CLEARY, Wyn Howard
| Service Number: | 182 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 24 August 1914 |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | 1st Field Artillery Brigade |
| Born: | Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, 1890 |
| Home Town: | Hobart, Tasmania |
| Schooling: | St Marys Boys School, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia |
| Occupation: | Timber measurer |
| Died: | Died of wounds, France, 23 April 1918 |
| Cemetery: |
Ebblinghem Military Cemetery Plot I, Row B, Grave No. 2, |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Hobart Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 24 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Corporal, 182, 1st Field Artillery Brigade | |
|---|---|---|
| 18 Oct 1914: | Involvement Corporal, 182, 1st Field Artillery Brigade, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '3' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Argyllshire embarkation_ship_number: A8 public_note: '' | |
| 18 Oct 1914: | Embarked Corporal, 182, 1st Field Artillery Brigade, HMAT Argyllshire, Sydney | |
| 25 Apr 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Corporal, 182, 1st Field Artillery Brigade, ANZAC / Gallipoli | |
| 22 Jul 1916: | Wounded AIF WW1, Gunner, 182, 1st Field Artillery Brigade, Battle for Pozières , Accidental wounding from premature explosion of shell. Evacuated to UK. Rejoined unit 6 December 1916. | |
| 3 Jul 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Bombardier, 1st Field Artillery Brigade, France | |
| 4 Oct 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Bombardier, 182, 1st Field Artillery Brigade, Broodseinde Ridge | |
| 9 Nov 1917: | Wounded AIF WW1, Bombardier, 182, 1st Field Artillery Brigade, Third Ypres, Gassed. Evacuated to UK. Rejoined unit 13 March 1918 and promoted to Corporal. | |
| 20 Nov 1917: | Honoured Military Medal, Broodseinde Ridge, Great courage and coolness in assisting to extinguish dangerous fire. (East of Ypres) | |
| 1 Apr 1918: | Promoted AIF WW1, Sergeant, 1st Field Artillery Brigade, France | |
| 21 Apr 1918: | Wounded AIF WW1, Sergeant, 182, 1st Field Artillery Brigade, German Spring Offensive 1918, Multiple SW to both legs sustained during the defence of Hazebrouck. Evacuated to 15th CCS at Ebblinghem, where he died of his wounds two days later on 23 April 1918. | |
| 23 Apr 1918: | Involvement Sergeant, 182, 1st Field Artillery Brigade, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 182 awm_unit: 1st Australian Field Artillery Brigade awm_rank: Sergeant awm_died_date: 1918-04-23 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
'Wyn,' who was a member of the clerical staff of Henry Jones and Co. in Hobart went to the mainland before the war, and joined the New South Wales Artillery. At the outbreak he volunteered for service abroad, and was, with his battery throughot the Gallipoli campaign, and had been ever since in France, where he met his father who also enlisted during 1915.
182 Sergeant Wyn Howard Cleary M.M. 1st Brigade Australian Field Artillery AIF had enlisted in August 1914, and served at the Landing on Gallipoli on that first Anzac Day in 1915. He was wounded by shrapnel at Pozieres on the 22 July 1916, due to the premature explosion of a shell he was loading and evacuated to England to recover. He was wounded again in July 1917 and later that year was quite badly gassed, which resulted in him being evacuated to England again to recuperate. In October 1917 at he and two others were awarded the Military Medal for showing great courage and coolness in extinguishing a fire in a heavy ammunition store which had trapped a number of men in their dugouts. Had the shells exploded they would have caused much loss of life amongst the men of the battery. All three of the men suffered burns during their exertions. He was promoted to Sergeant the day before he was wounded for the fourth time, this time mortally as he died if wounds on the 23rd April, 1918. He was badly hit in both legs by shrapnel on the 21 April 1918 and died two days later in the 15th Casualty Clearing Station. He is buried in the Ebblinghem Military Cemetery, France. His Military Medal, which he had never received, was sent to his father by Major Lean in November 1918, with an accompanying letter, “It is with feelings of admiration for the gallantry of a brave Australian soldier who has laid down his life in the service of our King and Country, that I am directed by The Honourable Minister to forward to you, ..…..the Military Medal which His Majesty The King has been graciously pleased to award to that gallant soldier for conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty while serving with the AIF. I am also to ask you to accept his deep personal sympathy in the loss which, not only you, but the Australian Army has sustained by the death of Sergeant Cleary, whose magnificent conduct on the field of battle has helped to earn for our Australian soldiers a fame which will endure as long as memory lasts..”
His younger brother 2056 Pte. Errol Vincent Cleary 15th Battalion had been killed in action at Gallipoli and his father William F. Cleary (aged 54) had also won the Military Medal and was then sent home for "family reasons" due to the death of his two sons.
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