Dadswell, Archibald Frederick
4101 Private Archibald Frederick Dadswell - 28th Battalion AIF
Archibald Frederick Dadswell was born in Aldershot England circa 1897 to Charles AND Julia Dadswell. Sadly, his Father died in Hampshire 1904 and his Mother in 1911. Archibald then came out to Western Australia in 1912 while he was still young and was looked after by a guardian, his elder sister, a Rose Robinson, of Hammand Street East Fremantle/Palmyra.
Archie attended the local primary school and also attended the 86A Cadets of the citizen military forces. After leaving school he found employment as a Packer at a local store called Harpers.
On the 21st December 1915 aged just 18, Archie enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force. He was accepted as fit with the medical examiner recording his physical attributes as;
Height - 5 feet 6 inches tall;
Weight - 113lbs;
Chest Measurement - 31-33 inches;
Complexion - Fresh;
Eyes - Hazel;
Hair - Brown.
Upon his successful enlistment, Archie was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was assigned to No.40 Training Depot. On the 1st February 1916 he was then transferred into to the 10th Reinforcements to the 28th Battalion.
On the 1st April 1916 Archie and his reinforcement group entrained for Fremantle Harbour where they boarded the transport ship HMAT Ulysses. The ship then set sail for Egypt, reaching there a few weeks later.
As the 28th Battalion had already departed for France Archive was kept in a reinforcement camp in Egypt until the 29th May 1916. He then boarded a transport ship which took him to France, disembarking at Marseilles on the 5th June 1916.
He was then entrained north for Etaples where he went to the 2nd Australian Division Base Depot. He was here for a month and was then assigned to the 1st Anzac Entrenching Battalion. He only had a few days with this unit as on the 14th July 1916 Archie was taken on strength of the 28th Battalion.
The 28th Battalion were then on the Somme Battlefield area preparing for their upcoming role at Pozieres. On the 23rd July 1916 the 1st Australian Division captured Pozieres village. They were relieved five days later by the 2nd Australian Division who would attempt to further those gains. On July 29th the 28th Battalion were ordered to attack along the Pozieres road towards the German trenches. With the road being on higher ground the assault was seen by the Germans who unleashed a massive torrent of machine gun fire on the 28th. Many men were hit in front of the German wire and some did manage to get into the German trenches.
Archie appears to have got into the German trenches and was then shot and wounded. With the attack stalled no other Australians got into the German trenches and Archie and the other wounded were collected up by the Germans and became Prisoners of War.
It was initially reported that Archie had been killed in action but news soon came through via the Red Cross that Archie was now a prisoner of war.
He was taken to Cassel and then Hannover. Due to his wounds and seemingly having lung issues, Archie was allowed to be repatriated to Switzerland, being sent there on the 13th December 1916.
Archie spent nine months in Switzerland and was then transported to England. On arrival he was sent to the 1st London General Hospital. Archie was with other repatriated Prisoners of War and they had their photo taken in the hospital grounds. (Archie is standing front right)
After his time at the 1st London General Hospital, Archie was transferred to the 1st Australian Auxiliary Hospital at Harefield.
On the 23rd October 1917 Archie was transferred to No.2 Command Depot Camp at Weymouth. He would wait here while waiting to be assigned a berth on a troopship home.
On the 11th January 1918 he boarded the transport ship Port Darwin and set sail for home, reaching Fremantle on the 4th March 1918.
Archie was discharged from the AIF on the 21st March 1918. He was then granted a military pension of 30/- per fortnight.
Archie moved a bit after the Great War, living for a time in Albany and then moving back to Claremont and then South Perth
Archie then moved to Bicton and remained living in the East Fremantle area and was an active member of the East Fremantle RSL club and also sporting activities such as cricket and football.
Archibald Dadswell died in Melville on the 5th July 1984 aged 86. He was cremated at Fremantle Cemetery.