Clive Steele

Clive Steele
Sir Clive Selwyn Steele
Clive Steele 001900.jpg
Brigadier Clive Steele
Born 30 September 1892(1892-09-30)
Canterbury, Melbourne
Died 5 August 1955(1955-08-05) (aged 62)
Heidelberg, Melbourne
Allegiance  Australia
Service/branch Australian Army
Years of service 1915–1946
Rank Major General
Commands held 14th Battalion
4th Divisional Engineers
Battles/wars World War I
World War II
Awards Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Distinguished Service Order
Military Cross
Volunteer Decoration
Mentioned in Despatches (2)
War Cross (Greece)

Major General Sir Clive Selwyn Steele KBE, DSO, MC, VD (30 September 1892 – 5 August 1955) was an engineer and a senior officer of the Australian Army who served in both World War I and World War II. He was instrumental in the expansion of the Royal Australian Engineers in preparation for the war against Japan.

Contents

Early life

Born on 30 September 1892 at Canterbury, Melbourne the son of Herbert Selwyn Steele and Alice Lydia née Sinclair, Clive was educated at Scotch College (prefect and captain of boats, 1910), and the University of Melbourne (B.C.E. 1919). He joined the Militia in 1912.[1]

World War I

Appointed as a second lieutenant in the Royal Australian Engineers, Australian Imperial Force on 8 October 1915, he sailed for Egypt in November with the 5th Field Company. Arriving on the Western Front in March 1916, he was promoted to captain in September. While on recreation leave he married Amie Osland Bilson on 6 January 1917 at West Brompton, London. During actions around Péronne, France in August 1918, he commanded a unit undertaking repairs to bridges while under artillery and machine-gun fire. On the 31 August he undertook reconnaissance 200 yards [183 metres] in front of the Australian lines, providing details of the state of bridges across the River Somme and the Somme Canal. For this action he was awarded the Military Cross. He was promoted to major in October. Arriving back in Australia he was discharged on 1 August 1919.[1]

Interwar

Finishing his engineering degree at Melbourne University in 1919, he gained employment with Australian Reinforced Concrete & Engineering Co. until 1921 and then with James Hardie & Co. Pty Ltd from 1921 to 1923. Setting up private practice in 1924 as a consulting engineer, he designed and supervised structural works including the State Savings Bank of Victoria building in Melbourne, the members' stand at Flemington Racecourse, the National Mutual Life Association of Australasia Ltd building in Brisbane, Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney and the Melbourne Town Hall.[1] From 1919 he had continued to serve in the Militia. In 1926 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and appointed to command the 4th Divisional Engineers (1926–1931) and the 14th Battalion (1933–1939).

World War II

With the outbreak of World War II he was seconded to the Second Australian Imperial Force on 13 October 1939 as the commander of the 6th Divisional Engineers. He was promoted to temporary brigadier and appointed chief engineer of I Corps in April 1940. He sailed for the Middle East in September and during the Greek campaign in April 1941, he was chief engineer of the Anzac Corps. During the withdrawal at Farsala on 18 April, despite attacks by German aircraft, he organised the filling of a bomb crater in the road which was impeding the withdrawal of the allied forces. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and the Greek War Cross, and was twice Mentioned in Despatches for his service in the Middle East.[1]

Transported to Java, Netherlands East Indies in January 1942, he was then sent to Sumatra on 14 February, where he helped organise the evacuation of allied troops from Oosthaven. He returned to Australia in March, and in April was promoted to temporary major general and appointed engineer-in-chief at Land Headquarters, Melbourne.[1]

In preparation for the was against Japan, he established the R.A.E. Training Centre at Kapooka, New South Wales and increased the size of the School of Military Engineering at Liverpool, which trained sappers who disarmed mines, demolished obstacles, provided water supplies and other services to military camps, cut and milled timber, built huts, roads, bridges, railways, airfields and wharves, and operated the army's water-transport vessels. With the reorganization of Land Headquarters in October 1943, fortifications, works, engineer stores and transport were added to Steele's responsibilities. On 12 March 1946 he transferred to the Reserve of Officers.[1]

Later life

Steele had been awarded the W. C. Kernot medal for 1944 by the University of Melbourne. He was active in the Institution of Engineers, Australia and was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in 1953.[1]

He died of myocardial infarction on 5 August 1955 at the Repatriation General Hospital, Heidelberg and was cremated. He was survived by his wife; the couple were childless.[1] Steele Barracks, the current home of the School of Military Engineering, is named in Sir Clive Steele's honour.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Darryl Bennet, 'Steele, Sir Clive Selwyn (1892 - 1955)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 16, Melbourne University Press, 2002, pp 296-297. Bennet, pp. 296-297.

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Clive Allen — Personal information Full name Clive Darren Allen …   Wikipedia

  • Clive Charles — Personal information Full name Clive Michael Charles Date of birth October 3, 1951( …   Wikipedia

  • Clive Rees — Full name Clive Frederick William Rees Date of birth 6 October 1951(1951 10 06) Place of birth Singapore Height 175 cm (5 ft 9 in) Weight 74 kg (11 st 9 lb) School L …   Wikipedia

  • Clive Revill — Born Clive Selsby Revill 18 April 1930 (1930 04 18) (age 81) Wellington, New Zealand Occupation Character actor Clive Selsby Revill (born 18 April 1930) is a New Zealand born British charact …   Wikipedia

  • Clive Revill — est un acteur néo zélandais né le 18 avril 1930 à Wellington (Nouvelle Zélande). Sommaire 1 Biographie 2 Cinéma 3 Télévision 4 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Clive Allen — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Allen. Clive Allen …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Edmund Herring — ] For his service as a battery commander, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order.GreeceIn the campaign in Greece, his Australian, New Zealand and British gunners demonstrated the extent to which, in such rugged country, artillery, with… …   Wikipedia

  • List of Old Scotch Collegians — Old Scotch Collegians Association Logo This is a list of Old Scotch Collegians, who are notable former students of Scotch College in Melbourne …   Wikipedia

  • Harry Chauvel — Sir Harry Chauvel Sir Harry Chauvel 1919 portrait by James Peter Quinn (1870–1951) …   Wikipedia

  • George Alan Vasey — Infobox Military Person name= George Alan Vasey lived= 29 March 1895 – 5 March 1945 placeofbirth= Malvern East, Victoria placeofdeath= near Cairns, Queensland caption= Portrait of Major General George Vasey by A. M. E. Bale nickname= Bloody… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”