A birth registration was found for Leslie Phenna: Date of Registration: Oct Nov Dec 1923; Mothers Maiden Name: Grey; District: Lambeth; Volume: 1d; Page: 391.

In 1932, L. Phenna, 8, arrived at Fremantle, Australia in a group of 40 children from the Child Emigration Society, London.

A newspaper article from Western Australia reported on July 21, 1975:

Poor Boy to President

A poor boy from London, who came to WA between the wars, is the new State president of the Returned Services League.

He is Mr L. Phenna (51), of Yokine, the managing secretary of the West Australian council of State School Organisations.

He came to WA from Lambeth, London, when he was seven.
r n"I'm a Fairbridge Farm boy and proud of it," Mr Phenna said in the weekend.

At Fairbridge Farm School, Pinjarra, children from underprivileged families were trained to farm in Australia.

Mr Phenna went from farming to soldiering in the 10th Light Horse, where, he recalls, his first troop commander was the present Lord Mayor of Perth, Mr Ernest Lee-Steere.

Later, he served with the 2nd AIF in the Middle East and then in Papua New Guinea, Korea and Malaya.

He was elected president in a straight contest with the chairman of the State branch's finance committee, Mr L. J. Turner.

Mr Turner became senior vice-president and Mr C. Briggs junior vice-president.