Castlemain, Victor William

2610 Victor William Castlemain – 4th Pioneer Battalion

Victor William Castlemain was born in East Fremantle in 1896 to William and Agnes Castlemain. He was one of several siblings and he was educated at East Fremantle primary school and later at North Fremantle primary. The family lived in Mary Street North Fremantle and after leaving school Victor began working for the WA Postmaster General’s Office as a letter carrier. Through his schooling Victor was a member of the junior cadets and went on to serve with the senior cadets of the 86A Regiment of the Citizens Military Forces.

With the outbreak of the Great War Victor tried to enlist straight away but was rejected due to insufficient chest measurement. As he was only 18 years old this would improve in time and in August 1915 Victor tried again. Armed with the permission slip to enlist signed by his parents, Victor presented himself at the Swan Barracks in Perth and was this time accepted for service. The medical officer recorded Victor’s physical attributes as;

Height:                                     5 feet 6 inches;

Weight:                                    118lbs;

Chest Measurement:               31-35 inches;

Complexion:                            Fair;

Eyes:                                       Blue;

Hair:                                        Brown;

Religious Denomination:         Methodist;

Distinctive Marks:                    Two moles left cheek & 1 on back of neck.

After his successful enlistment Victor reported to Blackboy Hill Camp. He was initially assigned to No.24 Training Depot on the 16^th August 1915. He would spend the next two months in this training depot learning the basics of infantry. On the 16^th October 1915 Victor was transferred into the 6^th Reinforcements to the 28^th Battalion AIF. He only had a couple of weeks with this unit in WA as on the 2^nd November 1915 Victor and his group boarded the HMAT Ulysses and set sail for Egypt.

The sea journey took just over three weeks and they arrived in Egypt towards the end of the month. After being disembarked Victor was sent to the AIF Reinforcement camp. Victor may have been expecting to be sent to Gallipoli to reinforce the 28^th Battalion. However the decision had been made by British High Command to evacuate the Dardanelles so Victor would remain in his reinforcement camp for the time being.

The 28^th Battalion returned to Egypt in early January 1916 but as they soon had their full complement of numbers Victor was sent to the 7^th Training Battalion. He remained there till the end of February 1916. With the expansion of the AIF, three more divisions were to be formed. Victor went to the newly forming 51^st Battalion but he only remained with them until the 16^th March 1916 when he transferred into the 4^th Pioneer Battalion. Victor began training with his new unit but on the 28^th March he was sent to the New Zealand Stationary Hospital with Gastro enteritis. Fortunately it wasn’t a severe case and he returned to his unit on the 1^st April 1916. Through April and May 1916 the 4^th Pioneer Battalion remained in Egypt undergoing training for preparation to be sent to the Western Front.

On the 4^th June 1916 Victor and the 4^th Pioneers boarded the HT Scotian in Alexandria Harbour and set sail for France, disembarking at Marseilles on the 11^th June 1916. After being disembarked the men were marched through Marseilles to the railway station where they boarded trains which took them to northern France. The 4^th Pioneers had their first taste of Western Front life at Fleurbaix near Armentieres. However a few weeks later in July they moved to the Somme to take part in the current campaign then taking place. The 1^st Australian Division captured Pozieres village on July 22^nd and after a week they were relieved by the 2^nd Division. They furthered the gains until they were themselves relieved by the 4^th Division. The infantry of the 4^th Division attacked towards Mouquet farm and it was the job of the 4^th Pioneers to keep the trenches open for supply parties and stretcher bearers. This was a very hard task under the constant German shellfire which continually obliterated the trenches however the men kept at it through August and into early September.

Victor survived the Pozieres/Mouquet farm action unscathed and the Australians were then sent to Belgium through the remainder of September and into October 1916.

This was only to be a short break on a quieter part of the front and the 4^th Division soon returned to the Somme where they would spend the 1916/17 winter. Victor had a change of unit as on the 1^st November 1916 he was taken on strength of the 4^th Australian Division HQ.

He remained with the 4^th Division HQ for the remainder of the war and through he was not front line infantry Victor was often under shellfire as he helped ran messages and supplies from the main HQ to the various Brigades and Battalions.

Through 1917 the 4^th Division saw action at Bullecourt, Messines, Zonnebeke, Polygon Wood and Passchendaele. Victor came through these actions unscathed and in November 1917 the 4^th Division were sent to the Peronne sector. In January 1918 they returned to the Messines sector of southern Belgium. On the 19^th January 1918 Victor got into trouble for conduct contrary to good order and military discipline. He was fined two days pay.

On March 21^st 1918 the Germans launched their long awaited spring offensive which broke through the Third & Fifth British Armies. They were making a speedy advance towards the vital city of Amiens and so the third and fourth Australian divisions were initially sent south to meet this threat. From late March to July 1918 Victor with the 4^th Division HQ were based near Amiens and Villers-Bretonneux.

In August the allied offensive took place which pushed the Germans back. Despite some fierce German resistance the Australians were continually in action until October 1918. They were then withdrawn for a rest. On the 17^th October Victor was sent to England for a fortnight’s leave, rejoining the 4^th Division HQ on the 1^st November 1918. Victor was with his unit for the Armistice announcement on the 11^th November 1918.

On the 16^th January 1919 Victor was sent to England to await a berth on a transport ship to Australia. However on the 26^th January 1919 he fell ill and he was sent to the 4^th Command Depot Hospital at Hurdcott Camp. Fortunately the illness wasn’t serious and he was released from hospital on the 2^nd February. On the 12^th February Victor boarded the HMAT Anchises in Devonport Harbour and set sail for Australia. However as the ship wasn’t berthing at his home port of Fremantle, it took a more southerly route, so Victor and the other West Australians on board disembarked in Albany on the 7^th April 1919.

Victor then entrained up to Perth and eventually arrived home in Fremantle. He was officially discharged from the AIF on the 4^th June 1919.

In 1920 Victor married Beryl Smith and they had two children, Victor born in 1921 and James in 1925. He died on the 20^th October 1961 aged 65.