Bolton, Cecil Arthur Herbert

6526 Private Cecil Arthur Herbert Bolton - 28th Battalion AIF

Cecil Arthur Herbert Bolton was born in Fremantle in 1893 to Herbert and Mary Bolton. He had several siblings, with, Mabel 1890, Percy 1895, Alfred 1899 and Leonard 1903.

The Bolton Family lived in Victoria Ave North Fremantle and Cecil was educated locally at North Fremantle Primary school. After leaving school Cecil took up clerical work.

Cecil married in 1914 to Myrtle Sarah Monkhouse in North Fremantle with a  son Roy being born in 1916. The family were then living at 172 Ellen Street Fremantle. (later renumbered to 67 Ellen)

On the 17th July 1916 Cecil enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force in Fremantle. He was accepted as fit for service, with the medical examiner recording his physical attributes as;

Height - 5 feet 9 & 3/4 inches tall;

Weight - 138lbs;

Chest Measurement - 34-36 inches;

Complexion - Fresh;

Eyes - Blue;

Hair - Fair.

Upon his successful enlistment he was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was assigned to No.82 Training Depot. Cecil was taken through the basics of infantry work at this camp. On the 18th September 1916 Cecil was transferred into the 18th Reinforcements to the 28th Battalion.

He spent a month with this group but appears to have been then sent to No.22 Training Depot and was given the rank of Corporal. Cecil remained here till 30th December 1916 when he was transferred to the 19th Reinforcements to the 28th Battalion.

Cecil training with this group for the next month. They then received their departure orders and on the 29th January 1917 entrained for Fremantle Harbour where they boarded the transport ship HMAT Miltiades and set sail for England, arriving at Devonport Harbour on the 27th March 1917.

After being disembarked the men were sent to the 7th Training Battalion at Rollestone Camp on the Salisbury Plains. He trained in England for the next few months and was promoted to Sergeant for the time in the training camp.

On the 9th July 1917 Cecil was sent over to France and the following day went to the 2nd Australian Division Base Depot at Le Havre. He spent around ten days there and was taken on strength of the 28th Battalion on the 20th July 1917. Cecil had now been reverted back to Private.

The 28th battalion were currently on a three month break from front line duties and much of this time was taken up by training and sporting activities.

In September 1917 the 28th Battalion took part in the Third Battle of Ypres in Belgium, seeing action at the Battle of Menin Road on 20th September 1917 as well as subsequent actions through October 1917 at Zonnebeke and Broodseinde Ridge. Cecil came through these actions safely.

From December 1917 to March 1918 the 28th Battalion were helping to hold the line in Belgium between Messines and Ypres.

On the 21st March 1918 the Germans broke through the British line further south and so the Australian Divisions in Belgium were sent south to the Somme to help stop this advance.

The 28th Battalion came into contact with the Germans near Ville-sur-Ancre on the Somme. They spent the next few months in the vicinity of Morlancourt, fighting a large battle there on June 10th 1918. They were then moved to the Villers-Bretonneux sector and captured Monument Wood near Villers-Bretonneux in July 1918.

Cecil served with his unit through the next month, and participated in the August 8th attack from Villers-Bretonneux which smashed through the German lines.

The 28th Battalion participated in several actions over the next few weeks, most notably at Peronne and Mont St Quentin.  The 28th Battalion was in action until October 4th 1918 when they fought at Montbrehain.

Cecil had been sent on leave on the 19th August 1918, thus he missed the arrival of his brother Alfred when he joined the 28th battalion on the 20th August. Cecil returned to the 28th Battalion on the 6th September 1918. He survived the final actions of the 28th Battalion through September and October 1918.

After the action at Montbrehain, the 28th Battalion were withdrawn from the line for a well deserved rest.

The 28th Battalion were still out of the front line when the Armistice was announced on the 11th November 1918. After the Germans withdrew back to their own borders the Australians were sent into what had been German occupied parts of Belgium and France. The 28th Battalion went to the Charleroi area in Belgium.

In February 1919 Cecil was sent to hospital sick and was diagnosed with venereal disease. After a stint in hospital in France, on the 3rd March 1919 Cecil was sent to England, where after arriving he was sent to the 1st Australian Dermatological Hospital at Bulford. He remained there until the 4th May 1919 when he was transferred to the AIF Camp at Parkhouse. On the 13th May he was transferred to No.2 Group Camp at Sutton Veny.

On the 16th June 1919 Cecil left England aboard the transport ship Ormonde. The ship then set sail for Australia, where he disembarked in Fremantle on the 24th July 1919.

Cecil was discharged from the AIF on the 31st August 1919.

After he returned to Fremantle, Cecil reunited with his family and in 1920 a son called Douglas was born followed by Lorna in 1923.

In 1922 the family moved to Tamar Street in Palmyra with Cecil continuing work as a Clerk at the family firm. In 1926 the family moved to the Corner of Carrington and Cleopatra Street Palmyra.

In 1931 the family were living at 224 Canning Road East Fremantle with Cecil now working as a Manager at Bolton's.

Sadly their daughter Lorna died in 1937 aged just 14.

The family then moved north of the river, taking up residence firstly at 49 Blencowe St Leederville and then during World War Two at 39 Marlow Street in Wembley. The family remained there through to the 1950's.

Cecil died on the 28th August 1967 in Perth aged 74. He was buried at Karrakatta Cemetery plot Anglican ZC 0134.