Raymond Leane
Sir Raymond Lionel Leane, was an Australian Army officer who rose to command the 48th Battalion then 12th Brigade during World War I. For his performance during the war, Leane was described by the Australian Official War Historian Charles Bean as "the foremost fighting leader" in the Australian Imperial Force, and "the head of the most famous family of soldiers in Australian history", among other accolades. After the war, he served as Commissioner of the South Australia Police from 1920 to 1944, for which he was knighted.
A businessman and part-time Citizen Forces officer before the war, Leane was commissioned into the AIF and led a company of the 11th Infantry Battalion at the landing at Anzac Cove, Gallipoli, on 25 April 1915. He rose to temporarily command his battalion, and was made a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order, awarded the Military Cross, twice mentioned in despatches and wounded three times during the Gallipoli campaign. After returning to Egypt, the AIF was re-organised, and Leane was appointed as the commanding officer of the newly formed 48th Battalion, which soon after was transported to the Western Front in France and Belgium. Important battles that the 48th were involved in under his command included the Battle of Pozières in 1916, and the First Battle of Bullecourt and First Battle of Passchendaele in 1917. During the latter battle, he was severely wounded. During 1916–1917, he was mentioned in despatches three more times, was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George and awarded a bar to his DSO.
After recuperating, in early 1918 he returned to his battalion and led it during the German spring offensive of March and April 1918, which included heavy fighting near Dernancourt, for which he was again mentioned in despatches. As a battalion commander, he proved a difficult subordinate, disobeying the orders of his brigade commanders at both Pozières and Dernancourt. In June 1918 he was promoted to colonel and temporary brigadier general to command the 12th Brigade, which he led during the Battle of Amiens in August, and the fighting to capture the Hindenburg Outpost Line in September. He was mentioned in despatches a further two times after the conclusion of the war, and in early 1919 was also awarded the French Croix de guerre, and made a Companion of the Order of the Bath for his "gallant and able" leadership while commanding the 12th Brigade. During the war, four of his brothers and six of his nephews served; two brothers and two nephews were killed.
After helping oversee the repatriation of soldiers back to Australia, Leane returned home to South Australia in late 1919. In May the following year he was selected as the next Commissioner of the South Australia Police, taking up the appointment in July. His appointment was initially controversial within the force, as there had been an established practice of selecting the commissioner from within its ranks. Leane also returned to part-time soldiering, commanding at the brigade level until 1926, not without controversy. His administration of the police force was generally praised, although he did have to weather several storms, one of which involved a Royal Commission into bribery of some of his officers by bookmakers. He was a foundation member and inaugural president of the Legacy Club of Adelaide, established to assist the dependents of deceased ex-servicemen. In 1928, during a major dispute over the industrial award applying to waterfront labourers, Leane provided police protection to non-union workers, and on one occasion personally led a force of 150 police that successfully confronted a crowd of 2,000 waterside labourers who wanted to remove non-union workers from Adelaide ports. As commissioner, he introduced a number of innovations, including cadets and probationary training for young recruits, police dogs, and traffic accident analysis. After the outbreak of World War II, despite being on the retired list, Leane became the state commander of the Returned and Services League-organised Volunteer Defence Corps, a form of home guard, in addition to his duties as commissioner. After retiring in 1944, he was knighted for his services during 24 years at the head of the police force. In retirement he became involved in conservative politics, and remained active with returned servicemen's associations until his death in 1962.
