Additions Lasseter, Frederick Macquarie

Lasseter, Frederick Macquarie Antill

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Honour Roll has him as only “Lasseter, Frederick M. Staff Capt. British Army.” Early to war, at Retreat from Mons,” Belgium as a Private with London Scottish, wounded in hand. Back to Australia during recovery.

Returned trip to England, included being on the historic voyage of the Lusitania. On her sinking, he helped rescue his mother.

Bathurstian Dec. ’09 P569

THE RETREAT FROM MONS. B. Woollahra 1892.Mother Elizabeth Ann Antill D. 29/3/27 Dad Harry B. D.17/2/26

AN AUSTRALIAN'S EXPERIENCE.

Fremantle, February’ l8.

"When the retreat from Mons was almost an accomplished fact the privates at least of the British army thought the war was over, and that they had been beaten and were bound for Havre and England. This is what Private F. Lasseter, of the London Scottish Territorials, told a reporter on board the K.M.S.Orsova, which arrived from London to-day. Mr. Lasseter, who is a son of Colonel Lasseter, of Sydney, who is now holding a high post in Lord Kitchener's army, was studying law at Oxford when the war broke out, and he was one of the few Australians who went straight; to the front with his regiment. While participating in a charge against the Bavarians at Wytchate, which brought fame to the name of the London Scottish, Private Lasseter was wounded by a machine-gun bullet, which entered his left hand near the root of the thumb and came out at the wrist. After spending some months in various hospitals he is now paying a short visit to his native land before rejoining the forces in France as a member of the staff of his father's regiment.

It certainly, was a very trying time for the British forces," he said. We were pushed back day after day from Mons until we were almost thrown on to Paris. Then something which I cannot account for happened, and we found ourselves again on the advance. We first saw action in the attacks on Ypres and were given a chance of winning our spurs by being sent to stem the tide of the German advance at a point between Wytchate and Messines, where there was great and immediate danger of our line being broken. The Indian troops, whose specialty lies in night attacks, and knifing outpoints, were helpless against the shrapnel fire, and we were ordered to take up a position in broad daylight in face of a hellish fire and await the cover of the night to charge the German advanced trenches. We made our position in the face of odds of about 15,000 to 20,000, and at night achieved our object. It was a terrific baptism of fire, and of my company, formerly about - strong, only about 10 remained to tell the story. Shrapnel fire is deafening and demoralizing, and the intermittent roar of the "Jack Johnsons," the stuttering cracks of the ma- chine guns, accompanied all the time by regimental pipers playing Scotch war pieces, created a perfect pandemonium which defies description. It was the day for us, as Halloween was the 60th anniversary of the formation of the regiment. Haggis were sent out to us in the trenches, but we never saw them. We were too busy with German bullets to worry about celebrating any historical dish."

Private Lasseter was loud in his praises of the keenness of the native forces, who were, he said, always anxious to get under fire. They, however, were unable to get used to theshrapnel of the enemy, and were kept in reserve for night fighting and for attacking outposts and trenches. The Turcos, two, were as keen as their French comrades, and displayed great grit and fearlessness. The Indian Native Medical Corps, too, were proving equal to the many demands which were made upon them, and Mr. Lasseter told the story of Major Singh and an Indian doctor who was operating on wounded men in farmhouses. He was told, while engaged in amputating a man's leg, that he had better leave, as the Germans were about to shell the locality, having got the range. He refused to leave and was again urged to do so by an officer, but he choose to remain with his patient, and within a few seconds a shell found its mark, and both doctor and patient were blown to pieces. The Indians were lionized by the French peasantry, and frequently had to put up with the emotional outbursts of French girls. One Indian officer of high caste was reatly distressed at being publicly embraced and kissed by a French girl, for such an act rendered him liable to lose caste.

