Wrightson, Arthur Harry
No.2860 – Private Arthur (Cook) Wrightson – 48th Battalion AIF
The Wrightson’s were a well known family in Fremantle in the early 1900’s. Robert and Harriet Wrightson had several children through the 1880’s and 1890’s. Harriet was born in 1880; Alfred in 1882; Ada in 1884; Arthur Harry in 1886; Mary in 1887; Sydney in 1889; Roy James in 1891; and Florence and Hilda in 1893.
The family lived in East Street East Fremantle and Arthur was educated at Christian Brothers College Fremantle. The Wrightson boys were also good sportsmen and played Australian Rules for East Fremantle Football Club in the Western Australian Football League. Arthur (Cook) Wrightson played 88 games from 1908 to 1913 (photo below) and Roy (Nugget) Wrightson played 70 games from 1910-1915. Sydney played for the North Fremantle Football Club.
After leaving school Arthur secured work in a Hardware store and in 1913 he married Dulcie Martin in Fremantle in 1913. For a time they moved to Leederville but in 1915 they moved to Wood Street South Fremantle. Roy, who was five years younger than his brother was educated at the Fremantle State School and also served in the local cadets of the Citizen’s Military Forces. After leaving school Roy took up employment in the Fremantle region as a labourer.
Three of the Wrightson boys would enlist in the AIF in the Great War, Roy being the first and was followed by Arthur and Sydney.
Arthur Harry (Cook) Wrightson went to the Francis Street Drill Hall in Perth on the 16th February 1916 to enlist in the AIF. He was found to be fit for service with the medical examiner stating that he was 5 feet 9 inches tall; weight of 173lbs; chest measurement of 37-40 inches; dark complexion; brown eyes and black hair. His religious denomination was Methodist and his next of kin was listed as his wife. Arthur has married Dulcie Martin in 1913.
Upon his successful enlistment Arthur was granted a few months leave but on reporting in April he was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp and sent to No.63 Training Depot. On the 4th May 1916 Arthur was transferred to the 16th Reinforcements to the 28th Battalion. He stayed with this group for two months but on the 8th July Arthur applied to join the Non Commissioned Officer’s School and this was granted. He was still in WA when news came through of his brother Roy's death in France.
Arthur studied in the NCO's school for a month and on the 8th October he was sent to No.22 Training Depot with the rank of Corporal. On the 21st August 1916 he was transferred to No.81 Training Depot where he remained for another three weeks.
On the 14th September 1916 Arthur was assigned to the 7th Reinforcements to the 48th Battalion with the regimental no.2860. He was promoted to Acting Sergeant for the duration of training and the voyage overseas. Arthur helped to train his group in WA until the 9th November 1916 when they boarded the HMAT Argyllshire in Fremantle Harbour and set sail for overseas. The sea voyage took just on two months as the ship arrived at Devonport Harbour on the 10th January 1917.
After arriving in port the men were disembarked and were marched into the 12th Training Battalion at Codford Camp on the Salisbury Plains. Upon his arrival Arthur had to revert to the rank of Private but his skills were to be utilised as he was taken on strength of the training battalion. He was soon promoted to Corporal and on the 26th February he was sent to the School of Musketry at Tidworth camp. This course lasted until the 22nd March and Arthur passed the course with a 1st class score and a fair knowledge of the Lewis Gun. Upon the musketry’s course completion he returned to the 12th Training Battalion and helped to teach the new recruits who were passing through. Arthur was confirmed in the rank of Corporal as long as he remained on the permanent cadre of the 12th Training Battalion.
Arthur remained on the staff of the 12th Training Battalion until the 16th August 1917. It then seems that he applied for service in France and on the 16th August he was posted to the Overseas Training Brigade Camp at Perham Downs. As his rank of Corporal was for training purposes, once he arrived at Perham Downs Arthur had to revert to the rank of Private. Arthur remained in this camp for the next month but on the 18th September 1917 he was put in a draft of soldiers that proceeded to Southampton where they boarded a troopship which took them across the Channel to France.
On arrival in Le Havre Arthur was marched into the 4th Australian Division Base Depot. He trained there for the next week and a half and on the 30th September 1917 he was taken on strength of the 48th Battalion in the Ypres sector in Belgium. Arthur could not have picked a worse baptism of fire as his first experience of battle on October 12th 1917 nearly destroyed the 48th Battalion.
As the Third Battle of Ypres progressed the advance crept forward up the ridges until they were nearing Passchendaele. By this stage the battlefield was a quagmire with mud and shell holes dominating the area. Despite the impassibility of the ground the British High Command ordered another advance on October 12th whose objective was to capture Passchendaele and the heights of the ridge.
The 48th Battalion initially advanced well by the railway but as their flanks were unsupported due to neighbouring units not advancing as planned, the Germans were able to unleash an avalanche of fire from three sides on the 48th Battalion. Their advance ground to a halt and they had to withdraw in the face of a German counter attack. The survivors went back to their original starting position. It appears that Arthur may have survived the assault but was killed when a large high explosive shell fell outside the Battalion Headquarters. This shell killed several men and though Arthur would have been buried at the time, the actual spot was not recorded. After the war the Imperial war Graves authorities could not locate Arthur’s burial position and so he is commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial in Ypres.
The third and last son of Harriet to enlist was Sydney Douglas Wrightson. On the 5th June 1916, just a week after Roy had been killed in France; he went and enlisted in the AIF. Sydney was assigned to the 5th Reinforcements to the 44th Battalion but was later transferred to the 6th Reinforcements to the 5th Pioneer Battalion. This group boarded the HMAT Port Melbourne in Fremantle Harbour on the 30th October 1916 and set sail for England, reaching Devonport Harbour on the 28th December 1916.
After his arrival Sydney and his group were sent to the Pioneer Training Battalion at Larkhill Camp on the Salisbury Plains. It is quite possible that during this time Sydney may have caught up with Alfred who was currently at the nearby Codford Camp. Sydney’s training was soon interrupted when he was diagnosed with venereal disease. He was sent to the 1st Australian Dermatological Hospital at Bulford and he spent the next few months at this institution recovering.
For most of 1917 Sydney’s time was spent between the Pioneer Training Battalion camp and hospital as he came down with a variety of ailments. It was only towards the end of the year that he left England and arrived in France. On the 9th December 1917 he was taken on strength of the 5th Pioneer Battalion and served with them for the next year. He came through 1918 unscathed and after the Armistice he was given leave to England. Sydney eventually left England for good on the HMT Kongin Louise on the 21st June 1919. After arriving back in WA Sydney was discharged from the AIF and resumed his peacetime activities.