Early life and career
Raymond Lionel Leane was born on 12 July 1878 in Prospect, South Australia, the son of a shoemaker, Thomas John Leane, and his wife Alice Short, who were of Cornish descent. One of eight children, he was educated at North Adelaide Public School until age 12, when he went to work for a retail and wholesale business, which sent him to Albany, Western Australia. He later moved to Claremont. In June 1902, Leane married Edith Louise Laybourne, a sister of the architect Louis Laybourne Smith. He and Edith lived at Claremont for six years, during which he served on the local council from 1903 to 1906. His interest in the military led to Leane being commissioned as a lieutenant in the 11th Infantry Regiment, a unit of the part-time Citizen Forces in 1905. In 1908, he bought a retail business in Kalgoorlie and transferred to the Goldfields Infantry Regiment. He was promoted to captain on 21 November 1910.World War I
On 25 August 1914, Leane joined the newly formed Australian Imperial Force as a company commander in the Western Australia-raised 11th Infantry Battalion of the 3rd Brigade, with the rank of captain. The AIF was established as Australia's expeditionary force to fight in the war, as the Citizen Forces were restricted to home defence per the Defence Act 1903. When the battalion was formed, he was appointed to command F Company. The battalion embarked for overseas in October and sailed to Egypt, arriving in early December. On 1 January 1915, the unit was re-organised into four companies to mirror the British Army battalion structure, and a new C Company was created by combining E and F Companies. Leane was chosen to command the new C Company.Gallipoli campaign
After several months training in Egypt, the 3rd Brigade first saw action as the covering force for the landing at Anzac Cove, Gallipoli, on 25 April 1915 and so was the first brigade ashore about 04:30. Leane's C Company was in the first wave, and landed just to the north of the Ari Burnu headland then climbed it to Plugge's Plateau. By noon on 30 April, the 1,000-strong 11th Battalion had suffered casualties amounting to nine officers and 369 men. Four days later, Leane was chosen to lead an amphibious assault on Gaba Tepe, a prominent headland south of the Anzac perimeter on which an Ottoman-held fort was situated. The troops occupying the fort were directing artillery fire onto the positions around Anzac Cove. Landing from boats on the beach at the foot of Gaba Tepe, the force consisted of over 110 men from the 11th Battalion and 3rd Field Company. The force was promptly pinned down on the beach by heavy fire. Leane signalled the Royal Navy to remove his wounded from the beach, which they did with a steamboat towing a rowboat. Having determined that the withdrawal along the beach was impossible owing to belts of barbed wire, Leane then signalled the Royal Navy to remove the rest of his party. The Navy sent two picket boats towing two ships' boats. Destroyers laid down covering fire, but while the Ottomans had held their fire for the evacuation of the wounded, they laid down tremendous fire on the withdrawing raiders. Many men were hit, including Leane, who was wounded in the hand. The raid was a failure, but Leane's leadership, courage and coolness under fire had impressed, and he was awarded the Military Cross for his actions. The recommendation from his commanding officer read:Following the raid on Gaba Tepe, Leane rejoined his battalion in the main defensive line around the beachhead. Before dawn on 19 May, elements of the Ottoman 16th Division attacked the 3rd Brigade positions on Bolton's Ridge as part of a wider counterattack against the Anzac sector. During the fighting, Leane was located in a forward sap of the battalion trenches overlooking a gully where the Ottoman troops were congregating. From this position, Leane and two other 11th Battalion men killed a large number of Ottoman troops with their rifles, firing from dawn until noon. On 28 June, Leane's company went forward of Bolton's Ridge towards Turkey Knoll to provide covering fire for an abortive attack by the 9th Battalion on Ottoman trenches on Sniper's Ridge. This attack was a feint, intended to distract the Ottoman commanders from reinforcing their troops opposite an Allied attack at Cape Helles far to the south. The forward company position was completely untenable, the lead elements of Leane's company were raked by shrapnel and machine gun fire, and Leane was wounded in the face. Despite this, he remained with his unit. The two companies of the 11th Battalion that were committed to support the attack lost 21 killed and 42 wounded.
During the night of 31 July, Leane led an assault on an Ottoman trench opposite Tasmania Post, which was held by the 11th Battalion. The attack was prompted by a desire to give the Ottomans the impression that an attempt was going to be made to break out of the Anzac perimeter to the south, while a landing was planned at Suvla Bay far to the north. Leane's force consisted of four parties of 50 men, who were to assault the Ottoman trench after the firing of four mines that had been dug up to the enemy trench. Initially only the northernmost and southernmost of the mines exploded, but Leane led out the attack regardless. While the parties were covering the distance between Tasmania Post and the Ottoman trench, a third mine exploded, possibly burying some members of one of the assaulting groups. The fourth mine failed to explode. Stiff fighting occurred at some points of the objective trench, but the Ottomans were routed and the trench was consolidated and communication trenches leading towards the Ottoman rear were barricaded. Several desperate bomb fights occurred at the barricades. Work immediately began to convert the mine tunnels into communication trenches leading to the newly captured trench. There were some feeble counterattacks. At dawn, Ottoman artillery began an intense bombardment of the newly won position. During the shelling, Leane was speaking to an observer as an enemy shell landed. The observer was decapitated and Leane was wounded in the head, but remained at his post. The position captured during this operation became known as "Leane's Trench". While capturing the trench, the 11th Battalion had lost 36 killed and 73 wounded.
Leane was promoted to temporary major on 5 August while recuperating in hospital on the island of Lemnos. He rejoined his unit four days later and was recommended to be made a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order, the second highest award for acts of gallantry by officers, for his "great gallantry, coolness and dash". He temporarily commanded the 11th Infantry Battalion from 30 September, and was promoted to substantive major and temporary lieutenant colonel on 8 October. Leane remained at Gallipoli until the battalion was evacuated to Lemnos on 16 November. He was admitted to hospital with pneumonia in late November, and was evacuated to Egypt, finally being discharged in early February 1916. For his service during the campaign, in addition to his MC and DSO, he was twice mentioned in despatches. He also became known by the nickname "The Bull". As the Official Australian War Historian Charles Bean observed, his "tall square-shouldered frame, immense jaw, tightly compressed lips, and keen, steady, humorous eyes made him the very figure of a soldier".