L/Sgt Leonard Gray Ceylon Planters Rifle Corps

[Will O'Brien]

As per CWGC

Name: GRAY, LEONARD HENRY RUSSELL

Initials: L H R

Nationality: United Kingdom

Rank: Lance Serjeant

Regiment: Ceylon Planters Rifle Corps

Age: 21

Date of Death: 15/09/1914

Service No: 1778

Additional information: Son of the Rev. A. W. and Helen Eliza Gray, of Furze Croft, Nacton Rd., Ipswich. Born at Rushmere, Ipswich.

Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead

Grave/Memorial Reference: I. A. 2.

Cemetery: KANDY WAR CEMETERY

[Will O'Brien]

& the cemetery info

Cemetery: KANDY WAR CEMETERY

Country: Sri Lanka

Location Information: Kandy is in central Sri Lanka, 910 metres above sea-level. It is 121 kilometres north-east of Colombo, from which it is easily reached by road. From the Botanical Gardens at Peridenya, take the road to Kandy. Just past the gardens, take a left turning at the roadside direction sign, down Lady Magdalene Drive. The Cemetery is approximately 1.5 kilometres along this road.

Historical Information: Formerly known as Pitakande Military Cemetery, it was acquired originally by the military authorities, and was subsequently taken over by the Commission as a permanent war cemetery. The Army Graves Service transferred to this cemetery service war graves from Divatalawa Boer Military Cemetery; (including graves which had previously been moved from Divatalawa Camp Cemetery and Diyakaduwa Cemetery and from Bandarawala in the Punjab); Galkissa General Cemetery; Ihala Vitiyala Burial Ground; Kandy Civil Cemetery; Kollonawa Burial Ground; Kotagala Forest Creek Cemetery; Mahaiyawa Cemetery; Murugampola Cemetery; Rawatawatte General Cemetery, Moratura; Tibotugoda Etakorasa Cemetery and Trincomalee Hindu and Buddhist Cemetery. In 1958 the Commission moved in two graves from Kandy Civil Cemetery where permanent maintenance could not be assured. The special memorial Type C commemorates a naval man known to have been buried in the cemetery but whose grave could not be precisely located. It bears the superscription "Buried near this spot". There is 1 Commonwealth burial of the 1914-1918 war and a further 196 Commonwealth burials of the 1939-1945 war commemorated here. In addition there are 4 Foreign National and 2 non world war burials.

No. of Identified Casualties: 201

[Will O'Brien]

I note Leonard is the only Great War casualty buried in Kandy War Cemetery

[Will O'Brien]

Found the 7 year old Leonard on the 1901 census living in Rushmere St Andrew with his family.................The Gray family consisted of his father Arthur, a 45 year old Church of England Clergyman, Helen his mother who was 41 & born in India, three brothers Sidney & Eardley who were both older & Cuthbert who was a year younger & finally his younger sister Kythe