Leslie's Story

If you lost one of your brothers or sisters, how would you remember them?

Family came first for Leslie Heron Beauchamp. He grew up in Wellington in a big family where he was the youngest child and only son. His four sisters adored him and nicknamed him ‘Chummie’. Leslie shared a very special bond with one of his sisters in particular, the well known writer Katherine Mansfield. Even when Katherine moved to London, they wrote letters to each other, sharing absolutely everything. When Leslie moved to the UK to enlist in the army he stayed with Katherine a few times. The brother and sister were so happy to be reunited, but in late September 1915, Leslie’s battalion departed for France.

Leslie wrote to Katherine on October 5th, telling her how well he was doing, but tragedy struck the next day when he was accidentally killed holding a faulty grenade during a training exercise. Katherine was absolutely heartbroken by the loss of her brother. While grieving she wrote some of her best and most famous work, including a poem dedicated to Leslie.

During the 1920s, his parents purchased one of the original forty-nine bells in the National War Memorial Carillon in Wellington, in memory of their youngest child and only son. When fundraising began for the National Memorial they decided it should be made massive and public to embody the scale and sacrifices of the war. Leslie’s story is just one of the many heartbreaking family stories from the war, and the Memorial Carillon serves a reminder to never forget the men and women who served and lost their lives.

Discover more pieces of Leslie's puzzle.

katherine mansfield wrote a beautiful poem for her only brother.

Leslie was the brother of one of New Zealand's most famous writers, Katherine Mansfield. She was completely devastated when he died. They had invented a game when he had visited her in London (before he went to the Front) which they called 'Do you remember?'. The death of her brother was the trigger that impelled Katherine Mansfield to write her most famous stories as a memorial to him and their childhood: 

"Oh I want for one moment to make our undiscovered country leap into the eyes of the old world. It must be mysterious, as though floating – it must take the breath…all must be told with a sense of mystery, a radiance, an afterglow because you, my little sun of it, are set. You have dropped over the dazzling brim of the world."

Can you find the poem that Katherine Mansfield wrote upon learning of the death of her brother?

Can you find the telegram leslie sent to katherine instead of saying goodbye to her?

The young soldier so dreaded the moment when he had to pack up for the front that he could not bear the parting. He avoided her, and sent his sister a telegram saying "the good bye should have been too awful". Search NZ Archives to see if you can find the telegram.

what was the full inscription on leslie's carillon bell?

Watch Leslie's Great War Story. What was the name of the bell that his parents purchased in his name?  Use google to discover what the title means?  How was the title related to the life and death of Leslie Beauchamp?