Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Tolley Clifford Sydney was a soldier who fought in World War One. He was born in London, England in 1881 and worked as a civil servant before he joined the war. He lived in Adelaide and played football for one year in 1906. He had an older brother, named Cyril Graham Tolley, who he put as his next of kin since he was single when he enlisted. Prior to his enlistment, Tolley served in a South Australian rifle club for 2 years and 7 months. He had been previously rejected from His Majesty’s Service since he was deemed unfit due to his Psoriasis disease, which is a chronic skin condition that causes red, itchy, scaly patches on the skin.       

Tolley was 34 years and 3 months when he enlisted in World War One on the 19th of October 1916 in Adelaide, South Australia. He was a part of the 27th Infantry Battalion and the 19th Reinforcement. Tolley embarked from Adelaide on the 24th of January 1917 aboard the HMAT (His Majesty’s Australian Transport) A28 Miltiades. Tolley then spent two months in England training before joining his Battalion.

During the war, Tolley was ranked a Private which is the lowest military rank. However, he was also a Sapper and part of the 7th Field Company Engineers. Being a sapper, he worked as a military engineer in trenches to make them more stable. He would have been responsible for laying out the barbed wire in front of the trenches in no man’s land and helped in any general construction during the war. This job of laying out barbed wire was done in the middle of the night to reduce the risk of being shot as he would be out in the open and vulnerable to enemy fire.

On the 30th of September 1917, Tolley was assigned as an Acting Corporal. This role meant that he was temporarily assigned the duties of a corporal rank. He was then changed back to a Private rank on the 3rd of October 1917. Tolley was also assigned to Lance Corporal on the 10th of October 1917. The role of a Lance Corporal required Tolley to supervise a small team of up to four soldiers, and he would have been responsible for their actions and behaviours. These changes of duties happened numerous times throughout Tolley’s service.

On the 29th of October 1917, Tolley witnessed the death of Walter Gorge Hill. Hill died due to a gas shell whilst in the support lines at Polygon Wood. The battle of Polygon Wood took place from the 26th of September 1917 to the 3rd of October 1917. Due to Tolley’s firsthand witnessing of Hill’s death, he was required to write a witness statement. In this statement, he wrote about how he was close with Hill, who was also South Australian, and that they were aboard the same ship (Miltiades). These eyewitness statements were used to recall casualties of soldiers during World War One from a first-hand perspective.

On the 30th of October 1917, Tolley was wounded in action and was admitted to a general hospital for severe gas wounds. Upon inspection of the unit diaries, it was discovered that on the day that he was wounded, his Battalion was digging communication trenches connecting to the front lines. It is stated that enemy artillery was active and there was heavy firing at his Battalion and 4 gas shells were dropped. This was most likely the cause of his injury. After being admitted to a general hospital, he was sent to England for further treatment on the 5th of November 1917. Tolley stayed in hospital for 28 days, being discharged on the 3rd of December after making a full recovery.

Whilst Tolley was in England, he was reported A.W.L (away without leave) on the 21st of December 1917. This means that he abandoned his duty without permission. He was reported A.W.L from 2:30 pm 21st December 1917 to 3:30 pm 26th December 1917.    

In France, on the 2nd of May 1918, Tolley was wounded again. It does not state the cause of injury, however, it was recorded that on this date his Battalion left the destroyed village they were taking shelter at in Pont-Noyelles and marched via Querrieu to Rivery in Amiens. He then returned to his Battalion after recovering on the 25th of May.

Whilst Tolley was in France, he fell ill and was admitted to hospital on the 20th of July 1918. Fortunately, he recovered after 3 days and returned to his Battalion on the 23rd of July 1918. It is not specified what he came down with, however, there was a severe global Spanish flu outbreak around this time, and it is possible that he caught it. This outbreak lasted from February 1918 to April 1920 and killed an estimated 20 million people worldwide. This flu would have infected many soldiers due to their crowded and unhygienic environment.   

Tolley Clifford Sydney was one of the lucky men that survived the war. He travelled back to Adelaide, South Australia aboard the H.T Chemnitz and arrived on the 13th of July 1919. He went on to marry Winnifred Johanna Tolley. He had a daughter named Lucy Winifred Tolley on the 29th of August 1924. Unfortunately, Lucy passed 5 days later on the 3rd of September 1924. Tolley died peacefully at the age of 68 in 1949 and was buried in West Terrace with his wife and daughter.