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World War 1 One ww1 wwII greatwar great 1914 1918 first battalion regiment
Pte. Leopold Harris "Len" Goldstein
British Army 2nd Btn London Regiment
from:Hackney, London
Leopold Goldstein joined the war effort by putting his age up - he was born 1899 or 1900. His Mother was a famous Yiddish Stage Actress Rebecca Goldstein and she was married to Joseph Markovitch the famous playwright of the London theaters. Her story is found online at the London Museum.Len enrolled in 1915 in the 2nd London Regiment, service number 4905, and later also served with the Durham Light Infantry service number 277690. He was gassed with mustard gas in WW1 and blinded in one eye - his right. He said that the other soldiers would push him down onto the barbed wire as they charged from the trenches because he was underage and small, only 5 foot 4 inches, and made sure he got stuck in the barbed wire to save him and keep him back. He also said that he played the drums in the army and told fortunes to entertain the soldiers.
He migrated to Australia and changed his name by Deed Poll 1938 into his wife's maiden name Neilson to avoid persecution as a Jewish migrant, and to protect his children as well I should say. He fought in WW2 under the Australian flag, Service number G186913 L. Neilson. He was used as a guard to transport WW2 Japanese POW's to camps in Australia.
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