James Sidney / Sydney Seader

Submitted by Mt Kembla Minin... on Wed, 16/12/2015 - 13:47

First Name:

James

Middle Name:

Sidney/ Sydney

Last Name:

Seader

Date of Birth:

Saturday, February 13, 1897

Mother's Name:

Margaret Seader (nee Kelly)

Father's Name:

William Seader

Date Enlisted:

Wednesday, July 21, 1915

Rank at Enlistment:

Private

Rank at Discharge:

Private

Unit:

30th Battalion

Company:

Service:

Infantry

Awards:

British War Medal

Victory Medal

Date of Death:

Saturday, September 29, 1917

Place of Death:

14th Casualty Clearing Station, Belgium

Cause of Death:

Wounds sustained in battle

Details:

NOTE: Documents relating to James or Sydney/ Sidney Seader differ in the way they record the order and spelling of his first two names.

James Seader was born in Forbes, N.S.W., and attended Petersham Public School. His family moved to the Illawarra district and James was living with his parents in Kiama, N.S.W. when he enlisted. He was 19 years old, single, and worked as a labourer at this time.

James embarked from Sydney on board HMAT A72 Beltana with D Company, 30th Battalion, on 9th November 1915. He arrived in Egypt on 11th December 1915 and then went to France on 23rd June 1916.

From his arrival in Egypt, James got into trouble on a regular basis. He was charged with being drunk, being insolent, missing parade etc. and was finally court-martialed in the field on 10 April 1917. He was found guilty and sentenced to 6 months hard labour in a field prison. However, on 19th September his sentence was revoked and he joined 15 Platoon, D Company, 30th Battalion, in Belgium.

On 28th September 1917, around 5.30 pm, he was in a shell hole in Polygon Wood, when a shell exploded, severely injurying him. James was evacuated to 14th Casualty Clearing station for treatment, but died from his wounds on 29th September 1917.

He is buried in Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery, Belgium; Plot XXIV, Row B, Grave 7A.

Sources:

NAA: B2455, SEADER JAMES SIDNEY

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Comments

Margaret Wheeler (not verified)

Wed, 20/09/2017 - 23:37

Permalink

Various

Yes, he had a reputation in his own family of being something of a larrikin & a risk taker. He would climb the pine trees at Kiama (no doubt smaller then?) until they bent down to the ground under his weight, and then jump off.
His father was an engineer with the railways.
His second name would have been Sidney - family reasons for this. If you look at the originals of the military documents (War Memorial sources) you can the reasons for the confusion as to the spelling of his name.
His brother and father (both named William) also served in WWI. His brother spoke to a fellow soldier who told him Jim spent time in a military clearing station and developed gangrene from a wound to his arm. This was what ultimately killed him.