09/04/2026
Many brave men and women from the Clifton district took part in World War 1. The only woman I could find mentioned, I'm sure there would have been more, was Elizabeth Kenny and as I did a story on her previously, I won't repeat it again. Like with the Boer War article I will limit this one to three men, chosen randomly.
VICTOR DENTON was the youngest son of Thomas and Alice Denton, and he was born on the 14th of August 1894 at Nobby. He attended King's Creek School and later the Rockfield School. Victor was working as Nobby's blacksmith at the time of Britain's declaration of war against Germany and soon after his 20th birthday he enlisted.
Victor joined the 2nd Light Horse Regiment with the rank of Private. He underwent training at Enoggera and later embarked from Sydney on the 20th of December 1914 on HMAT Boorara and arrived in Colombo, Sri Lanka on the 13th of January 1915. Shortly after that they arrived in Egypt where his brigade undertook further training. The 2nd Light Horse at the time was under the command of Brigadier General Harry Chauvel.
They arrived for service on the Gallipoli Peninsula, without their horses, on the 12th of May 1915. The landed on Gaba Tepe, a small but crowded pebble beach with clouds of shrapnel coming down. They mainly fought around ANZAC Cove and the ferocious defense of Quinn's Post.
On the 31st of May 1915 while fighting in Monash Valley, Victor was shot in the chest and died the same day; he lasted 27 days on the bloody ridges of Gallipoli. Victor was buried on the slopes of the Beach Cemetery overlooking ANZAC Cove.
The residents of Nobby subscribed to a fund to build a memorial to their local hero. This memorial is believed to be the first World War 1 memorial erected in Queensland and is also unusual in that it was erected to commemorate the death of one man. Victor was eligible for the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.
PATRICK DARCY was the son of James and Ellen Darcy and was born on the 15th September 1894 and had nine siblings. He was educated at West Haldon State School. Patrick worked for the Clifton Butcher as a slaughterman. Prior to enlisting, he had spent two years in the 3rd Light Horse Battalion at Clifton. He enlisted, at the age of 21, on the 13th of December 1915. He was assigned to the 42nd Battalion, C Company.
On the 20th of March 1916, his musketry register for range practice shows that Patrick failed at shooting so was detailed to fatigue duty. He embarked with his unit in Sydney on HMAT Borda on the 5th of June 1916. He was admitted to hospital on board with influenza and tonsillitis. He disembarked seven weeks later in Southampton on the 23rd of July 1916. Although his rank was a Private on enlistment, he embarked as a Driver. In World War 1, this meant he drove horse drawn transports and was in charge of a team of horses. On the 11th of August, Patrick was under the care of a doctor, once again with influenza.
Patrick proceeded overseas to France on the 25th of November 1916 but the battalion didn't go to the front line until the 23rd of December. The winter of 1916-17 was horrible due to rain, mud and the cold. Patrick got sick and was admitted to hospital on the 15th of December 1916 but was discharged on the 18th and went with his battalion into the trenches on the 23rd of December 1916. In 1917, the battalion served in the Ypres section in Belgium. On the 7th of June, the battalion was involved in the successful action, the Battle of Messines.
Patrick was wounded on the 23rd of July and transferred to Bailleul, France where he died the very next day. He died because of his severe injuries which consisted of multiple gunshot wounds to his thigh and chin as well as his right hand was blown off. He was buried in the cemetery in Steenwerch, France. He was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal
HERBERT HORTON was the son of Frederick and Isabella Horton and was born on the 8th of February 1892 in Clifton. He went by the name Bert. He enlisted on the 3rd of November 1915 aged 23 and married Gertrude Hall on the 15th of November 1915. Bert had previously served 2.5 years in the Darling Downs unit of the Australian Light Horse.
Bert joined the 7th Infantry Brigade and embarked in Sydney on the 31st of March 1916 on board HMAT Star of Victoria and sailed to Marseilles, France via Egypt. He joined the 25th Battalion on the 16th of July 1916, in time to take part in the battalion's first battle at Pozieres between the 28th of July and the 7th of August, an action in which it suffered very high casualties - 785 men.
On the 10th of December 1916 Bert was admitted to hospital suffering from a fever of unknown origin and was discharged three months later on the 5th of February 1917. Bert got the mumps on the 20th of March and was sent back to his unit on the 22nd of April. Bert returned to hospital on the 29th of May suffering from trench fever and was sent to England to recover. He didn't return to his unit till the 18th of November 1917. During the Villers Bretonnex battle he was wondered and again hospitalised. On the 2nd of October 1918 he was discharged from hospital.
On the 2nd of January 1919 Bert sailed for Australia on the Karmala and was discharged from the army in Brisbane on the 11th of April 1919. He was eligible for the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. Later that year Bert moved to Buranda in Brisbane and became a French Polisher in the furniture trade. Bert passed away on the 22nd of August 1979.
I hope you all found this week's article interesting, I found it difficult to limit to three brave souls out all the people that took part in World War 1. I can see that World War 2 is going to be equally hard and I'm determined to include at least one woman in my group of 3.
If you want to see more of the veterans from World War 1 why don't you call into the Clifton Museum and check out our Veterans Room. The museum is open on Friday to Monday from 10am through to 2pm though allow a lot of time so you don't rush yourself and thus miss things. The admission charge is $5.00 per adult and kids are welcome but must be accompanied by an adult. If you are looking for research on families check with someone from our research department, there is a minor charge involved with this. Peter
