Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Elvin Ernest Terry Layton - 67205
On the 27th of July 1899, Elvin Ernest Terry Layton was born in Mosman, Sydney to his parents, Ernest Layton, and Margaret Isabella Terry. The family of three lived in Neridah, Chatswood, a new suburb that had just begun gaining residents in the late 1870s. Layton’s AIF enlistment papers in 1918 and 1942 stated he was a Protestant (Church of England). According to Layton’s WW1 medical examination records, Layton had a fair complexion, hazel eyes, and fair hair.

In 1913, Layton first attended Sydney Technical High School, staying there from ages 14 to 17. As noted by his schooling report sheets, he was an average student, often placed toward the middle of his class. According to the 1916 Leaving Certificate Results, Layton earned a second-class pass in most subjects and an honours grade in chemistry, which later landed him a job as an industrial chemist at a power alcohol factory. During his schooling, Layton also participated in a cadet’s program and the Australian Militia Forces (AMF), an army of non-professional or part-time soldiers, as part of the 5th Battalion 17th Infantry in 1916.

On the 1st of July 1918, aged 18 years and 10 months old, Elvin Layton enlisted into the AIF. His motives for enlistment are unknown, although his early involvement in cadets and the Australian Army Reserve may have influenced him. After completing the necessary medical and background examinations, Layton was placed into the 24th General Service Reinforcements as a Private, meant to replace the Australian casualties on the Western Front. On the 14th of October 1918, Layton set sail for Europe aboard the SS Wyreema.

The SS Wyreema carried the 22nd, 23rd and 24th Reinforcements who were routed to the Western Front as well as forty nurses who were needed in Salonika, Greece for medical support. However, upon reaching Cape Town, South Africa, they received news of the armistice, meaning that the troops were no longer needed on the Western Front. Subsequently, the ship was returned to Australia, stopping over in Freemantle, Western Australia on the 12th of December 1918 to assist the AIF influenza patients at Woodman Point, before finally returning to Sydney a week later.

Elvin Layton was returned to Australia on the 20th of December 1918, eventually being discharged 16 days later. Unfortunately, information about his personal life between then and 1931 is scarce, as it is primarily sourced from military documents.

According to the Western Mail (Western Australia) 1931, Layton got engaged to Margaret Silby Blackett on March 26, 1931, and they married on October 21, 1931, in St. George, Perth. The couple resided in Mosman Park, Western Australia, around 14 km southwest of the Perth CBD. Layton left his job as an industrial chemist in Sydney and found work as a relieving accountant in Mosman Park. His passion for chemistry persisted, as he was also an associate at the Royal Australian Chemical Institute’s Western Australia Branch.

In 1942, 3 years after the outbreak of World War 2, Elvin Layton enlisted for a second time at Nedlands, Western Australia. However, as the maximum age for enlistment into the AIF was 40 years old (Layton was 43), he was enlisted in the Volunteer Defence Corps of the Australian Military Forces (Militia/AMF), comprising volunteers unfit for regular forces combat, over the age limit or in reserved occupations. During the duration of World War 2, Layton served in Claremont, Western Australia, and South Australia, holding the position of a gunner. 

It was in South Australia where Layton also enjoyed the last moments of his life, dying 24th August 1995. To this day, the causes of his death remain unknown, however, his body is buried at Centennial Park in Pasadena, South Australia.

