Marched in to NZ Base Depot, Etaples

1916

16 November

From the Front

The Company began the operations to connect old underground quarries in Arras in order to accommodate thousands of soldiers for an upcoming battle

1916

17 November

Rejoined the Company

1917

1917

9 April

Battle of Arras

British Offensive


From the Front

The Company was employed to rebuild a major road leading to the Front during the battle

Arras-Cambrai Road

1917

5 May

From the Front

The Company moved to Monchy, ten kilometres east of Arras, to work on the fortification of the new front line

The Billets in Monchy

1917

29 July

Detached to IIIrd Army Tramway Company

1918

From the Front

The Company was still carrying out the digging of underground premises and defences on the Front near Arras

The Workshop in Arras

1918

21 February

Appointed temporary Captain

1918

4 March

Detached to No.3 Foreway Company

1918

21 March

Spring Offensive

German Attacks


From the Front

The Company was engaged in the defence of Arras by digging new trenches and dug-outs under constant enemy shellfire

1918

8 August

100 Days Offensive

Allied Attacks

1918

12 September

Detached to Assistant Director of Light Railway Vth Army

1918

27 September

From the Front

The Company experienced its newly reconversion in bridge construction

In front of the Havrincourt Bridge

1918

1 October

Granted leave to United Kingdom

1918

19 October

Relinquished appointment of temporary Captain

1918

20 October

Rejoined the NZ Engineers Tunnelling Company

1918

11 November

Armistice

Cessation of Hostilities


From the Front

The Company continued to build bridges to reconnect a fragmented territory

Over the Sambre River, Maubeuge

1918

5 December

Appointed Acting Captain and Adjutant

1919

1919

22 January

Discharged

1919

29 January

Embarked for England

1919

30 January

Marched in to NZ Depot, Larkhill

1919

15 February

Marched in to NZ Depot, Codford

1919

3 March

Classified unfit for active service

1919

14 March

Transfer to New Zealand

R.M.S. Ionic

1919

24 June

Final discharge

End of Service

Decoration

British War Medal
British War Medal

Victory Medal
Victory Medal

Sources and bibliography

  • Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, AABK 18805 W5948 51/0358449, Military Personnel File: Leslie MAY - 4/1230.
  • Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira, Online Cenotaph He Toa Taumata Rau: Leslie MAY.
  • Nominal Roll of New Zealand Expeditionary Force, 1915. New Zealand Engineers Tunnelling Company, Wellington, Government Printer, 1916, p. 5.

Photography

  • Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira, MS-93/157.

How to cite this page

Anthony BYLEDBAL, “Leslie MAY (4/1230)”, New Zealand Tunnellers, 2024 (2009). Accessed: 28 March 2024. URL: https://www.nztunnellers.com/roll/details.php?id=526