Leslie Sydney Last, born on 12th February 1895, was admitted to King Edward’s School in January 1905. His father, Arthur, was a journalist, and the family, including Leslie’s mother, Eliza, his brother, Frederic, and two servants, lived at ‘The Lindens’, St Mary’s Road, Harborne.
At School, Leslie was a very academic boy and showed a particular flair for French. Although he only stayed for a year, he was recommended for election to a Foundation Scholarship.
In 1914, Leslie enlisted in the Honourable Artillery Company, serving as a driver for B Battery and, from 1915, he served in Egypt. In the summer of 1916 he returned home to England, where he was gazetted as a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Field Artillery, with whom he served in Salonica. In August 1917, Leslie transferred to the Royal Flying Corps, and earned his wings in February 1918. He was killed in a flying accident on 21st February 1918, aged twenty-three, whilst training a pupil in Egypt. He is buried in the Cairo War Memorial Cemetery, and he left his estate of £150 to his father Arthur.