Glenroy, Clyde
2925 Sergeant Clyde Glenroy MM - 51st Battalion AIF
Clyde Glenroy was born on the 28th July 1894 to Royd and Esther Glenroy and he had an older sister Vera born in 1892. The family lived in McCleery Street Beaconsfield.
Sadly, his father died in 1898 in Fremantle and his mother remarried in 1899 to William Loftus, a baker from George Street East Fremantle. They then moved to Chester Park in Beaconsfield. Clyde had a half sister Nellie born in 1900.
His mother Esther then died in 1904 in Fremantle and Clyde was brought up by his step father. After leaving school Clyde also began a bakery apprenticeship with his step father. The family were then living at Fifth Avenue Beaconsfield.
During his school and apprenticeship years Clyde had served with the 86A Cadets of the Citizen Military Forces and also then the Fremantle Company of the 86th Infantry.
Clyde had enlisted early in the Great War and had been accepted for service but during training he fell ill while in the depot training company and was then discharged from service. After his health improved Clyde re-enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on the 18th February 1915. He was again accepted for service, with the medical examiner recording his physical attributes as;
Height - 5 feet 8 & 1/2 inches tall;
Weight - 133lbs;
Chest Measurement - 33-35 inches;
Complexion - Medium;
Eyes - Grey;
Hair - Light Brown.
After his successful enlistment Clyde was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was initially assigned to a Depot Training Company and was taken through the basics of infantry work. He was then assigned to the 5th Reinforcements to the 11th Battalion with the regimental number 1945. He trained with this group in WA for two months and then entrained for Fremantle Harbour where they boarded the transport ship HMAT Hororata on the 26th April 1915.
The ship then set sail for Egypt, arriving there in May 1915. Clyde was sent to the reinforcement camp but soon fell ill and was diagnosed with venereal disease. After treatment in Egypt, Clyde was returned to Australia on the 17th July 1915 aboard the hospital ship Kyarra.
After his return home Clyde had been sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where, after his health improved, he was now assigned to the 9th Reinforcements to the 11th Battalion AIF. He was now given a new regimental number 2925.
Clyde trained with this group for a few weeks when they received their embarkation orders. On the 5th October 1915 Clyde boarded the HMAT Hororata in Fremantle Harbour for the 2nd time) and set sail for Egypt, arriving at Suez at the end of the month.
Clyde was then marched into the reinforcement camp. The men would have been expecting to be sent onto Gallipoli. But with plans underway to evacuate that battlefield, Clyde and his reinforcement group were retained in Egypt.
The 11th Battalion returned to Egypt after the evacuation from Gallipoli and Clyde joined them on the 7th January 1916. He served with them in Egypt for the next two months. With the amount of reinforcements now in Egypt the decision had been made to expand the AIF from two divisions to five. The original 16 Battalions were thus split in half to help form the new Battalions.
The 11th Battalion was thus split in half, and the half Clyde was in went to form the new 51st Battalion AIF. On the 1st March 1916 Clyde was officially taken on strength of the new unit. He trained with the 51st Battalion for the next two months in the Egyptian desert.
On the 5th June 1916 the 51st Battalion left Egypt aboard the troopship Ivernia and set sail for France, arriving at Marseilles on the 12th June 1916. After reaching Marseilles the men were disembarked and sent north to the Armentieres sector. They would have their first experience in the trenches on the Western Front in this sector.
In early July 1916 in trenches near Estaires the 51st Battalion was on the end of a severe German bombardment which caused many casualties but it was just a taste of things that were to come. In late July 1916 Clyde and the 51st Battalion were sent to the Somme battlefield where they would take part in the actions around Pozieres and Mouquet Farm.
On the 16th August 1916 the 51st Battalion took part in an attack on the German lines near Mouquet Farm. Despite some men making it to the trenches, the attack did not succeed and the men had to withdraw. Clyde came through unscathed and also took part in another attack a fortnight later.
On the 3rd September 1916 the 51st Battalion attacked Mouquet Farm and managed to capture the farm for a short period, however with their flanks unsupported the Germans soon recaptured the Farm and the 51st battalion suffered heavy casualties. Clyde again came through the attack safely.
After this action the Battalion were sent to Ypres in Belgium for around six weeks before returning to the Somme in November 1916. On the 10th November Clyde was promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal and the following month to Corporal.
The 51st Battalion remained at Flers on the Somme battlefield through the 1916/17 French Winter. The conditions were horrendous with the freezing and muddy conditions but Clyde remained with his unit during these months.
