In memory of Hyman Leitz

In memory of Hyman Leitz

Hyman Leitz was born in Vilna – now the Lithuanian capital Vilnius – in the 1890s. For centuries, Vilna had been a centre of Jewish learning and writing. The Russian government imposed restrictions on local Jews in the 19th century, allowing them to live only in certain streets. A prohibition on Jews living in outlying rural communities led to overcrowding in the Jewish area of Vilna, where Jews made up more than 40% of the city’s population at the time of Hyman’s birth.

To escape the cramped conditions, many Jewish families emigrated. Among them were Hyman and his parents Herman and Gilda, who had settled in Neath by 1911. Herman Leitz worked as a clothes dealer.

Hyman joined the Royal Fusiliers and served with the 11th Battalion of the City of London Regiment. In August 1917, his Battalion took part in a concerted attack on German positions east of the Belgian town of Ypres. This offensive became known as “Passchendaele” or the Third Battle of Ypres – many had already died on the front near Ypres in major battles in 1914 and 1915.

Rainfall turned the battlefield into mud, but the Allies resisted German counter-attack and continued the offensive until they had taken control of the remains of Passchendaele village in November. Hyman died on 10 August, one of 325,000 Allied men lost in the Third Battle of Ypres. Official records state that he was 23 years old.

His body was never found and he is commemorated on the Menim Gate memorial, at the eastern entrance to Ypres. He was posthumously awarded the 1914-1915 Star for his service in the early part of the war.

In July 2013 the Star of David was placed alongside his name on the war memorial inside St Thomas’ Church in Neath, during a special service when the memorial was blessed in Hebrew by a member of Swansea’s Jewish community.

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