CLAYTON, Gladstone John Garland
| Service Number: | 1667 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 7 May 1915, Liverpool, New South Wales |
| Last Rank: | Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | 18th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Murrumburrah, New South Wales, Australia, May 1893 |
| Home Town: | Murrumburrah, Harden, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Public School, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Station Overseer |
| Died: | Killed In Action - Mg Fire, Villers Bretonneux, France, 30 July 1918 |
| Cemetery: |
Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery |
| Memorials: | Harden WW1 Memorial, Moree ANZAC Centenary Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 7 May 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Liverpool, New South Wales | |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Jun 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 1667, 18th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '12' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Kanowna embarkation_ship_number: A61 public_note: '' | |
| 19 Jun 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 1667, 18th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Kanowna, Sydney | |
| 30 Jul 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 18th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: awm_unit: 18 Battalion awm_rank: Lieutenant awm_died_date: 1918-07-30 | |
| 4 Feb 1919: | Honoured Military Cross, At Morlancourt, 19th May 1918. 'For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. This officer led his platoon with great gallantry in the face of heavy artillery and machine gun fire to the attack of an enemy command post, which he captured with the officer in charge, who was in the act of sending a message by telephone when he was taken. Whilst our troops were consolidating, several officers and men were shot by snipers, whom he eventually drove off by skilful bombing. His coolness during the work of consolidation was not more marked than the courage with which he led the attack, and his whole conduct set a high example to his men.' Source: 'Commonwealth Gazette' No. 15 Date: 4 February 1919 |
MILITARY CROSS DETAILS
Military Cross
'For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. This officer led his platoon with great gallantry in the face of heavy artillery and machine gun fire to the attack of an enemy command post, which he captured with the officer in charge, who was in the act of sending a message by telephone when he was taken. Whilst our troops were consolidating, several officers and men were shot by snipers, whom he eventually drove off by skilful bombing. His coolness during the work of consolidation was not more marked than the courage with which he led the attack, and his whole conduct set a high example to his men.'
Source: 'Commonwealth Gazette' No. 15
Date: 4 February 1919
Medals: Military Cross, 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal
Submitted 30 July 2019 by Elizabeth Allen
Biography contributed by Elizabeth Allen
Gladstone John Garland CLAYTON was born in Murrumburrah, New South Wales in 1893
His parents were Benjamin CLAYTON & Marianna GARLAND
Biography contributed by Evan Evans
François Berthout, Australia and New Zealand in WWI
Today, to commemorate the day of his death, I would like, with deep gratitude, to pay a very respectful tribute to Lieutenant Gladstone John Garland Clayton who fought in the 18th Australian Infantry Battalion and who was killed in action 102 years ago , on July 29, 1918 at the age of 25 on the Somme front.
Gladstone John Garland Clayton was born in 1893 in Murrumburrah, New South Wales,and was the son of Benjamin Clayton and Marianna Garland. Before the war,Gladstone lived in Binalong Street, Harden, New South Wales, he was single and worked as a station overseer in Harden.
Enlisted on May 7, 1915 in Liverpool, New south Wales, in the 18th Australian Infantry Battalion, 2nd Reinforcement with the rank of Private and service number 1667, he embarked with his unit from Sydney, New South Wales, on board HMAT A61 Kanowna on June 19, 1915 and sailed for Gallipoli.
Gladstone was disembarked in Gallipoli on August 16, 1915 and was wounded during the assault on Hill 60 on August 27 and was evacuated to the No. 1 Auxiliary Hospital in Heliopolis, Egypt on September 1, 1915. On March 18, 1916, he embarked from Alexandria for France where he arrived on March 25 in Marseilles and joined his unit on the Somme front at Pozieres, a battle that many australian soldiers described as "the worst hell on earth", during the battle Gladstone was wounded and suffered from shellshock.
