PHILLIPS, Clifford Oswald
| Service Number: | 166 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 22 August 1914, Melbourne, Vic. |
| Last Rank: | Trooper |
| Last Unit: | 4th Light Horse Regiment |
| Born: | Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, 1894 |
| Home Town: | Warrnambool, Warrnambool, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Wallacedale State School |
| Occupation: | Coachbuilder |
| Died: | Died of wounds, At Sea off Gallipoli, 23 August 1915 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Lone Pine Memorial to the Missing, Wallacedale WW1 Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 22 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 166, 4th Light Horse Regiment, Melbourne, Vic. | |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Oct 1914: | Involvement Private, 166, 4th Light Horse Regiment, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '2' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Wiltshire embarkation_ship_number: A18 public_note: '' | |
| 19 Oct 1914: | Embarked Private, 166, 4th Light Horse Regiment, HMAT Wiltshire, Melbourne | |
| 23 Aug 1915: | Involvement Trooper, 166, 4th Light Horse Regiment, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 166 awm_unit: 4 Light Horse Regiment awm_rank: Trooper awm_died_date: 1915-08-23 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Faithe Jones
166 Private Clifford Oswald Phillips, A Squadron, 4th Light Horse Regiment. Born at Eclipse near Steiglitz, the son of Walter and Isabella (Twite) Phillips, he attended Wallacedale State School, and served with 20th Light Horse (CMF). Coach-builder, single, he enlisted on 18th August 1914 at Warrnambool, and embarked on HMAT A18 Wiltshire on 18th October 1914. He volunteered for infantry service in Egypt, and left there for Gallipoli on 15th May 1915. On 8th August, Private Phillips was hit in the stomach by a piece of shrapnel which lodged and came out near the spine, while he was having breakfast near German Officer’s Trench, Gallipoli. He died two weeks later on 23rd August 1915, on board Hospital Ship Arcadian, and was buried at sea.
The Warrnambool Standard of Thursday 16 September 1915 recorded his loss: “OUR LOSSES. PRIVATE CO PHILLIPS. Mr. Walter Phillips, of Port Fairy Road, has received the sad intelligence that his son, Private Clifford O. Phillips, of the 4th light Horse, died on the 23rd August as the result of wounds received while on active service. Private Phillips, who was regarded as one of the best Light Horsemen in the district, joined the first contingent and took part in several of the important engagements against the Turks at Gallipoli. He was just 21 years of age. His parents and sisters have the sympathy of all sections of the community in their sorrow.”
He has no known grave, his name is recorded on Panel 3, Lone Pine Memorial to the Missing, Turkey. His “Particulars Required for the Roll of Honour of Australia in the Memorial War Museum” list the names and addresses of any other persons to whom reference could be made by the Historian for further information – GB Gaut, Camperdown, or A Gratton Wilson, Dennington PO (Comrades at War). Phillips had an older sister (Estella Naismith Twite Phillips born Steiglitz 1892, married William Stirling Laity in 1925), and a younger sister (Olive Marion Twite Phillips, born Morrisons 1896).
Sources: Blair & Affleck, For King & Country – Great War Enlistments from Warrnambool and District; Australian War Memorial – Roll of Honour; National Archives of Australia; The AIF Project; Virtual War Memorial Australia; Warrnambool Standard 16 September 1915.
Courtesy of James Affleck 2025