Leonard Wiseman was born in Hemel Hempstead in July 1898 the youngest son and child born to Samuel Wiseman and Mary Ann Woodward. His older siblings were: Ellen (Helen), Tom (Thomas), Amos, Annie, John William, Harry (Henry), Lily and Edward. Leonard’s father Samuel died in 1898 aged forty. Ellen died in 1899 aged twenty-one and Amos died in 1901 aged sixteen. Following the death of his father Leonard’s mother went out to work full-time as a "Laundry Hand" and it was probably for this reason that he was accepted onto the roll of Bury Mill End School when he was only three-and-a-half years old on the 12th November 1901. All his older siblings were either in employment or at school themselves so there was no-one at home to look after little Leonard.

Leonard finally left school in 1911 but records have not revealed what his job was or where he worked. It appears he may have been the only Wiseman child not to have worked with John Dickinson & Co. Limited or at least did not work there when he volunteered as he is not recorded on the Company’s War Memorial. In January 1916, Leonard’s sister Lily married Philip Beckley, a local hairdresser, at Marlowes (Carey) Baptist church. No doubt Leonard was at this service, which was made more poignant as four young men associated with the event were killed in the Great War. Philip Beckley the Groom, his Best Man William Barnes, John Henry Coker, brother of Nellie Coker one of the bridal party and sweetheart of William Barnes and of course Leonard himself. This perhaps best illustrates the devastating effect that the war had on so many small, close knit communities across the nation.

Following the outbreak of War and when he was old enough, Leonard enlisted with the Essex Regiment at Watford in November 1916. He went to Felixstowe where he was posted to the 13th Battalion and sent to France where he joined his Regiment on 7th June 1917. He fought at the Battle of Cambrai at the end of the year before his regiment was disbanded in Feb 1918 and amalgamated with the 13th Bn. Royal Sussex Regiment.

The pals battalions of the Royal Sussex – the South Down battalions, or “Lowther’s Lambs”, – suffered terrible casualties on the 30th June 1916, twenty-four hours before the much better known “First Day on the Somme”. This was in a diversionary attack, a large scale raid launched by 39th Division at a position called the Boar’s Head, near Richebourg l’Avoue. Just under 1,100 casualties (dead, wounded and prisoners) were incurred in a fruitless attack that had no effect on the enemy’s abilities to withstand next day’s assault on the Somme. The vast majority of the losses were to men from the county of Sussex.

Within weeks of arriving with his new unit, Leonard saw action in a major enemy offensive around the Somme.  Between the 21st and 28th March the 13th Royal Sussex was almost annihilated losing over three quarters of the Battalion strength. It was during these engagements that Leonard was killed.

He died on Tuesday, 26th March 1918.

He was commemorated on the War Memorial plaque in Marlowes (Carey) Baptist where he and his family were members of the congregation.

Leonard is Remembered with Honour on the Pozieres Memorial, Somme, France, Panel 46 and 47.

He was only 19 years old when he died.

Leonard was eligible for the British War Medal and the Allied Victory Medal.