CLARKE, Lancelot Fox
| Service Number: | Officer |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 17 August 1914, Hobart, Tasmania |
| Last Rank: | Lieutenant Colonel |
| Last Unit: | 12th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 15 June 1858 |
| Home Town: | Devonport, Devonport, Tasmania |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Shipping Manager |
| Died: | Killed In Action, Gallipoli, 25 April 1915, aged 56 years |
| Cemetery: |
Beach Cemetery - ANZAC Cove I B 13 |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Devonport ANZAC Centenary Commemoration Gallipoli Campaign, Devonport Cenotaph, Lindisfarne Officers of the 12th Battalion Pictorial Honour Roll |
Boer War Service
| 1 Oct 1899: | Involvement Major |
|---|
World War 1 Service
| 17 Aug 1914: |
Involvement
AIF WW1, Lieutenant Colonel, Officer, 12th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Hobart embarkation_ship: HMAT Geelong embarkation_ship_number: A2 public_note: '' |
|
|---|---|---|
| 17 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Hobart, Tasmania | |
| 20 Oct 1914: | Embarked AIF WW1, Lieutenant Colonel, Officer, 12th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Geelong, Hobart | |
| 25 Apr 1915: |
Involvement
AIF WW1, Lieutenant Colonel, 12th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: awm_unit: 12th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Lieutenant Colonel awm_died_date: 1915-04-25 |
Lt Col Lancelot Fox Clarke DSO, VD
Written by John Meyers, At the Maryborough Military & Colonial Museum, Qld. Lt Col memorabilia and decorations are proudly on display at this museum.
Lieut-Col. (Hon. Colonel) Lancelot Fox CLARKE DSO VD was commanding the 12th Battalion AIF, when he was killed in action at Russell’s Top, Gallipoli, on the morning of the 25th April 1915. He was the only commanding officer to be killed on the day of the landing.
Seven: DSO (QV) QSA clasps CC Rhod OFS Tr (Major L.F.Clarke Victorian M.R.) KSA clasps SA01 SA02 (LtCol L.F.Clarke D.S.O. Victoria M.R.) 1914/15 Star (Lt-Col L.F.Clarke 12/Bn A.I.F.) BWM & Victory
(Lt-Col L.F.Clarke A.I.F) Colonial Auxiliary Forces Decoration QV (Major L.F.Clarke Victorian Military Forces)
Born at Melbourne 15 June 1858. Joined Victorian Volunteer Field Artillery in 1878 and was commissioned as a Lieutenant in 1884.
He left Australia for the Boer War in April 1900 as 2nd in command of the 4th Victorian Imperial Bushmen, commanding the unit from February to June 1901. Upon the return of the 4th VIB to Australia in June 1901, he served in senior appointments in South Africa until the cessation of hostilities in 1902.
Lancelot was appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) on 23 April 1901
“for able command in operations against De Wet”. He was previously Mentioned in Despatches. Continued Militia service on his return to Australia and commanded the 91st Infantry (Tasmanian Rangers) 1913 – 1914.
Appointed commanding officer of the 12th Battalion and led his unit ashore on Gallipoli at dawn on 25 April 1915. Both he and his batman were killed by a sniper at Russell’s Top at 6.30am. At the time of his death, he was writing a message to the brigade commander and then fell with a pencil in one hand and a book in the other. Clarke was the first battalion commander to die on Gallipoli and the oldest Australian to die on that day. In that short hour he had led his men successfully off the beach and inland after the retreating Turks. Buried at Beach Cemetery, which is located at the southern end of Anzac Cove.
Awarded the Colonial Auxiliary Forces Decoration (QV) on 25 July 1902 whilst a Major in the Aust Field Artillery Brigade. His last civilian occupation was as a shipping manager in Tasmania. He was the only AIF officer killed at Gallipoli with a DSO awarded for previous service. His name is on the WWI memorial at Devenport in Tasmania. Translation of the French phrase on his headstone at Gallipoli, “Sans peur et sans reproche” is “Without fear and beyond reproach”.
Submitted 29 November 2018 by Evan Evans
Biography
"TASMANIA - LIEUTENANT-COLONEL L. F. CLARKE, D.S.O.
Lieutenant-Colonel Lancelot Fox Clarke, D.S.O., V.D., who was killed in action, was commanding the 12th Infantry Battalion, comprising troops from Tasmania, South Australia, and Western Australia, and which had its headquarters in Tasmania. He was 57 years of age. He was appointed lieutenant in 1884, and attained the rank of captain in 1888. He was appointed major in the Field Artillery Brigade (Victoria) in 1895. Colonel Clarke was on active service in the South African war from 1900 to 1902. He served with the Rhodesian Field Force and the Transvaal. As officer commanding the North-Western Districts he was successful, and also acted as an Administrator for the martial law area of Cape Colony. He had command of the 4th V.M.R., from February to June in 1901, and was mentioned in despatches on April 23 and July 9, 1901. The late lieuienant-colonel was awarded a Queen's medal with four clasps and a King's medal with two clasps.
His widow, formerly Miss Beatrice Moffat, of Adelaide, is a granddaughter of Surgeon-Major J. B. Hinton. She has been removed to a private hospital owing to severe prostration following on the news of her husband's death. She received a shock on first reading the saddening news in a newspaper." - from the Adelaide Daily Herald 06 May 1915 (nla.gov.au)
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