CARLTON, William Arthur
| Service Number: | WX3401 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 24 July 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/28th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Perth, Western Australia, 22 July 1910 |
| Home Town: | Perth, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Perth Boys' School, Western Australia |
| Occupation: | Clerk (WAGR) |
| Died: | Perth, Western Australia, 1 September 2001, aged 91 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Karrakatta Cemetery & Crematorium, Western Australia The Western Australian Garden of Remembrance |
| Memorials: | Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 24 Jul 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Lieutenant, WX3401 | |
|---|---|---|
| 6 Jan 1941: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Lieutenant, WX3401, 2nd/28th Infantry Battalion, embarked Fremantle for the Middle East on board HMT Aquitania | |
| 4 Aug 1942: | Imprisoned Siege of Tobruk | |
| 8 Aug 1945: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Lieutenant, WX3401, 2nd/28th Infantry Battalion, embarked England for Sydney | |
| 9 Oct 1945: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Lieutenant, WX3401 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Lieutenant William Arthur Carlton (Service No:WX3401) initially served in the Militia and ACMF with 11th Battalion (1932/1933, and 1939) as a Private then Provisional Lieutenant before enlisting in the AIF on 24 July 1940. Lieutenant Carlton served in the Middle East with 2/28th Infantry Battalion, and was appointed Temporary Captain on 3 March 1942. Reported as Missing in Action on 4 August 1942 (the storming of Ruin Ridge), T/Captain Carlton was confirmed as a PoW (PoW No:2476) by the International Red Cross on 10 September 1942. Initially held at Ospaedale Militare Caserta with a deep wound to his right leg, T/Captain Carlton was later transferred from the Italians to the Germans and interned at PoW Camps 203, 47, 66 and 78. Recovered from the Germans on 10 May 1945, Lieutenant Carlton embarked from England for Sydney on 8 August 1945. Lieutenant Carlton was attached to 2/28th Infantry Battalion when his Appointment was Terminated on 9 August 1945. The Daily News (6 August 1942) quoted a Sergeant 'I should not select any special individuals for praise because all our chaps were splendid, but I cannot help mentioning Bill Carlton who was wounded at the start of the attack but continued leading his men' (p1).
Born in Perth, Western Australia in 1910, Bill was the son of George Farquharson Carlton (b1864 in Melbourne, Victoria) and his second wife Sarah Lavinia Bowyer (nee Wardle; b1866 in Shropshire, England). George (a Carpenter) and Sarah moved to Western Australia in the early 1900s, and in 1906 were living in Collie, where George was a Carpenter and Sarah a Dressmaker. By 1910 they were in Perth - George worked as an Insurance Agent - and moved to Dandanup in 1916 where George worked at Whittaker's Mill as a Carpenter and Sarah was a Boarding Housekeeper. The family lived briefly in Melbourne in 1919/1920 (George was a Dairy Produce Salesman), and then settled in Perth where George was a Storeman and Sarah a Cook.
Bill joined the WAGR as a Junior Clerk with the Traffic Branch when he was sixteen years of age, played lacrosse for WA in interstate competitions, and served in the Militia. In 1939 in Perth, Bill married Gladys Mary Furzer (b1910 in Perth, Western Australia). Following his Discharge from the Army, Bill and Gladys settled in Perth, where they raised their family and Bill worked as a Clerk until retirement. Gladys died in 1983 and Bill in 2001.
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