James Edward Razzell who was born at Churt, near Farnham, Surrey in 1895 and migrated with his family to Wynnum Queensland in 1912, joined the AIF on the 7th of October 1915. At home in Wynnum he had already served two years with the Army cadets and Citizen's Army.

By the Defence Act of 1903-1911 all Australian boys were required to serve in the Australian Defence Forces: those aged between 12 and 14 were junior cadets; older boys between 14 and 18 were seniors. In August 1915, as the casualty lists of World War I grew, compulsory cadet training was suspended.

His military record describes him as 5ft 7inches tall , weighing 9 stone 7 pounds, fair complexion, blue eyes and brown hair and his religion - C of E.

He was trained as a Gunner and joined the 9th Field Artillery Brigade, 34th Battery who left Sydney aboard the HMAT Argyllshire on 11th of May 1916 arriving at Portsmouth on July the 11th. 

Training took place at Larkhill, on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire. He was then transferred to the 8th Field Artillery Brigade.

The Brigade disembarked at Le Havre, France on the 31st of  December 1916. After two weeks more training with 3rd Australian Division's Depot at Etaples they  went into action on the 17th of January 1917 at Armentieres taking part in the battles of Menin Road, Broodseinde, Passchendaele, Morlancourt, Mont St. Quentin, Messines and the Hindenburg Line. Towards the end of the war, in 1918 it  served with the 27th United States Division. 

Gunner James Razzell  found himself in France during one of the most bitter winters for many years. Added to the horrific death and destruction around him, as the snow melted, the rat-infested trenches were deep in mud, sometimes as much as two feet. Many soldiers suffered from 'trench feet' an unpleasant form of foot rot which in extreme cases resulted in amputation. In May 1917 he was infected with impetigo, known by the troops as 'trench cancer' an unpleasant condition resulting in large ulcer- type sores, usually around the legs, and was hospitalised for 2 weeks.

A year later in May 1918 he was again in the hospital, this time with influenza. It appears to have been a serious infection as he was there for 6 weeks.

The “Spanish” influenza pandemic killed over 20 million people in 1918 and 1919, making it the worst infectious pandemic in history. People without symptoms could be stricken suddenly and within hours be too weak to walk; many died the next day. Symptoms included a blue tint to the face and coughing up blood caused by severe obstruction of the lungs. In one sector of the Western Front over 70,000 American troops were hospitalised and nearly one third of these men died failed to recover.

The Armistice was signed on the 11th of November 1918. He returned with the Brigade to England on the 17th of March 1919 and was billeted at Codford, Wiltshire from the 18th of March 1919. 

Photo shows 9th FAB first aid post : Western Front (Belgiu

m), Passchendaele Area, Zonnebeke - 12th of October 1917.

Another Aussie described his time at Codford, a village situated a few miles from Salisbury in Wiltshire.

"Soon after arrival we were medically examined and inoculated against influenza, which was raging. Here at Codford, we found ourselves, for the first time in our experience, living in a camp that was near to a railway station. The town, too, was unexpectedly handy.

It was that type of town generally found near to military camps. Along the main street were canteens, branches of most of the principal banks, and temporary stores where it was possible to purchase every requirement at a reasonable figure, provided one did not wear the Australian uniform, which was the signal for popping up the prices."

The photo shows Canterbury Lines at Codford - home to the New Zealanders.

"The period was the middle of spring. The surrounding country was to be seen under the most pleasant conditions. Wherever the eye rested, a picture awaited its gaze. Beautiful landscapes, trees and hedges of verdant green, wild flowers of every hue, fruit trees a blaze of bloom, and all kinds of plant life in leaf and bud."

James Razzell remained at Codford until the 23rd of June when he was granted 3 months leave to attend a Government sponsored motor engineer's training course at Maidenhead in Berkshire. During that time, on August the 7th, he married a Somerset girl, Margaret Daisy Dance who worked at her father's outfitters shop in Frome.

Photo shows 9th FAB band at Codford in 1919

Two views of the Main Entrance to Codford Camp

James returned to Queensland with his new wife on the 2nd of January 1920 by the troopship RMS Ormonde. He was officially discharged  from the Army on the 24th of  February 1920.

Their only child Margaret Razzell was born at Picton, New South Wales in 1921 and they moved on to farm at Ormiston in Queensland.

He died at Gayndah in 1941 and Daisy in 1943.