After Pozieres, Gladstone fought with great courage during the Battle of Bullecourt, Pas-De-Calais, where he was promoted twice, the first time to Second Lieutenant on January 20, 1917 and the second time to Lieutenant on April 22 and was wounded for the third time on May 3, 1917 and was evacuated to England before being sent back to France on the Somme front.
Once again, Gladstone showed exceptional courage in the Somme, during an attack at Morlancourt, he led his platoon from the front line trench which held two feet of water and laid down under the barrage for 18 minutes whilst the flank troops came up. He then led his men forward in spite of heavy machine gun fire and located the command post. He rushed this, and found an officer sending a message over the phone. The officer attempted to use his revolver, but Gladstone took him prisoner and captured the post. Whilst consolidating, several officers and a number of men were shot by snipers.Gladstone located them in a crop and by skilful bombing with No. 38 grenades drove them out and absolutely kept sniping down throughout the day. He did fine work during consolidation and his coolness and disregard for personal danger set a high example to his men and was awarded the Military Cross for his acts of bravery on June 18, 1918.
Unfortunately, a month later, whilst supervising the training of American forces. Early in the morning of 30 July 1918, he died from a stray burst of machine gun fire by receiving several bullets in the chest at Villers-Bretonneux at the age of 25.
Today Lieutenant Gladstone John Garland Clayton rests in peace with his comrades and men at Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery, Somme.
with my heart and all my gratitude to you Gladstone i wish to say thank you.you who left your home, your father, your mother, the love of a loving family and the sweetness of your home to wear the uniform, you courageously answered the call of duty under the flag of Australia, bearing with pride the badge of the rising sun to bring the hope and the will of a whole country which was behind you, bringing, in your heart, in each of your steps an invincible ardor, the force and the courage of all the youth of a courageous and determined nation. young and brave you crossed the world with your brothers in arms on the lands of France which saw in you, the dawn of hope and victory.Bravely you fought with your comrades, united in the trenches side by side, fighting for the man who was next to you, your family on the battlefield, together you went through the pains and fury of the war which mowed down so many lives and hopes but which never broke your will and your courage, you were an example of courage for your men. Officer and man of honor, you were, in their eyes, as in ours, a real hero. you have, Sir, done your duty with courage and honor, giving your life for our tomorrow, you fell as you lived, for a just cause, for the future of millions of people who live today thanks to you.We will never forget who you were and what you did for us Gladstone and I will always express to you and all the men who fought and fell here, my deep and eternal gratitude and all my love, I will watch always on you and on your comrades who gave so much for us.your name will live forever Gladstone John Garland Clayton.Thank you.At the going down of the sun and in the morning,we will remember him,we will remember them.🌺
Biography
"...Lieutenant Gladstone John Garland Clayton, 18th Battalion. A station overseer of Harden, NSW, Clayton embarked from Sydney aboard HMAT Kanowna (A61) with the 2nd Reinforcements with the service number 1667 and the rank of Private on 19 June 1915. He joined his unit on the Gallipoli peninsula and was wounded at Hill 60. The unit relocated to France in 1916. He was promoted twice in 1917, first to 2nd Lieutenant and then to Lieutenant. Lt Clayton was awarded the Military Cross (MC) for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty: "During the attack near Morlancourt [...] he led his platoon from the front line trench which held two feet of water and laid down under the barrage for 18 minutes whilst the flank troops came up. He then led his men forward in spite of heavy machine gun fire and located the command post. He rushed this, and found an officer sending a message over the phone. The officer attempted to use his revolver, but Lt Clayton took him prisoner and captured the post. Whilst consolidating, several officers and a number of men were shot by snipers. Lt Clayton located them in a crop and by skilful bombing with No. 38 grenades drove them out and absolutely kept sniping down throughout the day. He did fine work during consolidation and his coolness and disregard for personal danger set a high example to his men." Two months later, Lt Clayton MC was killed in action in France at Villers-Bretonneux whilst supervising the training of American forces. Early in the morning of 30 July 1918 he died "from a stray burst of machine gun fire". He was 25 years old." - SOURCE (www.awm.gov.au)
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