CORPORAL L.S. PARREN, 1/1ST BATTALION NORFOLK YEOMANRY. Three 1914-15 Star (1470 Private,

CORPORAL L.S. PARREN, 1/1ST BATTALION NORFOLK YEOMANRY. Three 1914-15 Star (1470 Private, Norfolk Yeomanry) British War and Victory Medals (1470 Corporal, Norfolk Yeomanry). Extremely Fine and virtually as struck.

Corporal Parren was killed on 30/12/1917 when the Royal Navy’s hired transport Aragon was torpedoed by the German submarine UC34.

With photocopied extract from 1901 census, Medal Index Card and Commonwealth War Graves details, etc.

Born circa 1894, Leslie Southwell Parren was the son of John R.S and Rose E. Parren. The 1901 census records the 7 year old Leslie Parren as living at Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, with his family, his father’s occupation being Head Postman. Parren first saw active service in Gallipoli, entering that theater of operations on 8/10/1915 (the 1/1st Norfolk Yeomanry landed at Anzac two days later, on 10/10/1915). Parren appears to have survived the Gallipoli campaign unscathed, only to be killed when his troop ship, the Aragon, was torpedoed by the UC34. The Aragon was torpedoed at the entrance to Alexandria harbour. After the Aragon went down her escort, the destroyer HMS Attack, rescued 300 – 400 survivors, but the UC34 then torpedoed and sank her as well. Of the 2.500 personnel who had been aboard the Aragon, some 610 perished.