CLUES, Robert Josiah
| Service Number: | 1924 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 15 January 1915, Oaklands, South Australia |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 10th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Edwardstown, South Australia, 10 April 1896 |
| Home Town: | Adelaide, South Australia |
| Schooling: | East Adelaide Public School, South Australia |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Gallipoli, Turkey, 1 August 1915, aged 19 years |
| Cemetery: |
Lone Pine Cemetery, ANZAC Plot I, Row H, Grave No. 7 |
| Memorials: | Adelaide National War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Payneham District Council Roll of Honor, Payneham Roll of Honour, St. Peters East Adelaide Public School Roll of Honour, St. Peters East Adelaide Public School Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 15 Jan 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1924, Oaklands, South Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Apr 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 1924, 10th Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Hororata embarkation_ship_number: A20 public_note: '' | |
| 20 Apr 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 1924, 10th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Hororata, Adelaide | |
| 8 Jul 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 1924, 10th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli | |
| 1 Aug 1915: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 1924, 10th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli |
Robert Joshua Clues
Robert Joshua Clues Reg. No. 1924 was the second son of Kendrick Clues and Caroline Elizabeth nee Flavell of George street Payneham, South Australia. One of seven children he was born on April 12th 1897 at Edwardstown, S.A. On his application to enlist, he stated his age as 21years 9 months. His actual age was 18 years 9 months. From the outbreak of war in 1914 to June 1915 the minimum age for enlisting, was 19 years. Robert enlisted on 15th January 1915, so was just shy of the legal age to enlist. He was a cadet soldier in South Australia, so his commanding officer was able to confirm his correct age. He had by then sailed out of Adelaide on the HMAT Hororata A20, to Gallipoli. He arrived in Gallipoli on 8th July 1915 as a member of the 10th Infantry Battalion.
The date of his death is stated as August 1st 1915. He was buried in Victoria Gully, ½ mile South East of Anzac Cove, plot 1 row H grave 7. Later his body was reburied at Lone Pine Cemetery; the family were advised the original burial site was prone to flooding. On August 4th 1916 his older brother Thomas Reuben Clues was killed in action in France. On September 18th 1916 his mother died of breast cancer in Adelaide, she was 56 years of age. The remaining siblings were, Sarah Jane Harding, Ruby Grace Harkin, Mildred Tamson Hutchinson, and Sidney Watson Clues.
Submitted 25 April 2016 by Campbelltown Library Volunteers (Digital Diggers)
Biography contributed by St Ignatius' College
Robert Josiah Clues (s.n. 1924) - Biography
Robert Josiah Clues was born on the 10th of April, 1896 in an inner southern-western suburb in South Australia called Edwardstown. Robert enlisted on the 15th of January, 1915 in Oaklands when he was only the age of 18 and 9/12 of a year. He was only 5 foot and 6 inches tall, weighing at a total of 173 lbs. His father was Kendrick Clues. Robert worked as a Labourer before he enlisted in the army. A Labourer was a common job at the time that didn’t require many skills. Most of the work that a Labourer did was manual work for wages. Robert had never done any previous military service so this was all new to him.
Robert Josiah Clues enlisted on the 15th of January, 1915. When the 10th Battalion arrived at Gallipoli after days of training in Egypt, they were the covering force for the ANZAC’s. Robert Josiah Clues embarked on the 8th of July, 1915 for Gallipoli to join his unit (10th Infantry Battalion) on the H.M.A.T Hororata A20 ship which travelled at approximately 25.92 km/h. Soldiers apart of the infantry were trained to patrol, cordon and search. Daily life for a soldier in Gallipoli wasn’t easy. In the trenches, soldiers looked around and sniped at the Turkish soldiers. The trenches were described as “completely enclosed as in the lanes of a city”. Robert participated in the battle of Lone Pine. This battle is one of the most famous assaults of the Gallipoli campaign. This attack was launched by the 1st Brigade AIF in the evening on the 6th of August. The main Turkish trench was overtaken by Australian soldiers within 20 minutes of the initial attack but this was only the beginning to a 4-day intense struggle to proceed further inland. This resulted in over 2,000 Australian casualties. Soldiers who weren’t in the front line carried water and other supplies from the beach. They also fortified their positions. Robert was supported by his fellow soldiers to push the front line further inland. During the struggle to hold the line, Robert was killed. He fought and struggled for a couple of days before dying. His death is still unknown, but we could guess that he was penetrated by a flying shell, died of illness of the terrible conditions in the trench lines or completely buried in the rubble of the destruction. Parts of Robert Josiah Clues’ remains were found and placed in Lone Pine Cemetery, ANZAC, Turkey, Plot I, Row H, Grave No. 7.
Robert Josiah Clues’ father (Kendrick Clues) sent letters back and forth to the Army Officers as to what the cause was for his son’s death. Kendrick also wanted to know where Robert’s belonging were and if they could send them back to him as that would be the only thing that he would have left of his son after his tragic death. Sadly, the officers sent a letter back stating that they knew he was killed in action and that they were still trying to find his body through the rubble of all the destruction (although the officers did find some of his belongings such as rosary beads and his wallet). Only until the late 1900’s they found very few pieces of Robert’s body and placed them in Lone Pine Cemetery, where they are still buried today.
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