Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

PELLEW Leonard James 

1880-1957

Leonard James Pellew was born on 21st April 1880 in North Adelaide, the son of James and Mary Jane Pellew, nee Beatty. He had one brother and two sisters. He was educated at Prince Alfred College and studied medicine at the University of Adelaide where he graduated in 1906. He clearly enjoyed his university life as it was widely reported throughout Australia in 1904 when he was fined five shillings for disturbing the peace in Adelaide with a fellow university student. Pellew entered general practice in Balaklava in 1913 and he moved to Port Augusta at the time the transcontinental railway was being built. His additional duties included practice at the government hospital where he was instrumental in having the hospital accredited as a training school for nurses. He devoted himself enthusiastically to his demanding job taking particular interest in general surgery; he was able to develop sound surgical techniques. He married Hirell Alice Ternouth daughter of Alfred H Ternouth on 17th December 1906 at Balaklava; they had two sons and a daughter.

Pellew applied for a commission in the RAMC at the outbreak of war hoping to move overseas without delay.  He left for England with his wife and family in May 1915. He joined the RAMC and was posted to the 21st Casualty Clearing Station in France and achieved his desire to practice war surgery. His diagnostic acumen was of a high order and he became recognized as a capable surgeon. He was Mentioned in Despatches.

Pellew returned to Australia in 1917 and, at that time, still had responsibility for the Port Augusta practice.  However he decided to dispose of it before attempting to enlist in the AAMC. The irritating delay in the sale of his practice prevented him joining the AAMC in time for overseas service. Pellew took over the practice of Dr Charles Todd, a prominent Adelaide surgeon with rooms fronting on to Victoria Square, Adelaide in 1918. His busy surgical practice and numerous duties with public bodies and charitable institutions left him little free time. He spent a year in postgraduate studies in the USA and UK in 1926 and made short visits to Japan and other countries in South East Asia. Pellew was the official surgeon to the South Australian Fire Brigade Board and President of the South Australian Football League. He made the study of history a special hobby and his general knowledge was extensive. This and his facility for expression made him greatly in demand as a lecturer by many organisations in South Australia. He sought re-enlistment to serve in WW2 in 1939 but then was deemed too old for service. Pellew was widely reported in the newspapers throughout Australia when he refused to pay a £1 parking fine and faced 6 days in gaol in 1948. He had many offers to serve his sentence by well-meaning friends. A friend paid the fine despite Pellew’s wishes. It was while leaving the official box at the Adelaide Oval in June 1957 that he slipped and fractured his femur; he endured the long months of enforced rest with reasonable equanimity. Leonard James Pellew was just returning to work after this accident and died 3rd November 1957. He is buried with so many of his family in the Norton Summit Cemetery. He was survived by his wife and children; Jane Pellew BDS, LJT Pellew FRCS and RAA Pellew FRACP MRCP.

Source

Blood, Sweat and Fears: Medical Practitioners and Medical Students of South Australia, who Served in World War 1. 

Verco, Summers, Swain, Jelly. Open Books Howden, Adelaide 2014. 

Uploaded by Annette Summers AO RFD