Referring to the battle around Ypres, Private Lasseter said the inhabitants of that centre had become quite accustomed to the conditions of war and the dropping of shells among them. After a while they ceased to snow much concern, and it became customary for them to mingle with the Allied -troops, and go out on to the surrounding hills and watch the battle as one would sit before cinema screen.

Like the civilian population of Germany, the German army, he said, was sadly misinformed of the true state of affairs, and one day they would learn the real facts and turn tail on the whole proposition. The German soldier really believed that he was winning all along the line, as was evident from certain incidents of which the English had personal knowledge. One German officer whom they captured asked to be allowed to go to a hill near by and view Paris before being imprisoned. He was unaware that he was hundreds of miles away from the French capital. A ruse of the German officers was to label Ostend with the name of Calais to make the troops believe they had gained their objective and to buoy up their hopes.

Private Lasseter found it extremely difficult to describe the atmosphere which surrounds the hand-to-hand conflicts of op posing armies. It was well known, he said, that the Germans did not like the glint of British steel, and one difference between the two forces was that while the German often had had to be egged on by their officers, the most difficult task the British officer had was to restrain his men. In the midst of a charge, when the pipes were playing and every man was yelling, the soldier saw red. He rushed wildly into the ranks of the enemy, using his rifle and bayonet, club or thrust, and kicked, pushed, or wrestled with his adversary, his one object being to leave as many dead as possible on the battlefield. Fear absolutely disappeared, and no man had time to think of his own security. Often many men became demented by the nerve-racking noise in the trenches and rushed out singing towards the German trenches, only to meet a hail of bullets and instant death. While the London Scottish were entrenched opposite the line of German trenches a German was seen to rise from his entrenchment. Immediately a score of rifles were levelled at him, but when he was seen to take out his pipe and go behind a tree the rifles were lowered and by common consent he was allowed to have his last smoke on, earth. Having finished the pipe he knocked it on his boot and placed it in his pocket, immediately the British rifles spoke and the German fell.

The Advertiser (Adelaide”19/2/1915 P.8

AUSTRALIAN WOUNDED.

(From our Special Representative.) London Thursday.

Frederick Lasseter of Sydney, was among the first eight men hit before the London Scottish Regiment charged at Ypres. He received a bullet in his left hand, and assisted a 'less' fortunate comrade to reach the ambulance. He met an Indian regiment, to which he had acted as interpreter which took .him to the rear and dispatched him to Bailleul, en route to England

The Mail (Adelaide) 6/11/14 P.1

Sinking of the RMS Lusitania

The sinking of the Cunard ocean liner RMS Lusitania occurred on 7 May 1915 during the First World War, as Germany waged submarine warfare against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The ship was identified and torpedoed by the German U-boat U-20 and sank in 18 minutes. The vessel went down 11 miles (18km) off the Old Head of Kinsale, Ireland, killing 1,198 and leaving 761 survivors. The sinking turned public opinion in many countries against Germany, contributed to the American entry into World War I and became an iconic symbol in military recruiting campaigns of why the war was being fought.

Lusitania had the misfortune to fall victim to torpedo attack relatively early in the First World War, before tactics for evading submarines were properly implemented or understood. The contemporary investigations both in the UK and the United States into the precise causes of the ship's loss were obstructed by the needs of wartime secrecy and a propaganda campaign to ensure all blame fell upon Germany. Argument over whether the ship was a legitimate military target raged back and forth throughout the war as both sides made misleading claims about the ship. At the time she was sunk, she was carrying a large quantity of rifle cartridges and non-explosive shell casings, as well as civilian passengers. Several attempts have been made over the years since the sinking to dive to the wreck seeking information about precisely how the ship sank, and argument continues to the current day

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

SYDNEY, Sunday. Among the passengers saved were Mrs. H. B. Lassetter, wife of Colonel Lassetter, of Sydney, and her son, Lieut. Frederick M. Lassetter, who left Sydney on March 27 for England, via America. Lieut. Lassetter, on the outbreak of war, left Oxford University and joined the London Scottish as private. He was wounded in France, and was invalided. Accompanied by his mother, he paid a visit to Australia to recuperate. He was subsequently gazetted lieutenant, and was travelling back by the Lusitania on the way back to the seat of war. His father (Colonel H. B. Lassetter) is at present in command of a brigade at Nottingham.

