Casson, John Edgar

6304 Private John Edgar Casson - 28th Battalion AIF

John Edgar Casson was born in Fremantle in 1898 to Edgar and Susan Casson. He was the eldest of five siblings, with, Frederick 1900, Matilda 1902, William 1903 and Fred 1904.

The family lived in Fremantle till the early 1900's and then moved to Perth. His father Edgar died on the 8th June 1909, leaving his mother to bring the children up.

After leaving school he became a clerk and during this time he was serving in the 30th Australian Engineers Company of the Citizens Military Forces.

On the 20th August 1916 John enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force. He was successfully accepted for service, with the medical examiner recording his physical attributes as;

Height - 5 feet 7 inches;

Weight - 127lbs;

Chest Measurement - 32-25 inches;

Complexion - Fresh;

Eyes - Blue;

Hair - Dark Brown.

Upon his successful enlistment John was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was assigned to No.80 Training Depot. He only spent a few days there and was then transferred to the Signalling School. John spent the next two and a half months at this signalling school, being taken through the intricacies of morse and other modes of battlefield communications. He completed the course successfully and on the 16th November 1916 was assigned to the 18th reinforcements to the 28th Battalion.

He trained with this group in WA for the next six weeks and just after Christmas 1916 they received their departure orders. On the 29th December 1916 John and his group entrained for Fremantle Harbour  where they boarded the transport ship HMAT Persic. The ship then set sail for England, reaching Devonport Harbour on the 3rd March 1917.

After being disembarked John was sent to the 7th Training Battalion at Rollestone Camp on the Salisbury Plains. John was kept in England for the next seven months.

On the 14th October 1917 he was in a draft of soldiers which left Southampton and proceeded across the English Channel to France. He was then sent to the 2nd Australian Division Base Depot at Le Havre but was only there for a few days and joined the 28th Battalion on the 20th October 1917.

The 28th Battalion were then in the line in Belgium near Passchendaele and remained there through to November 1917.

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.

John 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.

After the action at Montbrehain, the 28th Battalion were withdrawn from the line for a well deserved rest. On the 19th October 1918 John was given a fortnight's leave to the UK and John returned to his unit on the 11th November 1918, having stayed five days over his official leave period.

The 28th Battalion were still out of the front line when the Armistice was announced on the 11th November 1918. Despite the Armistice occurring John was still punished for overstaying his leave and was given 14 days of Field Punishment No.2.

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. On the 2nd February 1919 he was hospitalised with a septic foot but soon rejoined his unit after two weeks in hospital.

On the 9th May 1919 John left the 28th Battalion and had a week at the base depot at Le Havre. He then returned to England on the 16th May 1919. On arrival in England John was sent to No.2 Group Camp at Sutton Veny.

He would now have to wait to be assigned a berth on a troopship home. This took a few months, but finally on the 3rd September 1919 he boarded the transport ship Barambah and set sail for Australia, reaching Fremantle on the 12th October 1919. John was then discharged from the AIF on the 25th November 1919.

After returning home and resuming his role as a Civil Servant, John married Catherine May Fry on the  28th February 1923; and they would have two children John in 1924 and Catherine 1926.

The family were living at Beaufort Street North Perth through the 1920's, before moving to Elizabeth Street in North Perth.

During World War Two, John again offered his services. He was accepted as fit for service with the Australian Army. (W69126). John was assigned to the Swan Battalion of the Volunteer Defence Corps, serving through 1942 and 1943.

He was then discharged from service and resumed his role as a Civil Servant.

The family remained in North Perth through to the 1970's.

John died on the 11th April 1995 in Melville WA aged 96. He was cremated at Karrakatta Cemetery.