Casserly, Peter

1933 Private Peter Casserly - 2nd Light Railway Operating Company

Peter Casserly was born in Gingin in 1898 to Peter and Alice Casserly. After Peter's birth the family oved to North Fremantle and further children were born, Joseph (1900), Paul (1902), Eileen (1904), Mary (1907), Olive (1913) and Elizabeth (1915).

The family lived in Alfred Road North Fremantle

Peter was educated at CBC Fremantle and after leaving school he took up work with the WA Government Railways as a fireman. Peter also served for a short time in the 86A Cadets but his work on the Railways made him exempt from further service due to his travels for work.

Peter and his father Peter enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force around the same time, Peter (jnr) on the 12th March 1917 and Peter (snr) 13th March 1917.

Peter Casserly (jnr) was accepted as fit for service with the medical examiner recording his physical attributes as;

Height - 5 feet 7 & 1/4 inches tall;

Weight - 128lbs;

Chest Measurement - 32-26 inches;

Complexion - Fresh;

Eyes - Blue;

Hair - Brown.

After his successful enlistment Peter was sent to the railway corps reinforcements. This group from WA were sent to Victoria to continue their training. Peter and the railway crops reinforcements trained at Broadmeadows Camp in Victoria.

On the 11th May 1917 Peter and his reinforcement group embarked from port Melbourne aboard the transport ship Ascanius and set sail for England, reaching Devonport on the 20th July 1917.

After being disembarked Peter and his group were then sent to the Australian Railway Corps reinforcement camp at Bordon. Peter had around six weeks here and on the 5th September 1917 proceeded over to France.

He was then assigned for duty with the 16th Light Railway Operating Company (later called the 2nd Light Railway Operating Company.) 

These small locomotives with their drivers and engineers from the light railway operating companies carried supplies of war material from the standard gauge railheads up to the forward lines. While the steam locomotives hauled supplies from the railheads, haulage to the forward lines was done by petrol locomotives that took over from the steam locomotives at distribution points some distance behind the front.

Casserly was court-martialled on 18 May 1918 on a charge of "When on active service, using violence to his superior officer in that he 'in the field' on 5 May 1918 violently assaulted Sgt A.G. Reddie". He was found guilty of the charge and was sentenced to 12 months 'IHL' ('Indentured Hard Labour'). He was admitted to No. 1 Military Prison at Rouen France on 5 June 1918. On 15 October 1918, the remainder of his sentence was suspended, and he rejoined his unit.

After a few bouts of illness Peter remained working with his unit until the 2nd July 1919 when he boarded the transport ship Karmala and set sail for home, disembarking in Fremantle on the 10th August 1919.

Peter was discharged from the AIF on the 11th September 1919.

After the Great War, Peter returned to North Fremantle where he worked at a variety of jobs including as a wharf labourer, seaman, and fisherman. He started his own timber yard, then also a cray fishing service. Casserly won a Royal Humane Society bravery award for saving a man from drowning.

In West Perth in 1923, Casserly married Monica Delgado. They would have two sons, Peter in 1924 and Edward in 1925. The couple were married for eighty years until Monica's death in 2004.

Peter Casserly died in Perth on 24 June 2005. He was the last Fremantle Great War soldier to die and was also the last Australian of the AIF to die who had seen service on the Western Front. His funeral service was held at St Patrick's Church in Fremantle