CALBERT, Clarence Victor
| Service Number: | 46 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 10 January 1916, at Adelaide |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 43rd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Port Augusta, South Australia, December 1894 |
| Home Town: | Enfield (SA), Port Adelaide Enfield, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Memorials: | Prospect Roll of Honour A-G WWI Board, Yorketown and District of Melville Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 10 Jan 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 46, 43rd Infantry Battalion, at Adelaide | |
|---|---|---|
| 9 Jun 1916: | Involvement Private, 46, 43rd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '18' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Afric embarkation_ship_number: A19 public_note: '' | |
| 9 Jun 1916: | Embarked Private, 46, 43rd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Afric, Adelaide |
Help us honour Clarence Victor Calbert's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by St Ignatius' College
Before the war:
Clarence Victor Calbert was born in Port Augusta, South Australia and at the time of enlistment he was 21 years old. He worked as a labourer and was single. His mother, Mrs Lillian Baldwin, was his next of kin.
Clarence was 5 feet tall and 5 inches, quite small compared to his other AIF soldiers. His date of acceptance was December 1st in 1914. Servicemen were not asked for their dates of birth, but only for their age at the time of enlistment which is why Clarence had two updated versions of his description sheet. It also stated on the sheet that he had a scar on his left underarm from the vaccination.
During the war:
Clarence enlisted at Adelaide on 11 January 1916. After training he travelled to Europe but never deployed on the front line. He spent time in hospital in England and in February 1917 the decision was made to return him to Australia for medical discharge. He was suffering from trachoma, a disease of the eyes, which made him unable to perform his duties. He was discharged from the AIF in May 1917.
He sent a letter to his mother dated on the 27th of February 1916 although the sheet that it was written on his very faint. It stated, “I miss you dearly mum, I hope all is well and I will…”. Sadly, that’s all I could catch from the letter. It also came to their attention that he was ‘Absent without leave from 10:30pm till 11:20pm‘ twice in the span of 2 months. The commanding officers reported Clarence missing although he did he back. They soon reported him as found again. This means he went out of campus and his community area when not allowed. His consequences for those actions led him to being confined to barracks, ‘losing a day’s pay which was a torment as well, for men who were eager for rest and amusement’.
Little is known of Clarence's later life.