Lieutenant Leonard William Henry LAMAISON
2/5th Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment

Date of birth: 29th June 1876
Date of death: 2nd July 1916

Killed in action aged 40
Buried at Rue-de-Bacquerot No.1 Military Cemetery, Laventie Plot I Row J Grave 7
Leonard William Henry Lamaison was born at 17 The Waldrons in Croydon on the 29th of June 1876 the eldest son of William Englebert Lamaison, a barrister at law, and Marian Walters (nee Horne) Lamaison of “Southwold”, Kenley in Surrey. He was christened at St George's Church, Croydon on the 10th of August 1876.

He was educated at Hazelwood School and at Harrow School where he was in the Small House from April 1890 and the Headmaster’s House to December 1894. On leaving school he became a solicitor in April 1900 and practiced with Powell, Burt and Lamaison of 28 and 29 St Swithin’s Lane London EC.

On the 21st of December 1904 he was married to Charlotte Florence (nee May) at Christ Church in Hampstead and they lived at Worsted Green, Merstham in Surrey. On his death she remarried, her surname becoming Barlow, and lived at "Esmeryl", Dehra Dun in India.

Following the outbreak of war he enlisted at 10 Stone Building, Lincolns Inn as Private D/1389 in the Inns of Court Officer Training Corps on the 29th of September 1914. He was posted to Berkhamsted for training and rose to the rank of Lance Corporal before applying for a commission in the 5th Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment on the 4th of March 1915. He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment on the 15th of March 1915 and was promoted to temporary Lieutenant on the 5th of January 1916.

The 2/5th Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment embarked for France from Southampton on the 21st of May 1916 and landed at Le Havre at 2am the following morning. On the 21st of June 1916 they took over front line trenches at “Moated Grange”, due east of Laventie, in what was their first unescorted spell in the trenches.

At 9pm on the evening of the 1st of July a heavy German artillery barrage fell on the Royal Warwicks lines which caused a number of casualties and damaged fifty yards of support trench which was “obliterated”. An attempted raid by enemy troops was driven off. By the time the barrage ceased at 11.30pm thirty men and two officers had become casualties and were carried down “Winchester” trench to the regimental aid post. Leonard Lamaison was shot and killed by a sniper while going to the aid of one of the wounded.

His brother, Lieutenant Wilfred Laurence Lamaison 16th (County of London) Battalion (Queen's Westminster Rifles) attached to the 1/6th Battalion North Staffordshire Regiment, was killed in action on the 23rd of August 1918.
Went on to Harrow School

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