Clifford Sadlier

Clifford Sadlier
Clifford William King Sadlier
Sadlier VC.jpg
Nickname Bill
Born 1892 (1892)
Camberwell, Victoria
Died 28 April 1964 (1964-04-29) (aged 71)
Busselton, Western Australia
Allegiance Australia Commonwealth of Australia
Service/branch Australian Army
Years of service 19151919
Rank Lieutenant (WWI)
Unit 51st Battalion (Australia)
Battles/wars

First World War

Awards Victoria Cross
Convalescing in England 1918
Promoted to Lieutenant
April 1918

Clifford William King Sadlier VC (189228 April 1964) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Contents

Early life and war service

Born in the Melbourne suburb of Camberwell Sadlier attended University High School before his family moved to Western Australia while he was still a youth. They settled at Subiaco, Western Australia from where Sadlier, then employed as a commercial traveller, enlisted on 26 May 1915.

Sadlier first embarked on board HT Nestor, posted to the Australian Army Medical Corps and allotted as a reinforcement to 1st Australian General Hospital, with which he served at Heliopolis. In February 1916 he returned to Australia on nursing duty, and on 9 November he re-embarked, on board HMAT AT Argyllshire then as a reinforcement to 51st Battalion.

The 51st Battalion, Australian Imperial Force was raised at Tel-El-Kabir, Egypt, on 1 March 1916 from half of the 11th Battalion (veterans of the Gallipoli landing) and reinforcements of the 11th and 28th Battalions, all personnel being Western Australian volunteers. Sadlier joined the unit in France on 13 May 1917, was promoted to corporal a few days later and on 14 July 1917 was gazetted to a first appointment as a 2nd-lieutenant. Promotion to lieutenant came on 1 April 1918

Victoria Cross citation

He was 26 years old, and a Lieutenant in the 51st Battalion, Australian Imperial Force during the First World War when the following deed took place during the Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux for which he was awarded the VC.

War Office, 11th July, 1918.

His Majesty the KING has been graciously pleased to approve of the award of the Victoria Cross to the undermentioned Officers and Non-Commissioned Officer:

[...]

On 24/25 April 1918 at Villers-Bretonneux, France, Lieutenant Sadlier's platoon had to advance through a wood where a strong enemy machine-gun post was causing casualties and preventing the advance. Although he was himself wounded, Lieutenant Sadlier at once collected his bombing section and led them against the machine-guns, killing the crews and capturing two of the guns. By this time his party were all casualties and alone he attacked a third enemy machine-gun with his revolver, killing the crew and taking the gun. In doing so, he was again wounded.The very gallant conduct of this officer was the means of clearing the flank, and allowing the battalion to move forward, thereby saving a most critical situation. His coolness and utter disregard of danger inspired all.


Later life

Sadlier was invalided to Australia on 24 August 1918 and was discharged on 4 March 1919.[1] He returned to Western Australia living at Busselton and for some years was State Secretary of the Returned and Services League of Australia.

He married Alice Edith Smart on 17 July 1936. From then until 1949 he was a clerk in the Repatriation Department in Perth. He went to London in 1956 for the Victoria Cross Centenary celebrations.

He died in Busselton on 28 April 1964 and his ashes were interred at Karrakatta Cemetery Perth. In 1980, his widow donated his medals to St. George's Cathederal, and they are on display in the Soldiers' Chapel.[2] The Clifford Sadlier Ward at the former Repatriation General Hospital, Hollywood is named in his honour.

Honours and awards

Medals on display in St Georges Cathederal, Perth Western Australia
Ribbon Description
Ribbon of the Victoria Cross Victoria Cross (VC)[3]
1914-15 Star ribbon.jpg 1914-15 Star
Ribbon for British War Medal British War Medal[3]
Ribbon for Victory Medal Victory Medal[3]
GeorgeVICoronationRibbon.png King George VI Coronation Medal
ElizabethIICoronationRibbon.png Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal

Sources

References

Footnotes

  1. ^ Diggers History
  2. ^ "A History and Detailed Guide to St George's Cathederal", Revised 2007, pp.10&14, retrieved 2010-09-29.
  3. ^ a b c Clifford Sadlier at the AIF Project, ADFA. Retrieved on 3 August 2009.

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Clifford William King Sadlier — VC (1892 28 April 1964) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.He was approx. 26 years old, and a… …   Wikipedia

  • Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux — The Second Battle of Villers Bretonneux came during the period of the battle of Lys, but was launched against the British lines in front of Amiens. The Germans developed a small number of tanks, and used them in this offensive. 13 of their A7V… …   Wikipedia

  • Liste de zoologistes — Attention, il n est pas d usage en zoologie d utiliser d abréviation pour les noms des auteurs (contrairement aux usages de la botanique, voir ici). Cette liste ne constitue pas une liste officielle. Nous attirons l attention du lecteur sur son… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Livingstone County, New South Wales — Map of all coordinates from Google Map of all coordinates from Bing Export all coordinates as KML …   Wikipedia

  • Liste De Zoologistes —  Attention, il n est pas d usage en zoologie d utiliser d abréviation pour les noms des auteurs (contrairement aux usages de la botanique, voir ici). Cette liste ne constitue pas une liste officielle. Nous attirons l attention du lecteur sur …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Liste de zoologiste — Liste de zoologistes  Attention, il n est pas d usage en zoologie d utiliser d abréviation pour les noms des auteurs (contrairement aux usages de la botanique, voir ici). Cette liste ne constitue pas une liste officielle. Nous attirons l… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Liste des zoologistes par leur abréviation d'auteur — Liste de zoologistes  Attention, il n est pas d usage en zoologie d utiliser d abréviation pour les noms des auteurs (contrairement aux usages de la botanique, voir ici). Cette liste ne constitue pas une liste officielle. Nous attirons l… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Cree Summer — Birth name Cree Summer Francks Born July 7, 1969 (1969 07 07) (age 42) Los Angeles, California, U.S. Genres Rock, alternative …   Wikipedia

  • Fernando Pessoa — Photo by Victoriano Braga (1914) Born Fernando António Nogueira de Seabra Pessoa June 13, 1888(1888 06 13) Lisbon, Portugal Died …   Wikipedia

  • Daniel O'Connell — For other people named Daniel O Connell, see Daniel O Connell (disambiguation). Daniel O Connell Dónal Ó Conaill Daniel O Connell, 1836 – by Bernard Mulrenin MP for Clare …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
https://en-academic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/11553485 Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”