CLARKE, Harry
| Service Number: | 3745 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 13th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England, 1 July 1886 |
| Home Town: | Leichhardt, Leichhardt, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Tram Driver |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 14 August 1916, aged 30 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 30 Dec 1915: | Involvement Private, 3745, 2nd Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '7' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Medic embarkation_ship_number: A7 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 30 Dec 1915: | Embarked Private, 3745, 2nd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Medic, Sydney | |
| 14 Aug 1916: | Involvement Private, 3745, 13th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 3745 awm_unit: 13 Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1916-08-14 |
Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
Harry CLARKE, (Service Number 3745) was born on 1 July 1886 in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire. He first worked for the NSW Tramways as a conductor in Sydney on 28 July 1908 and he retained this position until he became a tram driver in 1912. On 3 October 1915 he was released from duty to join the Expeditionary Forces. On 1 October 1915 when he signed his Attestation Papers, he was unmarried and gave his father, still living in England, as his next of kin.
Submitted 31 May 2023 by John Oakes
Biography contributed by John Oakes
Harry CLARKE, (Service Number 3745) was born on 1st July 1886 in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England. He worked for the NSW Tramways as a conductor in Sydney from on 28th July 1908. He became a tram driver in 1912. On 3rd October 1915 he was released from duty to join the Expeditionary Forces. On 1st October 1915 when he signed his Attestation Papers, he was not married. He named his father, still living in England, as his next of kin.
He left Australia from Sydney on board HMAT ‘Medic’ on 7th January 1916.
He joined the 2nd Australian Infantry Battalion at Serapeum on 17th March 1916. He transferred to the 13th Battalion on 29th March. He went to the Western Front from Alexandria (Egypt) and via Marseilles (France). Only six days after passing through this port city Clarke was reported as wounded and missing. A Court of Enquiry held five months later ruled that he had been killed in action on 14th August 1916.
Since no body was ever recovered and no grave identified, Harry Clarke’s name is recorded on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Picardie, France.
Both his parents claimed pensions as a result of their son’s war service. However, it was ruled that both had adequate means of support and had no need for a pension.
- based on notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board