Sergeant stripes: Sergeant George Cadd, 28 Battalion, AIF

Set of wool sergeant's stripes sewn to a khaki wool backing.

Sergeant stripes worn from late 1917 by 2154 Sergeant George Cadd, an Inspector of the Rabbit Branch of the Agricultural Department of Western Australia, and a resident of Kalgoorlie who enlisted at Black Boy Camp on 24 August 1915, aged 26. He was assigned to 28 Battalion and, after basic training in Australia, joined his battalion in Egypt in January 1916. His battalion crossed to France in June where their first action was in the Battle of Pozieres on the night of late 27 July where they suffered 523 casualties and again on 4-5 August, where they suffered 279 casualties. Cadd was promoted to lance corporal in mid-August as a result of these casualties, and to corporal a month later.

In the fighting to the east of Fleurs near Gueudecourt on the Somme on 5 November he was severely wounded (probably by machine gun fire) in his right thigh and arm while attacking the German trenches; he was one of 166 wounded in this attack. Evacuated to England, he spent almost three months recovering, and in late March 1917, he was transferred on light duties to 70 Battalion soon after its formation and stayed with them until their disbandment in England on 16 September 1917. In August he was promoted to sergeant. It wasn’t until 8 May 1918 that he rejoined 28 Battalion in France.

At Morlancourt on the night of 10-11 June 1918 during his battalion’s successful attack on German positions, he was sent out to assist and reorganise two platoons who had become isolated and had lost their officers and sergeant. His ‘great daring and resourcefulness’ earned him a Military Medal.

Exactly a month later, on 9 July, he was wounded again with shrapnel by a German hand grenade when he was part of a 15 man patrol which captured a 500 metres of the German front line near Monument Wood in less than half an hour. Sergeant Cadd was the only man wounded.

George Cadd returned to Australia on the transport Ceramic in late January 1919 and was discharged on 8 May.

He married Alice Rebecca White after the war and they had two boys - Kenneth Francis, born 25 July 1921 and George Ross Cadd, born 22 September 1922. Although both men served as fliers during the Second World War, Kenneth was killed in England in a training accident in 1942.