First a picture of the children of the Asquith and Fillingham families on a picknick (1). Followed by two pictures of Jim Asquith, during and after the war (2,3). Then there are two postcards (with pictures of Ypres and Poperinge) written by Jim Asquith in November 1916 to his parents. This place the CLothiers Hall has been a beautiful building as you can see but is now a mass of ruins. We passed right along this street on our way into the trenches and out again.(4,5) This is a place we passed through a couple of times. There is an awful lot of cobbles about here. They make your feet ache a treat.(6,7) The next group picture shows the two friends Percy and Jim (8). The first of left is Percy Fillingham, the second of right is Jim James Asquith. The letter presented in the documents is a letter from Percy Fillingham to his fiancé, Martha Asquith (nee Hogarth), the day before he was killed in action (9,10). The last document shows the family ties between the Asquiths and the Fillinghams after the First World War (11). The last documents are the casuality forms of Jim Asquith and Percy Fillingham (12,13,14,15,16).
In 1910, the Fillingham family were friends of the Asquiths, who also lived in Rockdale (Sydney, Australia). Both the Asquith and Fillingham families socialised together. Some of the children from both families can be seen in the first photo that's uploaded with this story(1). The picture shows a family picknick in Sydney (1910). The second person from the right is Percival (Percy) Fillingham. Next to Percy, far right, sits the young Martha Asquith (nee Hogarth), to whom he would later propose. The girl sitting far left, Sarah Asquith, is Jim Asquith's sister and can be seen next to Harold Fillingham (Percy's brother) whom she would marry on his return from the Great War. Jim (James) Asquith is not in the picture but is also a very good friend of Percy Fillingham. Prior to leaving for the Great War, Jim and Percy were both engaged to be married and had agreed to look after the other's respective fiancé should something happen to them. JIM JAMES ASQUITH joined the third battalion (9th reinforcement) on the 30 June 1915, some 66 days after the same Battallion had landed in Gallipoli, Turkey on 25 April 1915. Jim was taken on strength. On the 30 September 1915, Jim departed Sydney on board HMAT8 Argyllshire bound for Egypt. Jim spent time in Cairo, Heliopolis and Alexandria. In Alexandria, the 3rd battalion was training and becoming fully manned again after Gallipoli. Jim was part of the 3rd Battalion's 9th reinforcement. On the 22 March 1916 Jim boarded the HMAS Grampian bound for the Western Front in France. On 28 March 1916 Jim arrived at Marseilles, France. The batallion would soon take part in operations against the German army, principally in the Somme Valley in France and around Ypres in Belgium. The battalion's first major action in France was at Pozières in the Somme valley in July 1916. Later the batallion fought at Ypres, in Flanders, before returning to the Somme for winter. Jim was wounded on the first occasion on 18 August 1916 on the left foot. It was not for another 2.5 months that he re-joined the unit only to be wounded on the 2nd occasion on 5 November 1916. His official war record observes wounds and states 'severe face and neck' whereas the notification sent to his father, Georges Asquith, on 6 December 1916 states 'gunshot wound, face and neck, mild'. Jim initially went to 18th General Hospital at Damme Camiers and was then sent back to England. In December 1916 Jim was sent back to a hospital in England. On 3 February 1917 Jim boarded S.S. Victoria from Folkenstone in England for France again and approximately a week later re-joined the unit in France. The battalion participated in a short period of mobile operations following the German withdrawal to the Hindenburg Line in early 1917, but spent much of that year fighting in increasingly difficult conditions around Ieper. Jim was then wounded on a 3rd occasion on 6 May 1917 with a 'severe thigh wound'. Initially Jim was in Etaples Hospital, France and was then transferred to England, where he was operated on, before being discharged due to 'medical unfitness' from a severe wound on the left thigh and 'Necrosis of Fema' (premature or unnatural cell/tissue death likely from infection or trauma). Two pictures of Jim are shown (2, 3). THe third one shows Jim on return enjoying life at home in the backyard in Sydney. As you can see his left thigh was still injured and, indeed, his left thigh never really fully recovered as for the rest of his life it brought discomfort. PERCY (PERCIVAL) FILLINGHAM, first of left in the group picture of Australian soldiers (4), joined the 45th Battalion in March 1916 and was taken on strength. Parcy had two of his brothers in this war: Hubert Clement Fillingham, returned to Australia in March 1919 and Harold Walter Fillingham, returned to Australia in April 1919. Percy's war records show that he was wounded 3 times. It was upon being wounded the second time in September 1916 at the height of the Battle of the Somme that Percy suffered 'shell shock severe'. His war records note that he was 'buried' and being 'buried alive' in the trenches was commonly known to result in shell shock. Severe shell shock was noted through symptoms including combination of apparent neurological and psychological such as hysteria and anxiety; paralysis; limping; and muscle contractions; blindness and deafness; nightmares and insomnia; heart palpitations; depression; dizziness and disorientation; and loss of appetite. It is hypothesized that long-term bombardment with high explosive shells caused these symptoms. Percy also suffered Haemoptysis (coughing up of blood) in September 1916 and this is likely a result of the chlorine and phosgene gases used at the Somme. In May 1917 Percy re-joined his Battalion in the Northern Sector in Belgium in preparation for the Battle of Messines. It was in the opening hours of this battle that Percy was killed in action on 7 June 1917 at Messines, Belgium, at age 26, approximately. He has no known grave though his name is on the Roll of Honour at the Ypres Menin Gate Memorial, panel 27. Sadly for Jim James Asquith, not only his friend Percy died during the First World War. While he was in France, his fiancé contracted tuberculosis and died. In a strange, but wonderful twist of fate, a few years after Jim Asquith's return from war, he married Percy's fiancé, Martha Hogarth.