Maj.
Gother Robert Carlisle Clarke

Informationen zu Geburt

Geburtsdatum:
27/04/1875
Geburtsort:
Willoughby, North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Allgemeine Informationen

Beruf:
Artz

Informationen zum Armeedienst

Land:
Australia
Truppe:
Australian Imperial Force
Rang:
Major
Dienstnummer:
/
Einberufung datum:
14/03/1916
Einberufung ort:
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Einheiten:
 —  Australian Infantry, 34th Bn.  (Letzte bekannte Einheit)

Informationen zu Tod

Sterbedatum:
12/10/1917
Sterbeort:
Haalen, Passchendaele, Belgien
Todesursache:
Im Kampf gefallen
Alter:
42

Begräbnisplatz

Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood
Grabstelle: III
Reihe: A
Grab: 5

Auszeichnungen und Orden 2

British War Medal
Medaille
Victory Medal
Medaille

Punkte von Interesse 3

#1 Geburtsort
#2 Einberufung ort
#3 Ort des Todes (ungefähr)

Meine Geschichte

Major Gother Robert Carlisle Clarke, a doctor by trade, served in the Australian Infantry 34th Battalion, part of the 9th Brigade, of the 3rd Division.

On the 12th of October 1917 the 3rd Division participated in the First Battle of Passchendaele. The Division advanced with two brigades, the 9th and 10th. The attack of the 9th Brigade was carried by the 34th and 35th Battalion and had two main objectives. They would first secure the area until after Augustus Wood and then they would try and capture Passchendaele village.

At 5.25 am the 34th Battalion started to advance in total confusion due to the heavy German shelling of the jumping-off lines. The advance was even more complicated due to the mud that slowed the soldiers down. Not soon after, the 35th Battalion joined the attack. Together they moved on towards the first objective. On their way, the 35th Battalion was able to overrun Defy Crossing, Hillside Farm and Augustus Wood.

When they had consolidated the first objective, they moved along the Passchendaele road towards the village itself, in front of which lay their second objective. Once they arrived at the ruins of the village, they encountered only slight resistance.

Several patrols managed to enter Passchendaele, but they were soon forced to retreat, due to renewed German resistance. At around 3 pm, both Battalions were pushed back past Augustus Wood and they eventually ended up close to where they had initially started.

Major Gother Robert Carlisle Clarke was killed in action on the 12th of October 1917, in the vicinity of the hamlet of Haalen, just west of Passchendaele. Several witnesses in his Red Cross Wounded and Missing File state that Major Clarke was hit by a shell as he was dressing the wounds of another man near a pillbox. His remains were exhumed after the war and buried in Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood.

Dateien 3

Quellen 8

"A Short History of the 34th Battalion, AIF", E. Beaver and J.W.G. Meldrum. Carlton, Illawarra Press, 1957, pg. 22-24
Verwendete Quellen
"The Third Ypres Passchendaele. The Day-by-Day Account", McCarthy C., London, Arms & Armour Press, 1995, pg. 113-115.
Verwendete Quellen
A.I.F. Project
https://aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=68466
Verwendete Quellen
Australian War Memorial
https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P10315966
Verwendete Quellen
CWGC
https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/480159/clarke,-gother-robert-carlisle/
Verwendete Quellen
National Archives of Australia
http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/SearchScreens/BasicSearch.aspx
Verwendete Quellen
The Long, Long Trail
http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/
Verwendete Quellen
War Diary, 34th Australian Battalion.
https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/RCDIG1000621/
Verwendete Quellen