Clarke, William John
1688 Private William John Clarke MID & Italian Bronze Medal for Valour - 7th Field Company Engineers AIF
William John Albert Clarke was born on the 16th June 1886 in Carlton Victoria to William and Pauline Clarke. He was one of six siblings born into the family, with, Frederick (1888), Arthur William Frederick (1889), Ethel (1892), Cecil (1895), Basil (1898) and Dorothy (1899).
After William's birth the family moved to South Australia for a few years before moving again to Western Australia in the early 1900's. They took up residence at 258 and 260 South Terrace Fremantle. William was working as a contractor and carrier but then became a qualified plumber.
On the 21st February 1914 William married May Victoria Garvey and a son Marcus was born in September 1914. They were living at 326 Mandurah Road South Fremantle.
On the 5th March 1915 William enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force. He was accepted as fit for service with the medical examiner recording his physical attributes as;
Height - 5 feet 5 inches tall;
Weight - 145lbs;
Chest Measurement - 34-36 inches;
Complexion - Dark;
Eyes - Grey;
Hair - Brown.
After his successful enlistment William was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp and was assigned to "C" Company of the 28th Battalion AIF with the regimental number 400. He trained with this group for three months but then requested a discharge due to family reasons.
William must have sorted out any issues as on the 30th June 1915 he re-enlisted and was once again accepted for service. He was now assigned to the 2nd Reinforcements to the 28th Battalion AIF. He trained with this group for a few weeks when they received their departure orders. On the 23rd July 1915 William and his group boarded the transport ship Demosthenes in Fremantle Harbour and set sail for Egypt.
After arriving in Egypt in August William was sent into the reinforcement camp. The 28th battalion had departed for Gallipoli in September 1915 and served there till the evacuation in December 1915. It appears William was sent as a reinforcement in November 1915 and arrived at the advance base at Mudros. It is unclear from his records whether he joined his unit on Gallipoli, but with the evacuation soon underway, William and the 28th Battalion returned to Egypt in early January 1916.
William had a couple of bouts if illness during January and February 1916 but soon was able to return to the 28th Battalion. He was then transferred to the 7th Field Company Engineers.
On the 14th March 1916, the 7th Field Company Engineers departed from Egypt bound for France, arriving at Marseilles on the 19th March 1916. They were then sent north to the Armentieres region of northern France.
The 7th Field Company Engineers were utilised to construct defensive positions in trenches, dugouts, communication trenches, machine gun posts and other forward and reserve line positions.
From April till June 1916 they were in the Armentieres positions and then in July 1916 headed to the Somme battlefield where they were in action around Pozieres and Mouquet Farm.
On the 4th August 1916 John was recommended for the Military Medal for his bravery. The official recommendation reads;
On the morning of the second attack on Pozieres 4/5th August 1916, a party of Sappers of the 7th Field Company Engineers was constructing a strong point in the recently captured German position under very heavy shell fire and forward of a barrage seldom equalled on the front. Sapper Clarke, acting as a runner to the Officer in charge of the party, four times passed back and forward through this barrage with important messages. During these operations Sapper Clarke, though wounded by a shell burst within a few yards of him, being blinded by flash and splashed with small pieces, nevertheless carried on, delivered his message and returned. Finally he guided a working party back through the barrage to our old front line.
William was not awarded the Military Medal but was instead awarded the Italian Bronze Medal for Valour.
During this action William had been wounded and was sent to No.3 Canadian General Hospital. He spent three weeks there and was then transferred to the 2nd Australian Division Base Depot. He spent the next few months here while his injury improved. News also soon came through that William had been awarded a Mentioned in Despatches.
On the 8th January 1917 William was sent to England on a two week furlough. It appears he may have fell ill once in England as on the 7th February 1917 he was listed at No.2 Command Depot Camp at Weymouth. William had the next several weeks in this camp while he regained his fitness.
On the 21st April 1917 he was transferred to No.3 Command Depot Parkhouse Camp.
On the 8th May 1917 William was detached for duty with the Australian Provost Corps in England. He remained on duty in England with the Provosts for four months. On the 11th September 1917 he was then sent for duty to AIF Headquarters Tidworth as part of the Guard.
William had been medically assessed as not fit enough to return to action due to being blind in one eye and on the 10th October 1917 was returned to No.2 Command Depot Camp at Weymouth to await being assigned a transport ship home. He remained here for the next few months.
On the 11th January 1918 William boarded the transport ship Port Darwin and set sail for home, reaching Albany on the 26th February 1918. William then caught the train north to Perth and was then medically assessed at No.8 Australian General Hospital in South Terrace Fremantle.
William was discharged from the AIF on the 1st April 1918.
He then returned home and set up residence in McKimmie Street Palmyra. Despite being blind in one eye, William secured work as a lorry driver.
William and May had more children, with Allenby George Clarke in 1918, unfortunate a daughter was stillborn in 1920, but then Ronald was born in 1921, followed by Alvalore in 1924, Beverley in 1926 and Marie in 1930.
In 1925 William was now working as a bricklayer and the family living at 67 Townsend road Subiaco. However in the early 1930's they moved back to Fremantle, setting up residence at 47 Attfield street Fremantle. William was working as a bricklayer and builder.
In the late 1940's the family moved to 16 Carnac Street Fremantle.
In the 1950's William and May moved to Cunderdin and lived there from 1958-1963
William died at Cunderdin on the 20th June 1963 and was buried in the local cemetery.