Lees, Joseph
Regiment: Manchester Regiment
Rank: Private
Service No: 5896
Boer War service: 7 Nov 1901 to 10 Mar 1903
Date of enlistment: 9 Feb 1900
Date of discharge: 8 Feb 1912
Reason for discharge: Termination of Engagement
Other information: After the Boer War, Joseph served in Singapore and India before his discharge. He served in WW1 in the Labour Corps – more information can be found on our Great War site
Born: 27 July 1881 in Whitchurch, Shropshire and was baptised on 11 September the same year in Ightfield Parish Church, Shropshire.
Family: He was the second of four children born to Joseph Lees, a farmer, and his wife Mary Ann. Mary Ann died in 1890 and Joseph senior married Elizabeth Alice Garside in 1895 and together they had one child, a half sibling for Joseph junior. Joseph junior married Alice Edge in 1908 and together they had five children.
Residence: At the time of his baptism the family were living in Ightfield; by 1891 they had moved to Ashton Road, Oldham, Lancashire. In 1901 Joseph was serving with the Manchester Regiment and living at their barracks in Aldershot, Hampshire.
Employment: He was a piecer when he enlisted.
Death: 1975 in Oldham, aged 94.
Other information: