Percival (Peter) Clement Bassett

Percival (Peter) Clement Bassett

Personal Information
Date of Birth	unknown Sep 1884
Place of Birth	Toorak, Melbourne, Victoria
Age at Enlistment	30 years, 11 months
Description	5'6¾" tall ; 140lbs 63.503 kg ; fresh complexion ; blue eyes ; fair hair
Occupation	carpenter
Religion	Church of England
Address	Maddington, Western Australia
Next of Kin	Brother , Mr A G Bassett
Military Information
Reg Number	[ https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=3055805 3716]
Date of Enlistment	30 Aug 1915
Rank	Driver
Unit/Formation	11th Battalion, 12th Reinforcement / 3rd Brigade, 1st Division
Date of Embarkation	22 Nov 1915
Ship Embarked On	RMS Mongolia
Date of Return	28 Feb 1919 ‒ 10 Apr 1919
Ship Returned On	HMAT A68 Anchises Port of return was Albany
Medals	1914-15 Star British War Medal Victory Medal

War Service

Six week after entering Blackboy Hill camp Peter was allocated to the 12th reinforcement draft for the 11th Battalion and he travelled with them to Egypt. On 2 Mar 1916 he joined the battalion at Habieta in Egypt and was posted to A Company. Along with the rest of his unit he boarded HMT Corsican in Alexandria on 29 Mar 1916 and arrived in Marseilles on 5 Apr 1916.

On 20 Jul 1916 the 11th Battalion moved into the front line at Pozieres and prepared to launch an attack on it. On the 23rd the attack took place, and they took all their objectives and dug themselves in amongst the ruins of the village. On the 24th the Germans began to shell their positions, slowly at first but later with an intensity during the 24th and 25th never before experienced by Australian troops. On the 26th the battalion was relieved and on the 27 Jul 1916 Peter reported to the 1st Australian Filed Ambulance with what was diagnosed as a 'contused foot' seemingly a solid hit from a piece of shell that while not breaking the skin caused significant damage.

Sent on to the 3rd Australian Casualty Clearing Station on 28 Jul 1916 he was quickly sent on to the 20th General Hospital in Camiers. On 4 Aug 1916 he was released to the 6th Convalescent Depot in Boulogne to recover, returning to the battalion on 29 Sep 1916 after a few weeks in the Base Depot. Peter then remained with the battalion until 29 Sep 1917 when he was for a short time seconded to the 1st Australian Mobile Vet Section. On 23 Jan 1918 Peter reported ill to the 2nd Australian Field Ambulance and was able to rejoin the battalion on 31 Jan 1918.

Peter was granted leave in the UK on 23 Aug 1918 after the battle for Lihons, rejoining the battalion on 14 Sep 1918 in time to participate in the Battalion's final action, an attack on German positions near Jeancourt on the morning of 18 Sep 1918. Achieving their objectives their final position overlooked the Hindenburg Line near Bellicourt, overlooking the tunnel on the Canal du Nord.

Promoted Driver on 28 Aug 1918, Peter left the battalion for England on 29 Jan 1919, arriving there on 4 Feb 1919 to prepare for his return to Australia. Discharged by the 5th Military District on 3 Jun 1919.

Notes

Peter's brother 12268 Driver Bertie Frederick Bassett served with the 4th Division Ammunition Column and he returned to Australia on 4 Jun 1919.