Regimental number | 2785 |
Place of birth | Melbourne, Victoria |
School | Auburn & Camberwell State Schools, Victoria |
Religion | Methodist |
Occupation | Salesman |
Address | 9 Waterloo Street, Camberwell, Victoria |
Marital status | Single |
Age at embarkation | 20 |
Height | 5' 9.5" |
Weight | 140 lbs |
Next of kin | Father, W Bassett, Waterloo Street, Camberwell, Victoria |
Previous military service | Served for 2 years, 48th Infantry, Senior Cadets; 2 years as a Sergeant, 48th Infantry, Citizen Military Forces. |
Enlistment date | |
Rank on enlistment | Private |
Unit name | 6th Battalion, 9th Reinforcement |
AWM Embarkation Roll number | 23/23/2 |
Embarkation details | Unit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT A16 Star Of Victoria on |
Rank from Nominal Roll | Company Sergeant Major |
Unit from Nominal Roll | 58th Battalion |
Fate | Killed in Action |
Date of death | |
Age at death | 20 |
Place of burial | No known grave |
Commemoration details | V.C. Corner (Panel No 13), Australian Cemetery, Fromelles, France |
Panel number, Roll of Honour, Australian War Memorial | 165 |
Family/military connections | Brother: Lieutenant Walter Eric BASSETT, MC, Field Engineers & Royal Flying Corps. |
Other details |
War service: Egypt, Western Front Taken on strength, 6th Bn, Tel el Kebir, 7 January 1916. Promoted Sergeant, 15 January 1916. Transferred to 58th Bn, 17 February 1916. Promoted Company Sergeant Major with rank of Warrant Officer Class II as from 26 April 1916. Embarked Alexandria to join the British Expeditionary Force, 17 June 1916; disembarked Marseilles, France, 23 June 1916. Reported missing in action, 19 July 1916. Court of Enquiry, held in the field, 1 September 1917, pronounced fate as 'KILLED IN ACTION', 19 July 1916. Red Cross File No 270403 has statement from Sergeant McDONALD (patient, 1st Australian Auxiliary Hospital, Harefield, 10 November 1916: 'At Bois Grenier, he was killed on night of 19th July in a charge - some time after a scouting party went out to collect information and bring in discs, and they brought in his pay book, he is marked off as killed in the battalion records.' Second statement, 4772 Pte R. DAVENPORT, A Company, 58th Bn (patient, Ward 15, Beaufort War Hospital, Bristol), 9 December 1916: 'He was killed in a stunt on July 19th, 1916, by machine gun fire. I saw him fall, but it was impossible to get his body in.' Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal |
Sources | NAA: B2455, BASSETT Edward Alfred
Red Cross file 270403 |