Leonard Keysor

Who was Leonard Keysor?

Leonard Maurice Keysor VC was a British-born Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Born in England, Keysor emigrated to Australia shortly before the outbreak of the First World War. He enlisted in the First Australian Imperial Force in August 1914 and served in Egypt before landing at Gallipoli, Turkey at the beginning of the campaign. On 7 August 1915 at Lone Pine, while serving as an acting lance-corporal, 29 year-old Keysor performed an act of bravery for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross. Later in the war he took part in the fighting in France, serving in the trenches along the Western Front. He would later achieve the rank of lieutenant before being discharged from the army on medical grounds at the end of the war.

Keysor remained in Australia until early 1919 working as a clerk in Sydney, New South Wales before returning to England where he began a career in business. On the outbreak of the Second World War he attempted to rejoin the military but was deemed medically unfit and was rejected. He died in 1951 suffering from cancer.