21188
GASSNER, Joseph Anton
| Service Number: | 926 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Lance Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 1st Remount Unit (AIF) |
| Born: | Nester Road, Albany, Western Australia, 1851 |
| Home Town: | Alberton, Port Adelaide, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Alberton Public School |
| Occupation: | Butcher |
| Died: | Heart Trouble, Semaphore, 1939 |
| Cemetery: |
Cheltenham Cemetery, South Australia |
| Memorials: | Albany & Districts Roll of Honour, Queenstown Alberton Public School Great War Honor Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 12 Nov 1915: | Involvement Private, 926, 1st Remount Unit (AIF), --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '24' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Orsova embarkation_ship_number: A67 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 12 Nov 1915: | Embarked Private, 926, 1st Remount Unit (AIF), HMAT Orsova, Melbourne | |
| 11 Nov 1918: | Involvement Lance Corporal, 926 | |
| Date unknown: | Wounded 926, 1st Light Horse Regiment |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Woodville High School
Joseph Anton Gassner was born in Albany, Western Australia, in 1851 Before moving to Alberton, Port Adelaide. There, he attended Alberton Public High School and worked as a Butcher after school. He married Annie Elizabeth Gassner and had 2 children with her. At some stage he and his wife moved to Albany in Western Australia.
According to Joseph's enlistment papers, he stood at 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighed 147 pounds or 66.6 kg. He had a few distinctive physical features, including a scar on the upper part of his left shin. Additionally, his ears were noted to be larger than average, which made him stand out. Joseph Anton Gassner enlisted on 27th September 1915 in the Australian Imperial Force at Blackboy Hill, Western Australia, a training camp established for soldiers during World War I. He served with the 1st Remount Unit as a Lance Corporal, holding the service number 926.
On November 12th, 1915, Joseph departed Melbourne on HMAT Orsova, on its way to Egypt with the 1st Remount Unit. In Egypt, Australian soldiers engaged in basic combat training and adapting to the hard conditions.
On the 27th of May 1916, Joseph was admitted to the 3rd Australian General Hospital in Heliopolis, suffering from severe diarrhoea, a common ailment among soldiers in the harsh conditions of Egypt. He was subsequently treated and was well enough to rejoin his unit on the 1st of June 1916 to resume duty. He served at the Australian Remount Depot without incident until 1918 when on the 5 January 1918, he was taken to the 2nd Australian Stationary Hospital at Moascar, where he was suffering from furunculosis, a painful skin infection. He was transferred to a rest camp on the 22nd of January 1918 to get better and, after some rest and treatment, Joseph was discharged from the said camp and rejoined his unit on the 13th of February 1918.
In what would become another unfortunate incident, Joseph was riding a chestnut horse 6 days after rejoining his unit when the horse suddenly fell sideways. His leg became trapped underneath the animal, preventing him from walking. Unable to stand, Joseph was carried out on a stretcher and sent back to the 2nd Australian Stationary Hospital where it was determined that he had fractured his tibia. On the 14th of April 1918, he was transferred to the 14th Australian General Hospital for further treatment and recovery. After many weeks of care, Joseph was discharged to duty on the 18th of May 1918; however, his time in the hospital had taken a toll on him.
On 13th October 1918 he boarded the H.T. Devon in Suez for his return to Australia. It was a long way, and he finally reached Melbourne on 23 November 1918 and on 10 January of the following year 1919 Joseph was officially discharged from the Australian Imperial Force.
Gassner eventually became a pig farmer living in Crown Terrace in Royal Park. Joseph Anton Gassner was charged with creating offensive noise in Adelaide on 17 August 1931 for driving a motor lorry with a broken exhaust pipe. The court dismissed the charge as his lawyer claimed the noise was caused by a temporary and accidental break. On June 22, 1938, he was fined £3 plus 10 shillings in costs for driving a motor truck without any lights. A charge against Joseph Anton Gassner for driving under the influence was withdrawn in court after his lawyer stated plans to present medical and private evidence proving his clear-headedness.
Joseph sadly passed away in the year of 1939 after collapsing on Newman Street in Semaphore. The cause of death was believed to be heart failure.
Bibliography
Trove (2024), Available at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/search/category/newspapers?keyword=Joseph%20Anton%20Gassner Accessed: 6 December 2024
National Archives of Australia (2024), Available at: https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=4028398&S=1 Accessed: 6 December 2024
Australian War Memorial (2024), Available at: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1790320, Accessed: 5 December 2024
South Australian Red Cross Bureau (2024), Available at: https://sarcib.ww1.collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/soldier/joseph-anton-gassner, Accessed: 5 December 2024
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