At the start of World War 1, Leslie Green was already a lance corporal in the Territorial Army. He then enlisted and pursued a distinguished career in the army which has been extensively documented by his son John W Green in an unpublished book called Lest We Forget, the foreword of which is reproduced here : CHRISTIAN SOLDIER Captain William Leslie Green, MC, MM, or Bill, Les, Dad, Granddad, Great Granddad, fought with great gallantry during the First World War or, “our war” as he and his contemporaries used to call it. To physically survive the war despite being wounded three times and gassed is a miracle in itself. The life expectancy of junior officers on the Western Front was said to be only a few days by 1917. To have had the strength of character to survive mentally having been through such horrors and stress, and to retain his Christian ideals and faith in humanity and sense of humour, has to be one of the greatest imaginable triumphs of the human spirit. Many of the letters he wrote to his parents during these terrible years have survived. These letters and photographs were always kept in an old chocolate box, but rarely seen. As a youngster I can just remember a few occasions when he would dust off the box and quietly re-read some of the letters and sift through the photographs of old comrades-in-arms, and perhaps refer to an old battlefield map. Some time after his death in 1951 the letters were passed on to me together with his medals. Each Armistice Day (now renamed Remembrance Day) whenever possible I parade with the local branch of the Royal British Legion and am proud to wear his medals in memory of him and all the others in that war, and since, who gave their lives, thus ensuring that we and succeeding generations in England can live in peace and security. Till now the letters and photographs have stayed in their chocolate box. The ink and pencil gradually fading with the passing years. The story they tell should not be allowed to fade. It is a story of a man of courage, fortitude and humour. A man who retained his love of humanity and always showed care and concern for worried parents, family and friends back in Blighty. It would be a fitting legacy if his descendants who read these pages over the years can draw from them not only feelings of pride, but a renewed sense of belief and purpose in life’s true values. Much of the material from John’s book is available on-line as a result of the efforts of Tracey L Lovegrove who maintains a facebook tribute site entitled Lest We Forget - Captain William Leslie Green MM, MC. Tracey Lovegrove has also produced an extensive Ancestry family tree which includes the Green family. I am indebted to Tracey for her cooperation and kind permission to include material from these sources on this site and, of course, to John W Green for his tremendous effort to keep alive the amazing story of his father for the benefit of his descendants, for some of whom this site was created. Thanks to John W Green and Tracey Lovegrove there is so much information relating to Leslie Green’s eventful life in World War One that it merits a section of its own on this website which will be accessed by clicking on the image below. THIS WILL BE IMPLEMENTED SOON.