Claud Castleton
Claud Charles Castleton | |
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First World War
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Awards | Victoria Cross |
Claud Charles Castleton, VC (12 April 1893 – 29 July 1916) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Early life
Claud Castleton was born in
First World War
In March 1915 Castleton returned to Sydney and enlisted in the
On the night of the 28/29 July 1916 near
No Man's Land" lying in shell holes. Sergeant Castleton went out twice in the face of this intense fire, and each time brought in a wounded man on his back. He went out a third time and was bringing in another wounded man when he was himself hit in the back and killed instantly.[2]
Castleton is buried at Pozières British Military Cemetery, Somme, France, 3 miles NE of Albert (Plot IV, Row L, Grave 43).[3] The inscription on his gravestone reads: A NOBLE LIFE LAID DOWN FOR FREEDOM WE SHALL MEET OUR LOVED ONE AGAIN.[3]
Legacy
Castleton's Victoria Cross is displayed at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. Castleton Crescent in the Canberra suburb of Gowrie was named in his honour.[4] There is a brass plaque to him at the former South Cliff Congregational Church, now St Nicholas's Catholic Church, in south Lowestoft.[5]
Notes
- ^ Wigmore 1986, p. 48.
- ^ "No. 29765". The London Gazette (Supplement). 22 June 1915. p. 9418.
- ^ a b "Casualty Details: Castleton, Claud Charles". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
- ^ Castleton Crescent, ACT placenames, www.actpla.act.gov.au
- ^ [1] Suffolk Churches site
References
- Wigmore, Lionel (1986). They Dared Mightily (Second ed.). Canberra: Australian War Memorial. ISBN 0-642-99471-4.
Further reading
- In Search of Claud, Steve Snelling, Eastern Daily Press, Saturday, 1 July 2006. Sunday supplement p10–11.
External links
- J. K. Haken, 'Castleton, Claud Charles (1893–1916)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 7, Melbourne University Press, 1979, p. 589.
- Claude Charles CASTLETON, The AIF Project, www.aif.adfa.edu.au
- Victoria Cross : Sergeant Claud Charles Castleton, AWM Collection Record: REL/18262
- Sergeant Claud Charles Castleton, www.anzacday.org.au
- "Claud Charles Castleton – Discovering Anzacs". National Archives of Australia.