Leonard John Banfield

His Story

Captain Leonard John Banfield was a teacher, a father, and a leader. At nearly 40 years old, he left behind his wife and children in Cobbitty, New South Wales, to enlist in the AIF. Assigned to the 18th Battalion Headquaters, little did he know his unit would face one of Gallipoli’s deadliest and least understood battles: Hill 60.

The 18th Battalion landed at Anzac Cove on the night of 20 August 1915. They were fresh arrivals many, young teenagers barely trained and had just disembarked from Egypt days earlier, after only two weeks of preparation that involved little more than route marches and sightseeing.

Within 48 hours, they were flung into a frontal assault on Hill 60: a low, shrub-covered rise north of Anzac Cove that held crucial ground near the Turkish trenches. The orders were brutal and unrelenting.

“There was still something contemptible about the way the 18th Battalion had been sent out to die.”

(Slaughter of the Innocents, p. 2)

At 4:30 a.m. on 22 August, the 18th Battalion attacked under the cover of darkness. They advanced over open ground, directly into Turkish machine-gun and rifle fire. The result was catastrophic:

“Three hundred and eighty-three men became casualties in the few hours of that battle. Half of those casualties were deaths.”

(Slaughter of the Innocents, p. 2)

Among them was Captain Leonard Banfield. According to family accounts, Banfield’s final moments were marked by extraordinary bravery. When a grenade landed in the trench, he leapt onto it in an attempt to save the young men under his command, most of whom reminded him of his students back home.

His sacrifice has been remembered by generations of his family, including his great-great-granddaughter, a history teacher who proudly tells her students the story of Captain Banfield. Today, Banfield Drive in Oran Park bears his name in honour of his legacy.

“In the ultimate act of heroism… Captain Banfield leapt onto the grenade in order to protect the teenage soldiers around him.”

(Jessica Thompson, Virtual War Memorial Australia)

The destruction of the 18th Battalion at Hill 60 was so catastrophic that within ten days of landing, it had been rendered ineffective as a fighting force. And yet, the story of men like Banfield – citizen soldiers, teachers, and fathers, remains too often overshadowed by the more famous battles.

He is remembered on the Lone Pine Memorial, though his remains, like so many others, were never recovered. Hill 60, now a quiet, pine-covered knoll known as Bomba Tepe, still holds their story.

Captain Leonard Banfield died not just a soldier, but a protector. His story, passed down through family and history alike, continues to remind us of the cost of war, and the courage found within it.