When World War I began, a squatter's daughter from South Australia was living in a stately British home.
She was worth the equivalent of more than $40 million and had ties with the royal family, but rather than keep the horrors of war at a distance, she opened her doors and cared for 50,000 wounded Anzac soldiers on her estate during the conflict.
The story of Letitia Billyard-Leake (born Letitia Leake) involves family tragedy, a vicious court case and philanthropic gestures beyond anyone's expectations.
The Harefield village that became Letitia's home remains one of three places in the United Kingdom that still commemorates Anzac Day.
It also became her final resting place when she was buried alongside the Anzacs who died under her care.
A 'wild life' growing up
Researchers Carol Grbich and John Berger were so captivated by Letitia's story that they left semi-retirement to write a book about her fascinating life.
Initially tasked with writing a pamphlet about South Australia's historic Glencoe Woolshed, they quickly began to focus on Letitia, who grew up on the sheep station during South Australia's pioneering pastoralists era.
Ms Grbich trawled through hundreds of official records, letters and diary entries to uncover the Leake family's deep, rather elusive, history.
Letitia's father, Edward Leake, arrived in SA with his brother and 1,000 Saxon merino sheep as the state was first opening up in the early 19th century.
He went on to settle in the south-eastern corner of the state, where he built Glencoe Station in 1844, and set about accumulating a fortune.
When her father died in 1867, Letitia, who was just seven years old, was sent to boarding school in Melbourne.
"Immediately her guardian, her uncle [Arthur Leake] came over to try and sort out the property," Ms Grbich said.
"And he also seemed to have gotten rid of her mother and a younger son who Edward said was not his.
Inheriting the money
After boarding school, Letitia lived with her wealthy Uncle Arthur in Ross, in Tasmania.
He died in 1890 and left his property and a hefty fortune to the 30-year-old Letitia.
A year later, she married Charles Billyard, a solicitor from Sydney, and together they adopted the surname Billyard-Leake.
It was at this time that Letitia discovered her inheritance had been mishandled by her Uncle Arthur and her bank.
"He [Charles] started having a look at her uncle's will which was then just going through probate," Ms Grbich said.
"[He] realised there had been some mismanagement of Letitia's fortune.
Charles started a court case and some of Letitia's relatives fought back.
"[And prove] that he'd been involved in her mother's husband's disappearance — perhaps he was a murderer.
"[Or] that her mother was a loose woman and probably her father was not Edward after all."
Without enough evidence, the case was eventually settled out of court in 1895 and Letitia received a further 140,000 English pounds.
Soon after, Letitia, Charles and their four children left Australia for good, with Letitia worth about 300,000 English pounds — the equivalent of almost $50 million today.
Starting Harefield
Letitia and her family settled on a 100-hectare estate in the village of Harefield, on the north-western fringes of Greater London.
When World War I broke out, her two sons signed up to fight.
The family donated their property, Harefield Park, to the Australian Government for use as an Australian-run hospital — under the expectation it would house a few hundred soldiers.
Ms Grbich said that quickly proved unrealistic as the number of injured soldiers flooded the estate.
Australian War Memorial historian Meleah Hampton said the Harefield estate was the last stop for many wounded men.
"There were a lot of young men, many of whom [were] devastatingly wounded — missing limbs or seriously ill," Dr Hampton said.
"And also give them plenty to do so they were not sitting around thinking about what had happened."
Dr Hampton said many of the soldiers found the care they were given on the estate a "pleasant surprise".
"The soldiers who reached Harefield were really grateful to find Australian orderlies and Australian sisters taking care of them," she said.
Kangaroos, cricket and a touch of home
The family moved off the property and lived nearby to help run the hospital.
Letitia and her daughter, also named Letitia, ran the canteen while Charles Billyard organised activities and was a hospital board member.
"Charles was really very sporty and so he organised lots of stuff on the lake, swimming in summer, skating in winter," Ms Grbich said.
"He loved cricket and he had a one-legged cricket team.
There was a reading room, billiards, weekly theatre performances, royal visits and other touches from home.
"I don't know where they got them from, but they had a kangaroo and a wallaby and a cockatoo — so the men could feel something from home."
Weddings, funerals, new families
Local Harefield historian Robert Goodchild said the hospital, while run predominantly by Australian staff, was of great benefit to the whole village.
"[The soldiers] did get out into the community," he said.
"It was probably quite boring sitting in a hospital ward all the time.
Dr Hampton said the Billyard-Leake family was very involved in the local community.
"They built a public reference library and rooms for the local community, they held garden fetes in their grounds," she said.
The soldiers were popular with the local villagers, many of whom missed their own brothers or sons who were away serving in the war.
"They liked to take them out in motor cars and give them days out and trips, invite them to their homes," Dr Hampton said.
Those who did not make it home to Australia had heartfelt farewells in the town.
"In Harefield, when someone died they were taken from hospital in a procession for a full military-honours funeral at the local church," Dr Hampton said.
There is a village burial plot dedicated to servicemen, particularly Anzacs, which holds about 120 graves today.
Family 'didn't seek recognition'
Dr Hampton found that despite being a particularly affluent family, the Billyard-Leakes remained quiet socially.
"They didn't have prominent positions in parliament or in [the] governance of Australia," Dr Hampton said.
"They just got on with their business.
Anzacs never forgotten
The Harefield community first commemorated Anzac Day in 1922, a tradition that continues today.
"It's remembered by everybody in the village because the junior school, the lower school, the scout groups attend every year," Mr Goodchild said.
"They put flowers on all the graves.
Even on Anzac Day last year, during the COVID-19 pandemic, locals came out to pay their respects.
"It was a weekend so we were able to walk down to the cemetery and lay some flowers," Mr Goodchild said.
"We were astonished at how many people had got there before us.
Still a working hospital
After the war, the Billyard-Leakes sold Harefield Hospital to the British Government for it to be used as a sanatorium for tuberculosis patients.
It is now a National Health Service hospital renowned for its cardiology department and performing the world's first heart-and-lung transplant.
"Now it's a state-of-the-art hospital."
As for Letitia Billyard-Leake, she died not long after the war in 1923, aged 63. She is buried with her family and the Anzac soldiers in Harefield. Both of her sons made it home from the war.
Watch this story on ABC TV's Landine at 12:30pm on Sunday, or on ABC iview.
