HARRIS, Clifden Victor
| Service Number: | 489 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 16 February 2016, Died of wounds |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 41st Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Maclean, New South Wales, Australia, 1 April 1896 |
| Home Town: | Maclean, Clarence Valley, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Maclean Public School, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Carpenter |
| Died: | Died of wounds, Belgium, 21 October 1917, aged 21 years |
| Cemetery: |
Nine Elms British Cemetery Plot VI, Row D, Grave 18 Headstone - "IN LOVING MEMORY OF OUR SON AND BROTHER GOD IS LOVE", |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Brisbane 41st Battalion Roll of Honour, Casino and District Memorial Hospital WW1 Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 18 May 1916: | Involvement Private, 489, 41st Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '18' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Demosthenes embarkation_ship_number: A64 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 18 May 1916: | Embarked Private, 489, 41st Infantry Battalion, HMAT Demosthenes, Sydney | |
| 21 Oct 1917: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 489, 41st Infantry Battalion, Died of wounds | |
| 16 Feb 2016: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 489, 41st Infantry Battalion, Died of wounds |
Help us honour Clifden Victor Harris's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Daryl Jones
Son of Frederick Ernest and Christina S. HARRIS, of Grafton Street, Maclean, New South Wales.
Biography contributed by Greg Towner
Research by Greg Towner
Clifden attended Maclean Public School and was a capable swimmer, earning his Junior Cadet Lifesaving Award in May 1910. After schooling Clifden was apprenticed as a carpenter for four years with Frank Robertson who was involved in the construction of many fine buildings in Maclean, many still in existence (as atg 1992).
Clifden was rejected at his first attempt to enlist as he was too short. He was 5 feet 2 inches (160 cm) tall. With the need for reinforcements standards were relaxed and he enlisted on 16 February 1916 in Lismore. After embarkation he went to England and then to France on 24 November 1916. With the 41st Battalion and part of the 3rd Division AIF Clifden went first to the North of France, near Armentieres, and then to Belgium in May 1917. His battalion was moved up in support of the Battle of Passchendaele on 10 October 1917, and then was relieved from the Front Line on 16 October 1917. Though behind the Front Line they were subjected to heavy shelling, but with light casualties. Unfortunately Clifden was one of those casualties, receiving a shell wound on 19 October 1917 and died of his wounds on 21 October 1917 after evacuation to a Casualty Clearing Station at Nine Elms just outside Poperinghe, Belgium.
Click images to start slideshow.