ROCKLIFF, Adye Charles Henry
| Service Number: | 7225 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 7 November 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 47th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Ulverstone, Tasmania, Australia, 6 June 1895 |
| Home Town: | Gawler, Tasmania |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Killed in action, Dernancourt, France, 5 April 1918, aged 22 years |
| Cemetery: |
Terlincthun British Cemetery, Wimille Collective Grave, Plot XIII, Row F, Grave No 10-11. Burial took place 1978. |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ulverstone Primary School War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 7 Nov 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 7225, 12th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 10 Feb 1917: | Involvement Private, 7225, 12th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Seang Bee embarkation_ship_number: A48 public_note: '' | |
| 10 Feb 1917: | Embarked Private, 7225, 12th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Seang Bee, Adelaide | |
| 5 Apr 1918: | Involvement Private, 7225, 47th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 7225 awm_unit: 47th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1918-04-05 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Adye Charles Henry Rockliff was the son of Charles and Sarah Jane Mary Rockliff of Gawler, Tasmania.
He was serving with the 47th Battalion when he was killed in action during the heroic defence of Dernancourt on 5 April 1918 when the unit fought an overwhelming force of Germans to a standstill and suffered heavy casualties. Adye had only been on the Western Front for a few weeks before he died.
He was recorded as being buried in the Dernancourt Railway Line military cemetery but after the war his grave could not be found and was recorded as having 'No known grave' and listed on the Australian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux.
On 13 September 1978 his intermingled remains were discovered buried in a collective grave at Dernancourt with 3012 Pte J. Moore and 3233 Pte W.R. Tedford. The men were identified through the presence of their identity discs and they were reinterred in a collective plot at the Terlincthun British Cemetery, Wimille, France, the burial taking place on 29 November 1978.
The Emu Bay Times reported in May 1918, “Profound regret is expressed by the numerous friends of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Rockliff. of 'Fairview' Gawler, at the lamentable death of their second eldest son, Signaller Adye C.H. Rockliff (grandson of the late Henry Rockliff of 'Wesley Dale,' Chudleigh), who was killed on active service in France on April 5. Deceased had made several attempts to enlist, but was rejected on four occasions by various doctors. He eventually succeeded in passing, and after training at Claremont sailed from Tasmania on February 7, 1917. Upon arrival at Salisbury Plains he went through the usual course of training, but was again disappointed at not being allowed to embark for France with his mates. He was, however, notified that he was to attend a School of Instruction for Signalers, and after a short period therein, he passed all his examinations, and became a specialist in this work on November 29. He was then isolated on account of an outbreak of sickness in the camp until March 2, when he left for France, only to render a few weeks' service, when he was called to sacrifice his own life in the defence of his country.”