Cpl. Vincent Stanton Cassarley MM.

 

British War Medal 1914 - 1920.

Cpl. V. S. Cassarley, West Yorkshire Regiment.

Vincent Stanton Cassarley was born on 22nd September 1888 and his birth was registered in Halifax in the last quarter of that year. Some sources mention that he was actually born in India and while it is true that Vincent's father, John, had been born in Secunderabad and had enlisted in the 108th Foot as a 12 year old drummer boy in October 1854, eventually being promoted to Sergeant, and finally being discharged in October 1881 at the age of 39, the place of Vincent's own birth remains somewhat in doubt.

By the time of the 1891 Census, the Cassarley family consisting of John Cassarley, a 47 year old life assurance agent who had been born in Ireland, his wife Ann, aged 39 and born in Halifax and their four children, Edward Penno (16 years old), Annie (14 years old), Mary (4 years old) and Vincent (2 years old), were living at 8 East Street, Northowram, Halifax. Some time later, the family moved to Stannary Street in Halifax and John found work as a machine man at the Millerain Mill. On Thursday 9th July 1896, a tragic accident occurred, which was reported in the Yorkshire Evening Post the following day.

 

Yesterday afternoon a shocking fatality occurred at the mill of the British Millrain Company (Limited), Gaol Lane, Halifax. John Cassarley (51), of Stannery Street, who is employed at the mill, ascended a step-ladder in order to knock a strap off a pulley. For this purpose he used a bar of iron, but it was wrenched out of his hand, and after being carried round between the pulley and the strap, struck him on the right side of the head. He was knocked off the ladder, and died an hour or two afterwards. Deceased was an ex-army man and in receipt of a pension.

 

An inquest was held a few days later. The doctor who had carried out the post-mortem stated that death had resulted "from effusion of blood on the brain and shock to the system" and a verdict of accidental death was returned.

One can only speculate about the effect of her husband's death on Ann Cassarley, who now found herself a widow with three children to care for. The 1901 Census records her as a boarding house keeper at 8 Union Street South, Halifax, with her two daughters, Mary (14) and Florence (9). Vincent Cassarley, now aged 12, is recorded as one of the 252 children resident at "The Orphanage", Savile Park, Halifax. The rules of the institution stated that children admitted "must be such as have been deprived by death of both parents, or of their fathers, and whose mothers or other surviving relatives are unable to provide means of subsistence and of education."

 

 

Interestingly, a "Novel Short Story" by a Vincent Cassarley, entitled "Dr Marient's Strange Experiment", in which a ne'er-do-well spendthrift offers to take part in a scientific experiment with a high risk of death in return for £500, was published in Pearson's Weekly on 4th July 1907. It is impossible to ascertain if the author of this rather odd tale is the same Vincent Cassarley although the name is rather uncommon.

The 1911 Census records the family as living at  11 West Grove Terrace, Halifax. Vincent, now aged 22, is again living with his mother and working as a clerk in a local mill. His sister Mary (24) is working as a restaurant waitress while his younger sister Florence (19) is a confectionery packer.

At around this time, Vincent must have joined the local Territorials, enlisting in the 6th Battalion of the Prince of Wales' Own (West Yorkshire Regiment). He may have been influenced by the example of his elder brother, Edward, who had joined the 3rd West Yorkshire (Militia) in 1897 and having enlisted in the regular army the following year went on to serve for seven years in India.

Following the outbreak of war in August 1914, the 1/6th West Yorks arrived on the Western Front on 16th April 1915. The Battalion was part of the 146th Brigade, which belonged to the 49th (West Riding) Division. This Division saw hard fighting on the Somme in 1916 and in the Third Battle of Ypres in 1917. At some point, Vincent Cassarley was attached to the 146th Trench Mortar Battery. In the latter part of 1917, he was awarded the Military Medal "for bravery in the field", his award being listed in the London Gazette on 28th January 1918. Vincent's Service Record has not survived but it seems likely that he served on the Western Front until the end of the war.

Having been promoted to Corporal and having won the Military Medal, Vincent Cassarley must have been an efficient and capable soldier. Unfortunately, his return to civilian life was not so successful and throughout the 1920s he seems to have been in trouble with the law and to have had a number of spells in prison.

On Tuesday 26th February 1924, under the headline "A Major's Son's Downfall - Drink Spoils Fine Army Record" the Leeds Mercury reported the story of "Vincent Casserley (sic) (38), a Bradford ex-serviceman, son of a retired Army major, who was sent to prison for four months yesterday for theft." He had pleaded guilty to stealing various overcoats, gloves, other articles and a bowler hat. The article also stated that "Casserley served in the army from 1914 to 1921, and was awarded the Military Medal and Long Service Medal. He had worked at several occupations since, and was given a good character by a former employer at Thackley. During the past few months he had been staying at common lodging houses, and seemed to have gone from bad to worse."

In September 1924, Vincent was again remanded in custody for stealing a motor coat. The Yorkshire Evening Post reported him asking, "May I go to Armley, Sir?" and on being asked why he wanted to go there, he replied, "Because there is better accommodation there, Sir." This elicited much laughter from the court.

The death of Vincent's mother was registered in the first quarter of 1927. On 14th March of that year, the Yorkshire Evening Post reported that "Vincent Cassarley, (38), clerk, of no fixed abode was sentenced to three months hard labour for attempting to steal a rug and other articles from (a) car. There were previous convictions against him at Leeds, Bradford and Wakefield."

Little is known of Vincent Cassarley in the next 12 years but his lot is unlikely to have improved. The 1939 Register records him as living in the Church Army Labour and Lodging Homes at 3 Cambridge Terrace, Oxford. His occupation is given as a clerk at an engineers'.

Soon after this, Vincent Cassarley moved to London and found employment as a clerk / labourer at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, the home of the Chelsea Pensioners. Unfortunately, he still had problems with alcohol and on two occasions in 1941 was arrested for drunkenness. On Sunday 13th April 1941, he was arrested for being drunk and disorderly and trying to hold up the traffic in Beaufort Street, Chelsea. He was fined 7s. 6d. As this was during the Blitz, perhaps his drinking is understandable. Three days later, during one of the heaviest air raids of the war, the Royal Hospital itself was hit by an aerial mine that destroyed the East Wing and damaged other parts of the building, killing four nurses, the wardmaster and eight pensioners. Thirty seven other people were injured in the attack.

In November of the same year, Vincent was again arrested for being drunk on the pavement of Royal Hospital Road at 12.45am. This time he was fined 10s.

Vincent Cassarley died at the age of 58, his death being registered in Hammersmith in the first quarter of 1948. Given the rather troubled and unsettled life that Vincent Cassarley seems to have had, I consider it somewhat remarkable that his British War Medal has survived as a testament to the fact that, whatever his other faults, he volunteered to serve his country in the Great War of 1914 - 1918.