CLARKE, Clive Gordon
| Service Number: | 109 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 19 August 1914, Enlisted in Melbourne |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 1st to 5th Divisional Signal Companies |
| Born: | Caulfield, Victoria, Australia , 1894 |
| Home Town: | Caulfield, Glen Eira, Victoria |
| Schooling: | All Saints Grammar School, St Kilda, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Clerk |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Belgium, 8 November 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
Reninghelst New Military Cemetery, Belgium Plot 4, Row B, Grave 17 |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 19 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Sapper, 109, 1st Divisional Signal Company, Enlisted in Melbourne | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Oct 1914: | Involvement Driver, 109, 1st Divisional Signal Company, Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '6' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Karroo embarkation_ship_number: A10 public_note: '' | |
| 20 Oct 1914: | Embarked Driver, 109, 1st Divisional Signal Company, HMAT Karroo, Melbourne | |
| 1 Mar 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Corporal, 1st Divisional Signal Company | |
| 8 Nov 1917: | Involvement Corporal, 109, 1st to 5th Divisional Signal Companies, Third Ypres, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 109 awm_unit: 1st Australian Division Signals Company awm_rank: Corporal awm_died_date: 1917-11-08 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Karan CAMPBELL-DAVIS
Clive Gordon CLARKE (known as Gordon) was born in 1894 in Caulfield, Victoria, to parents Alfred Edward and Margaret Helen (née GOWAN) CLARKE.
A 6 foot, green eyed, brown haired 20 year old and single clerk at the time, he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in Melbourne on 19th August 1914, with the regimental number 109. After completing his recruit training at Broadmeadows Camp, he was assigned as a Sapper, and later a Driver, with the 1st Divisional Signal Company. Gordon embarked with his Unit in Melbourne aboard HMAT Karroo on 20th October 1914, for active service overseas.
The 1st Div Signal Coy disembarked in Alexandria on 5th December 1914, entraining for Cairo, where they arrived 4 days later. They quickly established lines of communication from the Divisional HQ at Mena Camp with the three Infantry Brigades and their support units. This was to be their training base for the next 4 months.
On 23rd April 1915, the men of the 1st Div Signal Coy began to embark aboard 3 different vessels at Lemnos, the majority on the S.S. "Minnewaska". They landed at Gallipoli from 4am on the 25th April, going ashore with the first wave. For the next 8 months, the Unit laid telephone lines across the 1st Division positions on the Peninsula, and were subsequently kept busy patrolling and repairing the lines between the Division and Brigade Headquarters, and the trenches, as required. Then, at 3.15am on 20th December 1915, they embarked for the evacuation from Gallipoli, back to Egypt.
Having returned to Egypt, Gordon and his Unit were based in Serapeum, near the Suez Canal, in preparation for an Ottoman attack that never eventuated. It was here that Gordon was promoted to Corporal on 1st March 1916. From there, they moved to France with the 1st Division in April, where Gordon was able to be better utilised as a motorcycle despatch rider. He continued in this role regularly, as the 1st Division moved across France, and into Belgium in late September 1917.
On 8th November 1917, Gordon was riding his motorcycle into Ypres after having delivered a despatch, when a shell exploded under his wheel. The explosion caused severe injuries to his legs, torso and head, killing him instantly. He was 23 years old. Gordon was buried in the Reninghelst New Military Cemetery in Belgium. He was posthumously awarded the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal for his service.
Lest we forget...
Compiled by Karan CAMPBELL-DAVIS from historical records kept by the National Archives of Australia (Service Record), Australian War Memorial (1 Div Sig Coy Unit War Diaries), and Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria (Birth registration).
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