Clarence L Liddle

[Nathan O'Malley]

Saw this little topic here & thought I'd share the research I've been doing on my Great Grandfather Clarence Liddle seems my CMP is dressed up as a member of his last unit.

[Nathan O'Malley]

Clarence first enlisted in 1939 as a member of the 18th Light Horse Machine Gun Regiment a militia regiment better known as the Adelaide Lancers.

we know very little about his time spent with the Lancers as our only record of his service with them is his discharge in 1940 when he was poached by 6 Army Troops Company Royal Australian Engineers, He was a qualified electrician and 6 AT Coy was having a horrible time trying to recruit tradesmen.

This poaching probably saved his life, The 18th Light Horse wasn't destined for overseas service despite the regiment training extensively for it so its OC & the vast majority of its members either joined or formed the 2/3rd Machine Gun Battalion this unit served in the Middle East however was recalled to Java when the Japanese entered the war making up part of Blackforce in the doomed defense of Java with only one of its four companies escaping capture 139 members of the 2/3rd died as Japanese POW's

Below is a link to a compilation of films taken of the 18th Light Horse in 1940
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtHZcVKfpcw

[Nathan O'Malley]

From 1940 onward Clarence served as an engineer putting his electrical trade skills to good use.

6th & 10th Army Troops were both managed by a Leftenant Colonel Tolley from Keswick Barracks Adelaide South Australia.

The 10th received orders to move to Alice Springs on the 11th of February 1942 8 days before the bombing of Darwin with no weapons, ammunition or motor transport they didn't even have tents or the tools they actually needed to do their jobs.

The 6th stayed in Adelaide working at Fort Largs, Woodside Army Camp, Loveday POW Camp, Arthurs Seat, The Bird in Hand Mine and many more places in Adelaide & surrounding areas building & maintaining military infrastructure.

The 6th would eventually move to Alice Springs in late 1942 & Clarence Liddle along with them lighting the flame of his hatred for the Army & the Northern Territory until the day he died, once threatening my grandfather with disownership if he moved there

Much is recorded about the 6th's time in the Northern Territory however Clarence actually spent only a few months with them there until he was put up for promotion to Staff Sergeant and returned to 4th Military District Headquarters at Keswick Barracks.

Below is attached is several images of 6 AT Coy installing anti torpedo nets in the Manton Dam Reservoir to protect Darwin's water supply from Japanese bombing.

Along with an image of members of 6 AT unloading a motor for a dough mixer.

[Nathan O'Malley]

Clarence served with Headquarters 4th Military District as a Staff Sergeant until August of 1944 when he was enlisted by the AIF and employed as the foreman of works for the 63rd Deputy Commander Royal Engineers.

The 63rd was responsible for the area of Katherine to Larrimah and spent much of their time making sure the RAAF ice machines were in full working order at the various airfields in the area one can only imagine how the war would have gone at this point if the RAAF didn't have ice for their Whiskey!

Manbulloo Abattoir caused significant grief in this period too with their Blackstone engines running the freezer plant constantly playing up with the 63rd spending months trying to repair them eventually replacing them with Deutz engines that had to be flown in by the Americans from Adelaide only for Headquarters to tell them not to worry about installing them as the war is nearly over.

Clarence stayed with the 63rd until May of 1945 before being transferred to the 105th Field Hospital in Sydney for an operation on his shoulder which had been dislocating itself this was a preexisting injury he'd sustained falling down an elevator shaft as an apprentice in Adelaide and had prevented his Enlistment in the AIF at the outbreak of the War. He cursed the army for this operation as apparently they made it worse

[maple_leaf_eh]

That is a nice looking cap badge.