Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Clarence James Lyle West - 31194

Clarence James Lyle West, a survivor of World War One and World War Two, was born on the 6th of March 1895. He attended Sydney Technical High School under the junior tech scholarship (1) for 2 years. His parents were Mrs Mary Jane Catherine and Mr William Henry and they lived in ‘Lyndon', Uhr Street, Abbotsford, Sydney, New South Wales. 

Clarence James Lyle West enlisted on the 18th of September 1916, receiving the service number 31194, joining the 4th divisional ammunition column as a driver. A driver’s role in the war was to primarily focus on providing the front lines with supplies, ammunition and equipment via horse drawn or early motor vehicles. Due to continuously having to go back and forth from the frontlines their jobs had many risks (2). His unit embarked from Sydney, New South Wales, on board RMS Orontes on 19 December 1916 and during his enlistment period the 4th Australian division attended a few battles, most noticeably The first battle of Bullecourt (3) and the battle of Polygon Wood in 1917. The battle of Bullecourt occurred on the 11th of April 1917 and lasted for one day. The purpose of this battle was to support an important offensive by the adjoining British 3rd Army to the north and the French Army further to the south. General Gough explained that the 4th division's main role in this battle was to attack the Hindenburg Line near the village of Bullecourt, alongside the 62nd British Division. The general decided to employ a dozen tanks to lead the troops through the enemy's barbed wire, instead of waiting for sufficient artillery supplies. This attack was planned for the 10th but was abandoned when the tanks did not arrive, however it went ahead the next morning and the results were devastating. Troops were exposed to the enemy machine guns and had to retreat back to their own line whilst tanks were left burning on the battlefield. 3,000 Australian soldiers were either wounded or killed, and many of the survivors were left bitter about the futile loss.

After the defeat, no other notable battles occurred during his time at the army. Due to this, he was returned home on the 4th July 1919, one year after the war had ended. Once he was back in Australia he was awarded two gazettes in the same year; London gazette no. 31448 (4) and the Commonwealth gazette no. 124 (5). The london gazette was known as one of the official journal of records of the government in the UK, and the most important amongst such journals. It was awarded to those who were typically in the military for bravery and meritorious service. The Commonwealth gazette on the other hand, was not an award but an official publication of where awards were announced for Australian recipients in world war 1. He most likely received the London gazette due to his display of bravery on the battlefield, and in completing his role as a driver perfectly. West also got married in 1925 to Esme Muriel King Andrews (6), with the registration being held at Mittagong, New South Wales. Esme had one sibling and when she got married to Clarence she was 23 years old. Together they had one son, Dennis Grant West, and throughout their lives they lived in 10 different homes. She then died at the age of 83 in 1986.

A few years after he married Esme, World War 2 was on the horizon, and he had made the difficult decision to enlist, leaving behind his wife and son. West had enlisted on July 7 1942 and was given the service number N429395. However he later on enlisted again on March 23 1942 and received another service number, N303468 (7). During his time in the Australian Army he had managed to climb the ranks and risen to the rank of captain. Between the dates of his enlistment, the Australian Army had primarily fought in New Guinea. These series of battles helped the Allied Powers in stopping Japan from gaining more control across the Pacific. A major battle would be the Battle of Guadalcanal, as this was a turning point in the war that helped improve morale for the soldiers, hinder Japanese forces and weaken Japanese control over captured areas. It was also when the allies began going on the offensive, whilst the Japanese were on the defensive. The battle had lasted from August 1942 - February 1943, the total amount of losses for the allied forces was 1500, while Japan had suffered over tenfold the amount. Unfortunately, not much is known about what he did after the war but it is suspected that he had died in 1980. 

In conclusion, Clarence James Lyle West was a soldier, recognised for his bravery in the first world war and his strength in the second, receiving a gazette and rising to the rank of captain respectively. He endured the hardships that the wars had placed on him, managing to survive until the age of 85. He was a married man, a father of one but to most people he would be recognised as a hero who had fought in wars for the safety and freedom of Australia. 

Endnotes

1.STATE RECORDS  Register of Scholarships

2. IWM, The Role of a Driver

3.Australian War Memorial, The Battle for Bullecourts, Overview + First Bullecourt (April)

4. Ken Stevenson, google doc research, second page

5. IBID

6. My heritage, Esme Muriel King Andrews

7.Nominal rolls, DVA, World War Two Service Veteran details

Bibliography

Ken Stevenson, Research on Google Drive https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1HzTb1_UbOBr8dER8rAsptVrRgw8Ev1b5
Information on esme https://www.myheritage.com/names/esme_west
Ww2 details- https://nominal-rolls.dva.gov.au/veteran?id=365370&c=WW2 https://nominal-rolls.dva.gov.au/veteran?id=392804&c=WW2 
General over on Clarence J L West https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P10419206
Battle of bullecourt https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/blog/the-battles-for-bullecourt
The role of a driver https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/story/8901#:~:text=A%20driver%20in%20WW1%20rode,drivers%20to%20pull%20the%20wagon.
My own doc for information about the battle of Guadalcanal https://docs.google.com/document/d/1R8ijDztuduxn80vsYp6_zO8WsNqzYt2lsynosqL0RnY/edit?tab=t.0