Lindley, Norman
7418 Private Norman Lindley - 28th Battalion AIF
Norman was born in Fremantle in 1889 to John and Martha Lindley, being one of ten siblings, with, Harry 1878, Robert 1880, Percy 1882, Leslie 1884, Locksley 1885, Wesley 1887, Cecil 1889, Grave 1892 and Vincent 1893.
The family lived in Fremantle till 1890's/1900's then moved to Pingelly when their father took up farming. Norm completed his schooling in Pingelly and after leaving school he took up work as a labourer and farmhand at Pingelly.
On the 28th September 1917 Norm enlisted into the AIF. News would have come through recently of his brother Cecil being captured by the Germans in France.
Norm was passed as physically fit for enlistment, and the medical examiner recorded his attributes as;
Height - 5 feet 6 & 1/2 inches tall;
Weight - 136lbs;
Chest Measurement - 33-36 inches;
Complexion - Fresh;
Eyes - Hazel;
Hair - Brown.
After his enlistment in Pingelly, Norm was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was assigned to the training depot. He had the next two months being taken through the basics of infantry work and was then assigned to the 22nd Reinforcements to the 28th Battalion AIF. He trained with this group in WA for the next two months.
On the 13th March 1918 Norm and his group entrained for Fremantle Harbour where they boarded the transport ship RMS Ormonde. The ship then set sail for England, but due to an outbreak of measles, the men were disembarked in Egypt and sent to a segregation camp at Suez. After a few weeks they were sent to Port Tewfik, where they boarded another ship, the Ellenga, arriving at Southampton on the 15th May 1918.
After being disembarked, Norm and his group were sent to the 5th Training Battalion at Fovant Camp on the Salisbury Plains. He would spend three months training in this camp and was sent to France on the 29th August 1918. He was sent into the Australian Infantry Base Depot Camp at Le Havre for a few days and was then taken on strength of the 28th Battalion on the 4th September 1918.
The 28th battalion had just taken part in the capture of Peronne and Mont St Quentin when Norm had joined them. The 28th Battalion were still in the thick of the action through to early October 1918. Norm took part in the operations in the Hindenburg Line at Montbrehain. During the attack he had been shot in the thigh.
Norm was initially treated at the 6th Field Ambulance and was then sent to the 12th Casualty Clearing Station. More medical treatment was given here and he was then put on an ambulance train and taken to the French town of Boulogne. Norm was then admitted to the 2nd Australian General Hospital. He only had a few days here and was shipped to England on the 8th October 1918.
On arrival in England, Norm was sent to the 1st Eastern General Hospital in Cambridge. He would be a patient here till the 15th November 1918. He had now improved enough to be given a two week furlough and when this was over he reported into No.1 Command Depot Camp at Sutton Veny. He spent a week here and was then transferred to No.2 Command Depot Camp at Weymouth.
Norm would only be at Weymouth for a few weeks as on the 24th December 1918 he was sent aboard the transport ship Takada and set sail for Australia, reaching Fremantle on the 1st February 1919.
After arriving back in Fremantle, Norm was sent to No.8 Australian General Hospital in South Terrace Fremantle for a full medical check. He was then discharged from the AIF on the 5th March 1919.
Norm then returned home to Pingelly. Sadly his brother Cecil died in 1921 in Pingelly and Norm farmed at East Pingelly till his death on the 1st January 1944.