In March 1917 the Germans began their withdrawal to a pre-prepared defensive position known as the Hindenburg Line. The Australians and British units pressed this withdrawal and several sharp actions were fought around what was known as the Outpost Villages. The 51st Battalion took part in the capture of Noreiul village on the 2nd April 1917. Casualties had been heavy but Clyde again came through unscathed.
The 51st Battalion were in reserve for the Bullecourt action of 11th April 1917 but remained in this sector for a few weeks. On the 30th April 1917 Clyde was sent to hospital ill but returned to his unit on the 17th May 1917.
In May 1917 the 4th Australian Division were sent to Belgium where they would take part in the Messines action which began on 6th June 1917. Large mines had been dug underneath the German front line and were exploded prior to the attack which helped the infantry capture their objectives.
However when the 51st Battalion came into action a few days later, the German resistance had stiffened around their reserve positions known as the Oostaverne line. Clyde again came through this action safely and he was soon promoted to the rank of Lance Sergeant.
The 51st Battalion remained in the Messines sector through to August 1917 and Clyde was now promoted to Sergeant. In September 1917 they were then sent to Ypres to take part in the current offensive taking place there. However on the 14th September 1917 Clyde was sent to Hospital ill and would take no part in the Ypres offensive.
He was sent to the 39th General Hospital at Le Havre suffering from scabies and was soon also diagnosed with venereal disease. He would remain in this hospital till the 16th November 1917. After his release Clyde was sent to the 4th Australian Division Base Depot for a few days and then rejoined the 51st Battalion on the 26th November 1917.
The 51st Battalion had spent November in Belgium, but in December were transferred to the vicinity of Peronne, where they had Christmas and New Year of 1917.
In 1918 the 51st Battalion as part of the 4th Division returned to Belgium where they went into the line not far from Ypres. They remained in this sector until late March 1918.
On the 21st March 1918 the Germans broke through the Third and Fifth British Armies to the south and were making quick time for Amiens. The 3rd and 4th Australian Divisions were the first two Australian units sent south to the Somme to combat this threat. While the 4th Brigade was posted to Hebuterne, the 12th and 13th Brigades continued on to Dernancourt where they came into contact with the advancing Germans.
In late March and early April 1918 the men of the 12th and 13th Brigades were severely tested by the Germans. On April 4th/5th the 51st Battalion were initially in reserve when the Germans launched their large assault on the Dernancourt sector but were eventually brought into the fight. Casualties were high on both sides, but the German assault was resisted, with only a small section of ground taken by them. The 13th Brigade was then relieved from this front and was sent south to near Villers-Bretonneux.
On April 25th 1918 the Germans launched another assault on Villers-Bretonneux and managed to push back the British troops who were then holding the village. This village was crucial to the defence of Amiens so a counter attack was called for, the responsibility for which was given to the 13th and 15th Brigades. The counter attack was successful, with both Brigades largely encircling the village.
The 51st had high casualties from German fire but the bravery of the soldiers won the day. Clyde was recommended for his bravery and would see him awarded the Military Medal. The official recommendation reads;
During a counter attack by his Battalion against strong enemy positions south of Villers-Bretonneux on night of 24/25 April 1918, this NCO, under very heavy machine gun fire, did splendid work in organising and leading the men of his platoon against strong enemy positions, forcing the enemy to retire, and inflicting numerous casualties. On reaching the final position, Sgt Glenroy, at great personal risk reconnoitred his front and flanks and finding his left exposed at once organised all the available men and formed a defensive flank. The courage and initiative of this NCO were most praiseworthy.'
Clyde remained with his unit till the 2nd June 1918. He was then sent to England and was assigned to the HQ of the AIF Depots in the UK. For the next six months Clyde attended various courses in England and was also assigned duties and the various bases. He was still in England when the Armistice was announced on November 11th 1918.
Clyde remained in England for the following year, still on duty with the AIF through 1919.
Clyde boarded the transport ship Port Napier on the 23rd December 1919 and set sail for home, reaching Fremantle on the 2nd February 1920. He was then discharged from the AIF on the 3rd May 1920.
In 1920 Clyde married Florence May Kent and they moved to Midland Junction where Clyde found employment with the WA Government Railways as a labourer in the Railway Workshops and then as a shunter.
He then tried farming at Tenindewa which is located between Geraldton and Mullewa.
Unfortunately Clyde died on the 19th June 1926 in Perth Hospital aged just 31. He was buried at Karrakatta Cemetery plot Anglican LA 0031.