Hackett, Basil Fred
No.3806 – Lance Corporal Basil Fred Hackett – 11th Battalion AIF
Basil Frederick Hackett was born in Fremantle WA in 1898 to John and Bridget Hackett. He was one of three children with, an older brother John and his sister Mary being born in 1900. Basil was educated at Christian Brothers College Fremantle and after leaving school took up work as a clerk. He also had a short stint as an Orchardist. Basil enlisted into the AIF on the 13th July 1915 and was passed as fit for service. The medical examiner found him to be 5 feet 7 and a half inches tall; weight of 130lbs; chest measurement of 35-37 inches, fair complexion, brown eyes and brown hair. His religious denomination was Roman Catholic.
Basil was initially allotted to the 9th Reinforcements to the 16th Battalion AIF and he trained with them in WA until the 15th October 1915. The following day he was transferred to the 12th Reinforcements to the 11th Battalion. Basil trained with them for the next month in WA and embarked from Fremantle Harbour aboard the “Mongolia” on the 22nd November 1915.
After arriving in Egypt in late December Basil was sent to the AIF reinforcement camp and would have heard the news that Gallipoli had been evacuated. Basil did not join up with the 11th Battalion until the 2nd March 1916 when they were at Habieta Camp. Later in the month the 11th Battalion departed Egypt and arrived at Marseilles France on the 5th April 1916. The 11th Battalion were disembarked and put onto trains for the north of France. They spent April to June 1916 to the south of Armentieres where they received their first taste of life on the Western Front.
In July and August 1916 the 11th Battalion fought at Pozieres and Mouquet Farm, with Basil coming through these battles unscathed. After a short sojourn in Belgium, the 11th Battalion were back on the Somme in November 1916, and they would spend the French winter in this area. On the 7th November Basil was sent to hospital at Rouen with influenza. It was serious enough for him to be evacuated to England where he was admitted to the 4th Southern General Hospital. Basil remained here for the rest of 1916. On the 5th January 1917 Basil was discharged from hospital to No.2 Command Depot at Weymouth Camp. He remained here for a few weeks and was then transferred to No.1 Command Depot Camp at Perham Downs. On the 31st January 1917 Basil was sent to the 3rd Training Battalion at Durrington Camp on the Salisbury Plains.
On the 9th February Basil was once again in hospital, this time for scabies. He stayed in Fargo Military Hospital until the 14th March 1917 when he returned to the 3rd Training Battalion. On the 23rd March he returned to Fargo Military Hospital where he was diagnosed as having VD. He was sent to No.1 Australian Dermatological Hospital to recover. Basil would spend the next few months in and out of hospital and only returned to the 3rd training battalion on the 15th September 1917. He spent the next month in camp and on the 23rd October 1917 left Southampton and returned to France. After arriving at Le Havre he was marched into the 1st Australian Division Base Depot and was taken back on strength of the 11th Battalion on the 11th November 1917.
Basil served with the 11th until the 3rd of February 1918 when he was sent to hospital ill. He was diagnosed as having scabies, was treated and returned to the 11th Battalion on the 9th February 1918. On the 19th March 1918, two days before the German offensive, Basil was wounded in action, having been gassed. He was evacuated back to the 1st Field Ambulance and then to the 54th General Hospital at Boulogne and on the 30th March was transferred to the 25th General Hospital. On the 11th April 1918 he was transferred to the 1st Convalescent Depot and on the 17th April to the Base Depot at Le Havre. Basil rejoined the 11th Battalion on the 13th May 1918 in the vicinity of Merris. He remained with the unit until the 21st June 1918 when he was sent to a school of instruction, rejoining the 11th on the 28th June.
The 11th Battalion remained at Merris until the end of July 1918. Basil was now a Lance Corporal and the Battalion was shifted south to join the other Australian Divisions on the Somme. A large offensive was planned for August 8th 1918 and though the 11th Battalion was not to be involved on the first day they were to relieve the other Australian battalion’s and keep pressing the advance forward.
On August 10th the 11th Battalion attacked German positions at Lihons and were met with an overwhelming German machine gun fire. They took the German positions but casualties were very heavy. Basil was listed as killed in action and unfortunately his body does not seem to have been recovered. He is therefore listed on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial.
His brother John Hackett served in the 12th Field Ambulance and survived the war.



