The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (1352) Sergeant Claud Charles Castleton VC 5th Machine Gun Company, AIF, First World War.

The Last Post Ceremony is presented in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial each day. The ceremony commemorates more than 102,000 Australians who have given their lives in war and other operations and whose names are recorded on the Roll of Honour. At each ceremony the story behind one of the names on the Roll of Honour is told. Hosted by Troy Clayton, the story for this day was on (1352) Sergeant Claud Charles Castleton VC 5th Machine Gun Company, AIF, First World War.

1352 Sergeant Claud Charles Castleton VC 5th Machine Gun Company, AIF
KIA 29 July 1916
Photograph: H06769

Story delivered 21 October 2016

Today we remember and pay tribute to Sergeant Claud Charles Castleton.

Claud Castleton was born on 12 April 1893 to Thomas Charles and Edith Lucy Castleton at Kirkley, Lowestoft, in Suffolk, England. He grew up in Kirkley and attended Moreton Road Council School. He won a scholarship to attend Kirkley Grammar School and after completing his studies became a student-teacher at Moreton Road Council School.

Castleton immigrated to Australia in 1912 at the age of 19. After landing in Melbourne, he travelled and worked from Tasmania through the eastern states of Australia and on to the territory of Papua. He was working in Port Moresby when the First World War began and immediately offered his services to the local administration. He worked with local troops to construct coastal defences as well as working at the Moresby wireless station.

In March 1915 Castleton returned to Australia, landing in Sydney. He enlisted in the AIF on 11 March, joining the newly formed 18th Battalion. After a brief period of training, he embarked from Sydney aboard the transport ship Ceramic.

Following a brief stop in Egypt, Castleton landed on Gallipoli with the 18th Battalion in mid-August. The next day the battalion was committed to the attack on Hill 60. Half of the 18th Battalion were casualties, but Castleton was unhurt.

In September Castleton was evacuated from Gallipoli with dysentery. He returned with the rank of corporal in early December but left a few weeks later as part of the allied withdrawal. Back in Egypt he was hospitalised again, this time with malaria. After recovering, he was promoted to temporary sergeant and transferred to the 5th Machine Gun Company as part of the expansion of the AIF. He was promoted to sergeant before embarking for France in mid-March.

On arriving in Marseilles, Castleton’s unit, as part of the 5th Brigade, was sent north to quieter sector at Armentières, where new troops went to acclimatise to military operations on the Western Front.

The 5th Machine Gun Company went into action for the first time during the battle of Pozières. On 29 July the brigade was involved in an attack on the German OG 1 trenches. The infantry was quickly spotted by the Germans, who unleashed a heavy machine-gun and artillery barrage. The advance was quickly brought to a standstill and the survivors became pinned down. Many wounded men were trapped in no man’s land for over three hours.

Though still under intense enemy fire, Castleton went out into no man’s land to bring in the wounded men. On his third trip he was hit in the back and killed instantly. He was 23 years old.

Castleton’s body was recovered and he was buried in the Pozières British Cemetery. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions.

Castleton’s name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, along with more than 60,000 others from the First World War. His photograph is on display beside the Pool of Reflection.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Sergeant Claud Charles Castleton, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Michael Kelly
Historian, Military History Section