Essex, Cecil John

No.2403 – Private Cecil John Essex - 51st Battalion

As previously seen Cecil and Leslie Essex enlisted together for service in the AIF. Both were assigned to the 51^st Battalion reinforcements and arrived the same day to the 51^st Battalion in France on the 19^th December 1916.

The brothers were soon parted for the first time in months as on the 4^th January 1917 after only a few weeks in the line, Cecil was evacuated to hospital sick. He only spent three days in the field ambulance and returned to the 51^st.

In February Les was evacuated with frostbite, but Cecil remained with the Battalion and fought with them at Noreuil on 2^nd April 1917.

The 51^st Battalion was in support during the Bullecourt action on the 11^th April 1917 though on this day Cecil was sent to the 4^th Field Ambulance after suffering a severe asthma attack.

Cecil was sent to the 5^th General Hospital at Rouen where it was found he was also suffering from severe myalgia.

Amazingly Cecil and Les were in the same hospital in Rouen and on the 24^th April 1917 both boys were marked as ‘Blighty’ cases. They were sent across to England where both were admitted to Tooting War Hospital.

While Les returned to France in July 1917, the war for Cecil was over as his eyesight was classed as defective and he was to be invalided back to Australia. On the 25^th August 1917, the day before Les died in France, Cecil boarded a hospital ship and sailed for home, disembarking in Fremantle on the 17^th October 1917. Cecil may not have found out about his brothers’ death till he returned home to Australia.

Cecil was discharged from the AIF on the 30^th November 1917 and from the following day he was granted a military pension of 15/- per fortnight.

In 1918 Cecil married Charlotte Greenaway in Geraldton though after a few years in the mid-west they returned to Fremantle and took up residence in Suffolk Street.

Cecil died on the 11^th July 1953 and is buried in the Anglican section of Fremantle Cemetery.