CLUCAS, Henry Cornelius
| Service Number: | 785 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 19 July 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | 29th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Creswick, Victoria, Australia, date not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Bendigo, Greater Bendigo, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Bendigo School (Now known as Camp Hill) |
| Occupation: | Carpenter |
| Died: | 9 June 1962, cause of death not yet discovered, place of death not yet discovered, age not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Bendigo Central School Honor Roll, Bendigo Great War Roll of Honor, Bendigo Myers Employees Roll of Honor |
World War 1 Service
| 19 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 785, 29th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 10 Nov 1915: | Embarked Private, 785, 29th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ascanius, Melbourne | |
| 10 Nov 1915: | Involvement Private, 785, 29th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '16' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Ascanius embarkation_ship_number: A11 public_note: '' | |
| 2 Jan 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Corporal, 29th Infantry Battalion | |
| 26 Sep 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Corporal, 785, Polygon Wood | |
| 3 Oct 1917: | Honoured Military Medal, Polygon Wood, At Polygon Wood 26th September 1917 'For some time during the advance from the first to the final objective at POLYGON WOOD 26th September, 1917, the Battalion's right flank was unsupported. Seeing that no Officer was in his vicinity Corporal CLUCAS took command of the situation, organised parties for the protection of our flank, and with a Lewis gun put an enemy machine gun out of action. When the enemy counter attacked on our right flank Corporal CLUCAS was in command and it was largely due to his organisation and dispositions that the enemy failed to get a footing in that part of our line.' Source: 'Commonwealth Gazette' No. 31 Date: 7 March 1918 | |
| 4 Oct 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Sergeant, 29th Infantry Battalion | |
| 28 Jul 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Corporal, 785, 29th Infantry Battalion, Merris (France) | |
| 30 Jul 1918: | Honoured Distinguished Conduct Medal, Merris (France), Distinguished Conduct Medal At MORLANCOURT on night 28/29th July 1918 'For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He commanded a platoon in the attack and captured a trench system when many of the enemy were killed and several prisoners taken. He led his men with great skill and determination, himself killing several of the enemy with the bayonet. An enemy counter attack was annihilated by fire of a Lewis gun which he had placed in a most effective position. By his personal gallantry and dash he set a splendid example to his men.' Source: 'Commonwealth Gazette' No. 31 Date: 4 March 1919 | |
| 8 Aug 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Corporal, 785, 29th Infantry Battalion, The Battle of Amiens, Corporal Clucas was wounded in action (Right foot 'blown off by artillery shell') during the battle of Amiens on 09th August 1918 | |
| 9 Aug 1918: | Wounded AIF WW1, Corporal, 785, The Battle of Amiens, Corporal Clucas was wounded in action (Right foot 'blown off by artillery shell') during the battle for Amiens on 08th August 1918. | |
| 19 Sep 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Sergeant, 785, 29th Infantry Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Jack Coyne
Henry Cornelius CLUCAS
Military Medal & Distinguished Conduct Medal
Military Medal Recommendation – Sept 26, 1917
'For some time during the advance from the first to the final objective at POLYGON WOOD 26th September 1917, the Battalion's right flank was unsupported. Seeing that no Officer was in his vicinity Corporal CLUCAS took command of the situation, organised parties for the protection of our flank, and with a Lewis gun put an enemy machine gun out of action. When the enemy counter attacked on our right flank Corporal CLUCAS was in command and it was largely due to his organisation and dispositions that the enemy failed to get a footing in that part of our line.'
Distinguished Service Medal Recommendation –
July 28/29, 1918 at Mourlancourt, France
'For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He commanded a platoon in the attack and captured a trench system when many of the enemy were killed and several prisoners taken. He led his men with great skill and determination, himself killing several of the enemy with the bayonet. An enemy counter attack was annhilated by fire of a Lewis gun which he had placed in a most effective position. By his personal gallantry and dash he set a splendid example to his men.'
War correspondent Charles Bean labelled the battle of Polygon Wood, ‘Never was a battle carried to success in face of more formidable difficulties’.[1] This was the only large battle in which Henry Clucas’s 29th Battalion played a major role in 1917. Polygon Wood was fought in the Ypres sector in Belgium on 26 September and the battle cost 5,770 Australian casualties.[2] Henry was promoted to Corporal a week after this action on October 4 and was awarded the medal in the field on October 31, 1917.
Henry was recommended for the Distinguished Service Medal (DCM) came for action in mid 1918, in very different circumstances than the prior year when awarded the Military Medal. The Germans had launched their Spring Offensives in March and April 1918 however they had suffered a number of defeats at the hands of the British and Dominion forces who with the arrival of fresh American forces were preparing to go on a full offensive.
Henry was presented with the DCM on November 8 1918 as he recovered in an English hospital in Eastbourne from a devastating shell wound that saw his right foot blown off. He was wounded on August 9 as the Allies made a major break through at what is labelled the ‘Battle of Amiens’. A major victory planned by Sir John Monash saw Australian, Canadian and American troops inflict a quick and decisive victory on the German forces.
The Clucas brothers Henry and Stephen of Mt Korong Road, returned to Bendigo with three bravery medals and considerable wounds in 1919. Both born in Creswick near Ballarat, the boys lost their mother Janet when they very young in 1896. Both attended the Bendigo Central School (now Camp Hill Primary School) where the Clucas brother’s names are still proudly displayed. (see photo) Henry was a carpenter at the Bendigo Advertiser office when he enlisted. Their father Charles Clucas was a prominent Methodist preacher in Bendigo and came from the Isle of Man.
SERVICE DETAILS:
Service Number: 785
Born: Creswick, Victoria
Address on Enlistment: 106 Mount Kerong Road, Bendigo,
School: Bendigo Central School (Camp Hill)
Occupation: Carpenter
Age at Enlistment: 21
Enlistment date: 19 July 1915
Served: Western Front.
Unit name 29th Battalion, C Company
Final Rank: Sergeant
Fate: Returned to Australia 18 January
Died: 9 June 1962
Military Medal Source: Source: 'Commonwealth Gazette' No. 31
Date: 7 March 1918
Distinguished Conduct Medal: Source: 'Commonwealth Gazette' No. 31, Date: 4 March 1919
Battle of POLYGON WOOD 26th September 1917
The bitter fighting raged for a further two months on the fields of Flanders. Three other Bendigo neighbours would also be recognised for bravery awards on this day at the same battle. They were Edgar Dawson (Kangaroo Flat), William Butler (High Street, Bendigo) and Percival Roberts from View Street, Bendigo.
At Mourlancourt, France July 28/29, 1918.
The town of Morlancourt, south of Albert, had been captured by the Germans during these Spring Offensives and it took several attempts to take it back. On the 29th of July, the 29th battalion fought in a minor attack at Morlancourt where Henry undertook his brave action resulting in the DCM recommendation. These battles for Morlancourt played a key role in preparing troops for the offensive at Hamel in the following weeks.
[1] The Western Front Diaries of Charles Bean. p.353
[2] AWM website - Polygon Wood https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/U51469
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