Lindley, Cecil

6556 Private Cecil Lindley - 16th Battalion AIF

Cecil Lindley was born in Fremantle in 1889 to John and Martha Lindley, being one of seven siblings, with Harry 1878, Robert 1879, Percy 1882, Lesley 1883, Westley 1887 and Norman 1888.

The family lived in Fremantle till the 1890's/1900's and then moved to Pingelly when their father took up farming. Cecil completed his schooling in Pingelly and after leaving school he took up work as a labourer and farmhand at Pingelly.

On the 9th April 1916 Cecil enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force. He was found to be fit for enlistment, with the medical examiner recording his physical attributes as;

Height - 5 feet 10 & 3/4 inches tall;

Weight - 148lbs;

Chest Measurement - 36-38 inches;

Complexion - Fresh;

Eyes - Brown;

hair - dark Brown.

After his successful enlistment, Cecil was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp and was sent into No.63 Training Depot. He had a few weeks of being taken through the basics of infantry work and was then transferred into the 21st Reinforcements to the 16th Battalion AIF. He trained with them until the 22nd July 1916 but was then transferred to the 20th Reinforcements to the 16th Battalion AIF.

Cecil trained with this group in WA for another few months and then on the 13th October 1916 entrained to Fremantle Harbour where he boarded the transport ship Port Macquarie. The ship then set sail for England, reaching Plymouth on the 12th December 1916. After being disembarked Cecil and his group were sent to the 4th training Battalion at Codford.

He would be at the 4th Training Battalion for several weeks, then on the 8th February 1917 was sent across to France. He had a few days at the 4th Australian Division Base Depot at Etaples and was then taken on strength of the 16th Battalion on the 13th February 1917.

He joined them on the Somme battlefield and soon saw action at Stormy Trench a few days after joining, when the 16th Battalion provided support to the 13th Battalion capture of the trench.

The Germans withdrew to the Hindenburg Line positions in March 1917 and the Australians were given the task of capturing the positions at Bullecourt.

The 16^th Battalion, as part of the 4^th Brigade were tasked with breaking the line at Bullecourt and capturing the German positions. This assault finally went ahead on April 11^th 1917 with the assistance of tanks though with no artillery support. On the 4^th Brigade front, the 16^th & 13^th Battalion broke through the thick barbed wire and despite the heavy German fire managed to capture sections of the trenches. However due to their flanks being unsupported and the lack of supporting fire along with running out of ammunition, the survivors had a choice to remain and become prisoners of war or to make a dash back for their own lines.

The 16^th Battalion had very heavy casualties with only a handful of men making back to their own lines. Cecil was captured by the Germans. He was initially reported as Missing but then news came through that Cecil had been captured. Cecil wrote a letter which was later published in the Pingelly Leader, about his time after capture.

He would now spend the next months as a prisoner of the Germans. It seems the main prison camp he was in was at Limburg Germany. However Cecil and a mate were able to escape into Denmark in 1918. (letter below)

After the Armistice in November 1918, the prisoners would slowly be repatriated. On the 16th December 1918 Cecil returned to England and after reporting in to the AIF HQ in London, he was given a months leave.

On the 9th February 1919 Cecil boarded the transport ship Ascanius and set sail for home, reaching Fremantle on the 17th March 1919. Cecil was then disembarked and medically checked at No.8 Australian General Hospital in South Terrace Fremantle. He was discharged from the AIF on the 2nd May 1919.

Cecil returned home to the farming at Pingelly. He renamed his property Bullecourt Farm. Not long after he had returned home, the Pingelly Leader published a letter he had written after escaping from the Germans.

Sadly, Cecil died on the 28th February 1921 in East Pingelly. The Pingelly Leader stated that;