102 Private William H.T. Clifford – Bindi Died of wounds 9 January 1916

….. gunshot wounds to the face and head

William was born in Longwarry in 1897 and his mother died when he was three and he his father, William remarried when he was nine years old. It is probably safe to assume that William fared for himself from a young age. In his youth he made his way to Bindi as a boundary rider and when war was declared he was probably attracted to the adventure and at just seventeen he enlisted at Swifts Creek on 13 February 1915. While he claimed to be nineteen, his father and stepmother’s sent their permission from Macedon for him. In May he sailed on the Euripides with the 23 rd  Battalion to Alexandria and then onto Gallipoli arriving there on 29 September. In the last weeks of the Gallipoli campaign, on 30 November, he received gunshot wounds to the face and head and was transferred to Alexandria. On 13 December he was reportedly “out of danger” but suffering from frostbite. One week later he is transferred to the hospital at Heliopolis in a serious state from sepsis and the frostbite. His family expressed concern that he may have been blinded but are thankful he is recovering when he dies on 9 January 1916 and was buried the next day in the Cairo British Cemetery. Two of his brothers, Edward and James, and step brother Victor, all served and returned home safely. In 1918 his name was placed on one of 224 oak trees planted in the Macedon Avenue of Honour. The plaques are now in storage, but the tree remains. We have been unable to locate a photograph of Private William Clifford, if you know of one, please make contact. Our group would appreciate your assistance.