Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Awarded the Military Medal (www.awm.gov.au);

"For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty during operations near BRAY on 22nd August, 1918. During the approach march to assembly line the untiring and gallant work done by Sergeant ELLIOT under shell and machine gun fire greatly inspired the men of the Battalion. Later when establishing a defensive flank, he took five men out and located the enemy's location. He also took a patrol up the BRAY ALBERT Road and after great difficulty succeeded in getting into touch with the troops on the left. owing to the critical position at the moment this reconnaissance was of the utmost important and value to the Battalion and the work done by this N.C.O. cannot be overestimated."

Commonwealth Gazette' No. 109 Date: 15 September 1919

Biography of Robert Clarence Leslie Elliott

Service Number: 2061

Robert Clarence Leslie Elliot was born on the 18 April 1896 in Carrington, Newcastle, New South Wales with his parents, Robert William Elliott and Rose Emily Duncan (1). He attended Sydney Technical High School and graduated in 1912. After graduating, he started a job as a clerk, someone employed in an office or bank to keep records, accounts, and undertake other routine administrative duties (2). He enlisted in 21 March 1916 aged 19 years and 11 months but he wrote on the document that he was 20 years of age (3). He was single at the time and only left his mother and father for the war. He was described as having a fair complexion, blue eyes, and brown hair. He was 5 feet and 7 and a half inches, weighing 130 pounds (4). He was sent to Sydney to depart Australia for the war.

Elliott left Sydney, Australia as a part of the 34th Infantry Battalion, which was primarily composed of men from the NSW on board HMAT A68 Anchises on 24 August 1916 (5). He landed at the UK to begin training for the tough conditions of trench warfare (6). During that time, he was promoted to sergeant and preparing to join the many other soldiers in the Western Front, more specifically the trenches of Belgium and France. A sergeant was typically the senior non-commissioned rank in charge of a platoon in an infantry battalion.

In late November, he travelled to France and entered the trenches. The conditions of the trenches was nothing like he had experienced before. They were very muddy with many flies and rats eating dead corpses and food. Elliott’s first major battle was the Battle of Messines, in the Ypres sector, on the 7th of July (7). The battle was a terrifying use of the new technologies created in this war. At 3:10am on July 7th, 19 mines were detonated under the German trenches and the British pushed forward to capture the enemy territory. This battle resulted in a British victory and a confidence booster for the Australians. On the 24th of June however, Elliott was sent back to Bulford, England due to a sickness, which caused him to miss one of the most infamous battles of World War 1, the Battle of Passchendaele (8). He was sent back on October 1917, right after the Battle of Passchendaele and spent the next five months in the trenches. He then took part in the defense of Amiens near Villers-Bretonneux and the counter-attack at Hangard Wood on March 30. Near the end of war, he participated in the Battle of Amiens and St Quentin Canal, the battle that successfully broke through the Hindenburg Line, winning the war (9). There is a record of Elliott in the battle of St Quentin Canal that awarded him a Military Medal.
"For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty during operations near BRAY on 22nd August, 1918. During the approach march to assembly line the untiring and gallant work done by Sergeant ELLIOT under shell and machine gun fire greatly inspired the men of the Battalion. Later when establishing a defensive flank, he took five men out and located the enemy's location. He also took a patrol up the BRAY ALBERT Road and after great difficulty succeeded in getting into touch with the troops on the left. owing to the critical position at the moment this reconnaissance was of the utmost important and value to the Battalion and the work done by this N.C.O. cannot be overestimated." (10). It can be seen here that he was a fearless soldier who was a natural leader and protected his fellow soldiers.

In May 1919, the 34th Infantry Battalion was disbanded and Elliott came back to Australia in June 19, 1919. He married in Leila Maude Bate in 1923, and she took his last name. Elliott passed away on the 13th of February 1970, aged 70 years old (11). Robert Clarence Leslie Elliott will be remembered as a brave soldier who fought in the depths of the trenches of World War 1 for Australia, a loving husband of Leila Maude Elliott and most importantly, a fellow Techie. Lest we forget.

References

Virtual War Memorial Australia-https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/58623
Ibid
National Archives of Australia-https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=3539459
Ibid
The AIF Project-https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=90635
Australian War Memorial-https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/U51474
Ibid
National Archives of Australia-https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=3539459
Australian War Memorial-https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/U51474
Commonwealth Gazette' No. 109 Date: 15 September 1919
Virtual War Memorial Australia-https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/58623

Bibliography
Ken Stevenson, Research on Google Drive
Australian War Memorial-https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/U51474
Virtual War Memorial Australia-https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/58623
National Archives of Australia-https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/58623
The AIF Project-https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au