Clarence CAHILL

Regimental number4759
Place of birthAlbany, Western Australia
Other NamesCAHILL, Clarence
ReligionRoman Catholic
OccupationLabourer
AddressCoolgardie Street, West Perth, Western Australia
Marital statusSingle
Age at embarkation18
Height5' 8"
Weight127 lbs
Next of kinAunt, Mrs C. Locke, 3 Coolgardie Street, West Perth, Western Australia
Previous military service87b Regiment
Enlistment date23 December 1915
Date of enlistment from Nominal Roll22 December 1915
Place of enlistmentPerth, Western Australia
Rank on enlistmentPrivate
Unit name11th Battalion, 15th Reinforcement
AWM Embarkation Roll number23/28/4
Embarkation detailsUnit embarked from Fremantle, Western Australia, on board HMAT A38 Ulysses on 1 April 1916
Rank from Nominal RollPrivate
Unit from Nominal Roll51st Battalion
Other details from Roll of Honour CircularEnlisted 22 December 1915 and posted to 11th Bn 15th Reinforcements; taken on strength 51st Bn 23 July 1916.
FateKilled in Action 15 August 1916
Miscellaneous details (Nominal Roll)*Spelt Clarence Cahill on NR
Place of death or woundingPozieres, Somme Sector, France
Age at death19
Place of burialNo known grave
Commemoration detailsAustralian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, France

Villers-Bretonneux is a village about 15 km east of Amiens. The Memorial stands on the high ground ('Hill 104') behind the Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery, Fouilloy, which is about 2 km north of Villers-Bretonneux on the east side of the road to Fouilloy.

The Australian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux is approached through the Military Cemetery, at the end of which is an open grass lawn which leads into a three-sided court. The two pavilions on the left and right are linked by the north and south walls to the back (east) wall, from which rises the focal point of the Memorial, a 105 foot tall tower, of fine ashlar. A staircase leads to an observation platform, 64 feet above the ground, from which further staircases lead to an observation room. This room contains a circular stone tablet with bronze pointers indicating the Somme villages whose names have become synonymous with battles of the Great War; other battle fields in France and Belgium in which Australians fought; and far beyond, Gallipoli and Canberra.

On the three walls, which are faced with Portland stone, are the names of 10,885 Australians who were killed in France and who have no known grave. The 'blocking course' above them bears the names of the Australian Battle Honours.

After the war an appeal in Australia raised £22,700, of which £12,500 came from Victorian school children, with the request that the majority of the funds be used to build a new school in Villers-Bretonneux. The boys' school opened in May 1927, and contains an inscription stating that the school was the gift of Victorian schoolchildren, twelve hundred of whose fathers are buried in the Villers-Bretonneux cemetery, with the names of many more recorded on the Memorial. Villers-Bretonneux is now twinned with Robinvale, Victoria, which has in its main square a memorial to the links between the two towns.

Panel number, Roll of Honour,
  Australian War Memorial
152
Other details

War service: Western Front

Marched into 3rd Training Bn, Egypt, 25 April 1916.

Found guilty, 29 April 1916, of (1) being in Alexandria without a pass; (2) breaking ship: awarded 7 days' confined to camp.

Found guilty, 18 May 1916, of being absent from 0600 hours, and 0930 hours parade: awarded 7 days' confined to camp.

Found guilty, Tel el Kebir, 28 May 1916, of being absent without leave from reveille, until 1730 hours, 28 May 1916: awarded 28 days' Field Punishment No 2 and forfeits 1 day's pay by Royal Warrant.

Embarked Alexandria to join the British Expeditionary Force, 7 June 1916; disembarked Marseilles, France, 14 June 1916.

Taken on strength of 4th Australian Divisional Base Depot, Etaples, no date stated.

Found guilty, 2 July 1916, of (1) of being absent from 0600 hours parade; (2) being absent from Church Parade: award, admonished.

Taken on strength of 51st Bn, 23 July 1916.

Posted as missing in action, 15 August 1916.

Court of Enquiry, 23 April 1917, pronounced fate as 'Killed in Action, 15 August 1916'.

Medals: British War Medal, Victory Medal
Miscellaneous detailsGiven name incorrectly entered on Embarkation Roll as Clance.
SourcesNAA: B2455, CAHILL Clarence