References
‘Attestation Paper of Persons Enlisted for Service Abroad’, National Archives Australia, in Australian Imperial Forces Enlistment Papers: Elvin Layton, 1914, p.1, https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=7378760&S=1&R=0

‘Attestation Paper of Persons Enlisted for Service Abroad’, National Archives Australia, in Australian Imperial Forces Enlistment Papers: Elvin Layton, 1914, p. 5, https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=7378760&S=1&R=0

‘Attestation Paper of Persons Enlisted for Service Abroad’, National Archives Australia, in Australian Imperial Forces Enlistment Papers: Elvin Layton, 1914, p.3., https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=7378760&S=1&R=0

‘1914 2C Report Sheet’, Sydney Technical High School in LAYTON E – Elvin Ernest Terry Layton Google Drive
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EQvGjFGVOOhIa4oIN1mNcgWf8YVReV4L/view?usp=sharing

‘Leaving Certificate Examination Results’, Sydney Morning Herald, in Sydney Morning Herald 23 January 1917 newspaper, 1917, p.7. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1IiC-VqjxrfWT0McOBTBLNa8WlSHjNfsJ

‘Mobilization Attestation Form’, National Archives Australia, in Australian Military Forces Enlistment Papers: Elvin Layton, 1942, p.13., https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=6499099

‘Attestation Paper of Persons Enlisted for Service Abroad’, National Archives Australia, in Australian Imperial Forces Enlistment Papers: Elvin Layton, 1914, p. 1., https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=7378760&S=1&R=0

Attestation Paper of Persons Enlisted for Service Abroad’, National Archives Australia, in Australian Imperial Forces Enlistment Papers: Elvin Layton, 1914, p.1., https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=7378760&S=1&R=0

‘Attestation Paper of Persons Enlisted for Service Abroad’, National Archives Australia, in Australian Imperial Forces Enlistment Papers: Elvin Layton, 1914, p.1., https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=7378760&S=1&R=0

‘16th to 27th Reinforcements (NSW)’, Virtual War Memorial, in Virtual War Memorial, p.1.

‘16th to 27th Reinforcements (NSW)’, Virtual War Memorial,in Virtual War Memorial, p.1.

‘Elvin Ernest Layton Terry’, Martin Blackett, Pat Longbottom, Al Kirtley, in Blackett Family tree

‘Heroic Nurse Thomas’, Clayton Bar, in ANZAC Day Brochure 2022, 2022, pg.5.

‘Heroic Nurse Thomas’, Clayton Bar, in ANZAC Day Brochure 2022, 2022, pg.5.

‘Attestation Paper of Persons Enlisted for Service Abroad’, National Archives Australia, in Australian Imperial Forces Enlistment Papers: Elvin Layton, 1914, pg.4, https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=7378760&S=1&R=0

‘1914-15 Star’, Australian Government: Defense,in Imperial Awards

‘Lennard, William Alfed’, Port Melbourne Historical and Preservation Society, in Enlistments, WW1 Centenary

‘Engagements’, Western Mail, in Domestic Announcement November 12, 1931, pg. 44.

‘Mobilization Attestation Form’, National Archives Australia, in Australian Military Forces Enlistment Papers: Elvin Layton, 1942, pg. 1, https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=7378760&S=1&R=0

‘Mobilization Attestation Form’, National Archives Australia, in Australian Military Forces Enlistment Papers: Elvin Layton, 1942, pg. 1., https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=6499099

‘Mobilization Attestation Form’, National Archives Australia, in Australian Military Forces Enlistment Papers: Elvin Layton, 1942, p.13., https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=6499099

‘Mobilization Attestation Form’, National Archives Australia, in Australian Military Forces Enlistment Papers: Elvin Layton, 1942, p.1., https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=6499099

‘Enlistment Standards’, Australian War Memorial, in Encyclopedia.

‘Mobilization Attestation Form’, National Archives Australia, in Australian Military Forces Enlistment Papers: Elvin Layton, 1942, pg.1., https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=6499099

‘Citizen Army’, National Museum Australia, in Glorius Days: Defending Australia

‘Mobilization Attestation Form’, National Archives Australia, in Australian Military Forces Enlistment Papers: Elvin Layton, 1942, pg.19., https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=6499099https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=6499099

‘Mobilization Attestation Form’, National Archives Australia, in Australian Military Forces Enlistment Papers: Elvin Layton, 1942, pg.3., https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=6499099

‘Elvin Ernest Terry Layton’, Centennial Park, in Online Memorials

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