CLARKE, Sidney Burdge
| Service Number: | 2891 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 2 May 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 45th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Quirindi, New South Wales, Australia, 15 December 1891 |
| Home Town: | Liverpool, Fairfield, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Hoxton Park Public School, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Carpenter |
| Died: | Killed in action, Dernancourt, France, 5 April 1918, aged 26 years |
| Cemetery: |
Dernancourt Communal Cemetery Extension Plot VII, Row B, Grave No. 14. GOD WILL LINK THE BROKEN CHAIN CLOSER WHEN WE MEET AGAIN |
| Memorials: | Liverpool J H Edmondson VC Memorial Clock |
World War 1 Service
| 2 May 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2891, 45th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 8 Nov 1916: | Involvement Private, 2891, 45th Infantry Battalion , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '19' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: SS Port Nicholson embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
| 8 Nov 1916: | Embarked Private, 2891, 45th Infantry Battalion , SS Port Nicholson, Sydney |
Help us honour Sidney Burdge Clarke's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Sidney Burdge Clarke was the son of John Pickford Clarke and Mary Elizabeth Clarke; husband of Edith Maude Clarke, of Liverpool, New South Wales. Born in Quirindi, New South Wales.
His older brother, 3901 Lance Corporal Robert Joseph Clarke 1st Battalion AIF, died of wounds 25 September 1918, age 31. He also has a grave in France.
Sidney Clarke was known as “Clarky” to his friends. When he enlisted in the Army, he left behind his wife, Edith Maude and his daughter Gwendoline May, who was born in late 1915.
Sidney fought on the Western Front for twelve months before he was killed on the evening of 5 April 1918. At that time, his company was going forward to reinforce the Line near Dernancourt on the Albert-Amiens Road. The Germans opened fire with artillery and Sidney Clarke was hit and killed when pieces of an exploding shell wounded him in the head and arms. He was buried where he fell and a cross marked his grave. After the War, his body was moved to the Dernancourt Communal Cemetery.
After he was killed, his wife and daughter both received War Pensions. The AIF returned some of his personal possessions to his wife but they were lost at sea when the transport S.S. Barunga was sunk by a German U-Boat. His wife, Emily, was still seeking photographs of Sidney’s grave in 1924. It seems that she never married again.
Sidney's name is on the Hoxton Park Public School Honour Roll.
Click images to start slideshow.