Examiner (Launceston) P.510/5/15

According to a London cable message, Captain Frederick Lasseter, of Sydney, has passed with first-class honours his final examination for the Bar, being second in the whole of England.

Western Mail 6 Nov 1919

Frederic Lassetter was born 30 July 1892 in Woollahra, N SWs, a suburb of Sydney. His father was Colonel and later Major Brigadier-General Henry “Harry” Beauchamp Lassetter andmother was Elisabeth Ann Antill.

World War I broke out in August 1914, and being of military background, Frederic became an officer in a Scottish regiment, in the King’s Own Light Infantry. He was wounded in September 1914 in Flanders and took a three-month leave to recover. (Ed. came home to Aust.)

In May 1915 he was returning to England with his mother, Elisabeth, on theLusitaniaafter visiting relatives in Los Angeles, California, United States. His school friendHarold Boultonwas also on board.

“Lieutenant Frederic Lassetter (1892 – 1940), 22, was an officer in the Scottish regiment, the King’s Own Light Infantry, and had been wounded fighting in Flanders in September 1914. He was convalescing and visiting relatives in Los Angeles, California, United States with his mother, Elisabeth Lassetter. In May 1915, Fred, his mother Elisabeth, and Oxford classmate Harold Boulton, were returning to England aboard Lusitania. When the ship was torpedoed and sinking, they were on the port side, where passengers were told to get out of the lifeboats. Fred, Elisabeth, and Harold all jumped into the sea instead and used flotsam for flotation. All three of them survived and were rescued by the Westborough>”

Above and some additional, From the Lusitania Resource website:

The Lassetters lived in the area of Sydney, Australia, but Fred was educated at the University of Oxford, where he met friend Harold Boulton.

TheLusitaniawas torpedoed on 7 May 1915. As the ship was sinking,Commander J. Foster Stackhousetold the young man to look for his mother. Frederic returned with his mother, both of them wearing lifebelts. They also saw Stackhouse give his lifebelt to a little girl and assist with loading the lifeboats. He was explaining to them they he could not join them because “There are others who must go first.”

Harold Boulton met up with Lassetter and his mother on deck. Boulton and the young Lieutenant helped Elisabeth into a port side boat, but not without difficulty. The following is Frederick Lassetter’s deposition as read during his mother’s testimony:

Lassetter and Boulton did as they were told and helped Elisabeth out of the boat. Boulton glanced forward and was shocked to see “the bow just beginning to submerge.” He then turned to Lassetter and said gravely, “This ship is going to sink” – “the only thing to do is to jump.”

Boulton instructed a nervous Elisabeth to remove her skirt. Harold, Elisabeth, and Frederick, in that order, held hands and jumped about 90 feet into the ocean. Frederick and Elisabeth bobbed up next to each other in the swirling water and held onto some flotsam. Harold Boulton was nearby, holding on to a large box.

Frederick looked to see theLusitaniamake her final plunge and saw Commander Stackhouse standing calmly on the stern.

Then it goes on thus: “finding the ship sinking by the bow I jumped in with my mother, and after three hours we were picked up by the ship’s boat of theKatrina, we owed our lives to a square box 4 feet 6 inches as there was no room in the half sinking lifeboats near us. A great many people, especially ladies, on being reassured from the bridge went into the lounge on the boat deck just before the ship sank

Harry and Elisabeth lived out the rest of their lives around Sydney, Fred Lassetter married a woman named Nancy, with whom they had children and have living descendants today. Fred Lassetter died on 24 February 1940 in Whitchurch, England, United Kingdom. He was 47 years of age. His family believes that he died young due to the fuel oil he may have ingested while in the water.