Pte Leonard A. Balls 1/4 Hampshire Regt d.13/7/16

[Will O'Brien]

As per CWGC

Name: BALLS, LEONARD ARTHUR

Initials: L A

Nationality: United Kingdom

Rank: Private

Regiment: Hampshire Regiment

Unit Text: 1st/4th Bn.

Age: 27

Date of Death: 11/07/1916

Service No: 2818

Additional information: Son of Frederick and the late Susan Mercy Balls, of 75, Parchment St., Winchester. Born at Egham, Surrey.

Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead

Grave/Memorial Reference: IX. G. 2.

Cemetery: AMARA WAR CEMETERY

[Will O'Brien]

& the cemetery info

Cemetery: AMARA WAR CEMETERY

Country: Iraq

Location Information: Amara is a town on the left bank of the Tigris some 520 kilometres from the sea. The War Cemetery is a little east of the town between the left bank of the river and the Chahaila Canal.

Historical Information: Amara was occupied by the Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force on 3 June 1915 and it immediately became a hospital centre. The accommodation for medical units on both banks of the Tigris was greatly increased during 1916 and in April 1917, seven general hospitals and some smaller units were stationed there. Amara War Cemetery contains 4,621 burials of the First World War, more than 3,000 of which were brought into the cemetery after the Armistice. 925 of the graves are unidentified. In 1933, all of the headstones were removed from this cemetery when it was discovered that salts in the soil were causing them to deteriorate. Instead a screen wall was erected with the names of those buried in the cemetery engraved upon it. Plot XXV is a Collective Grave, the individual burial places within this are not known. There are also seven non-war graves in the cemetery.

No. of Identified Casualties: 3703

[Will O'Brien]

Leonard's online MIC index entry can be seen here

Note that they have incorrect transposed his forenames & have him listed as Arthur L. Balls

[Will O'Brien]

Found the 12 year old Leonard on the 1901 census living in Egham with his father Frederick who was aged 47 & a Gardener by profession, his mother Susan who was aged 42 & his three elder sisters, Louie, Alice & Eleanor who were 21, 17 & 15 respectively. Louie was a House Maid whilst Alice & Eleanor were Dressmakers

[Will O'Brien]

Using FreeBMD have also found the marriage of Leonard's parents..................Frederick Balls & Susan Mercy Prickett married in the Brentford district in the September quarter of 1878.