Butler, Clive Hobart

No.236 – Private Clive Hobart Butler –

4^th Machine Gun Company AIF

Clive Hobart Butler was born in Prahan Melbourne Victoria in 1881 to Spilsbury and Louisa Butler. He attended school in Victoria and later became a Clerk before moving to Western Australia. In 1903 he married Dora Smallwood in Claremont. They set up home in Hulbert Street South Fremantle and over the next few years the marriage would produce five children; Ernest, Mollie, Laurie, Winnie and Neil. In 1913, the family was listed as living at Hamilton Road Spearwood.

Despite having five children, in March 1916 Clive went to the Fremantle recruitment office and offered his services to the AIF. He was found to be 5 feet 7 & ¾ inches in height; fresh complexion, blue eyes and dark hair. His religious denomination was Church of England. Initially allotted to No.53 Depot, on the 4^th April Clive was assigned to the 18^th Reinforcements to the 11^th Battalion. He trained with this group until the 1^st May when he transferred to the 13^th Reinforcements to the 28^th Battalion. Clive attended a Machine gun course and was subsequently transferred to the 3^rd Reinforcements to the 4^th Machine Gun Company. This group departed from Fremantle on the H.M.A.T. “Seang Bee” on the 18^th July 1916. After arriving in England, Clive and his reinforcement group were marched into the machine gun training depot on the Salisbury Plains. They remained here till the end of November as on the 1^st December 1916 they left Folkestone and proceeded across to Boulogne. On the 3^rd December Clive arrived at the Machine Gun Corps Depot at Camiers and received further training for several days. He officially joined up with the 4^th Machine Gun Company on the 14^th December 1916.

On the 30^th January 1917 Clive was wounded in the leg and was evacuated back to 13^th Field Ambulance and subsequently No.45 Casualty Clearing Station. Clive was sent to Hospital at Le Havre and on the 22^nd February to No.4 Convalescent Depot. By the 13^th March he had recovered and was therefore sent back to the Machine Gun Depot at Camiers. Clive spent some time here and was only sent back to the 4^th Machine Gun Company on the 5^th May 1917. Clive had fortunately missed the 4^th Division’s disastrous assault on Bullecourt though the 4^th Division were not given much time to recover and were soon involved in the Messines operation. The next few months were spent in the vicinity of Messines and Warneton and by September the 4^th Machine Gun Company had moved up to Ypres to take part in the operations. The 4^th Division took a major role through September & October, and the Machine Gunner provided much needed support. Clive survived the 4^th Division’s main assaults on the German lines but was not quite so fortunate a few weeks later.

On the 22^nd October 1917, Clive was asleep in a dugout on the Zonnebeke Ridge when a German shell came and penetrated through the opening. According to a Private Gill who was also in the dugout and survived the blast, Clive caught the full force of the explosion and was killed instantly. Private’s Ellis and Reddin were killed by the same blast.

Sgt Dwyer VC of the 4^th Machine Gun Company oversaw the burial and stated that Butler was buried at the map location of Sheet 28.D.16.D.95.45. 

It appears that Clive and Pte Reddin were buried together but only Private Ellis has a known grave in Hooge Crater Cemetery as he was evacuated mortally wounded to an aid station. Clive Butler and Pte Reddin are commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial in Ypres.

TMAPPER excerpt of the burial spot of Clive Butler

Dora Butler and her five children would all receive a pension after the war. Clive’s youngest son, Neil Butler (pictured) enlisted into the Australian Army in World War Two and was given the regimental number WX3569 and he was allotted to the 2/16^th Battalion. He served with them in the Middle East and Syria and later went to New Guinea where he fought on the Kokoda Trail. Unfortunately, during the fierce fighting against the Japanese on 8^th September 1942, Neil was killed in action. He is buried in the Bomana War Cemetery in Port Moresby New Guinea.