Clive Stanley Crowley DCM (2 August 1890 – 25 June 1918) was an Australian grazier and soldier who was killed during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Letters between Crowley and his mother were part of the historical material that inspired the

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

of ''An Australian War Requiem''.

Family

Crowley was one of eight children born to Alice (née Bridger 1859–1949) and John Crowley (1847–1925) of Cobbadah station near

Barraba, New South Wales Barraba is a town in the New England region of northern New South Wales, Australia. It was formerly the centre of Barraba Shire local government area, but most of this, including Barraba, was absorbed into Tamworth Regional Council in 2004. On ...

. His siblings were: Mabel (1880–1946); Arley (1882–1959); Royce (1884–1963); Audrey (1886–1943); Mildred (1888–1964); Frank (1892–1937); and Keith (1902–1974). The Crowley family were wealthy

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

graziers who had pioneered European settlement in north-western New South Wales. They traced their Australian origins to John Crowley, who arrived as a

convict A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convict ...

in 1803. He was transported for life for stealing a sheep and his son, Clive's grandfather, settled at Cobbadah. The station was in the

Nandewar Range The Nandewar Range, a mountain range that is part of the Great Dividing Range, is located in the North West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia. The range is situated approximately east of the township of Narrabri. John Oxley was the ...

, north of Tamworth. Clive was a first cousin, on both the maternal and paternal lines, of the early modern artist Grace Crowley. Both their mothers and fathers were siblings.

Education

Members of the extended Crowley family, siblings and cousins, were educated at Cobbadah in a conventional manner by a governess. The children then went to boarding schools in Sydney. In 1905 Crowley and a younger brother, Frank, were enrolled at

Newington College , motto_translation = To Faith Add Knowledge , location = Inner West and Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = A ...

. His older brothers, Arley and Royce had already been students at Newington and the youngest boy, Keith, started there in the year after Clive's death. At Newington, Crowley studied on the Modern side and left school at the end of 1906 with a favourable record. ''The Newingtonian'' at the time of his death said: "he was one of three brothers who came to the School, while a large number of cousins from other families made the name a very familiar one. Brought up on a station, he lived the life of outdoor activity that has given the Australian Army so many of its alert and competent soldiers."

First World War

On enlistment, Crowley was a

lance corporal Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal, and is typically the lowest non-commissioned officer (NCO), usually equi ...

in B Company of the 33rd Battalion. He embarked from

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, New South Wales, on board HMAT A74 ''Marathon'' on 4 May 1916. During service he was commissioned as a lieutenant. Crowley was awarded the

Distinguished Conduct Medal The Distinguished Conduct Medal was a decoration established in 1854 by Queen Victoria for gallantry in the field by other ranks of the British Army. It is the oldest British award for gallantry and was a second level military decoration, ranki ...

for his actions on 14 June 1917 at the Battle of Messines for "conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty when in command of his platoons. He organized the consolidation and captured an advanced post and a field gun with great dash, afterwards holding the captured post under heavy shell fire and keeping his men well in hand by his cheerfulness and optimism."

Death

Crowley was badly gassed at the

Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux The Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux (also Actions of Villers-Bretonneux, after the First Battles of the Somme, 1918) took place from 24 to 27 April 1918, during the German spring offensive to the east of Amiens. It is notable for being the ...

and died of wounds. He is buried at Longueau British Cemetery in France. Crowley is commemorated by a brass plaque in the Newington College Chapel, on the school's First World War honour board and on the Barraba and District War Memorial.

An Australian War Requiem

The centenary of the commencement of the First World War was marked by the Sydney University Graduate Choir who commissioned composer Christopher Bowen and librettist Pamela Traynor to write an Australian war requiem. The work incorporates elements of the

Stabat Mater The Stabat Mater is a 13th-century Christian hymn to Mary, which portrays her suffering as Jesus Christ's mother during his crucifixion. Its author may be either the Franciscan friar Jacopone da Todi or Pope Innocent III.Sabatier, Paul ''Life o ...

. Letters written by Crowley and his mother to each other have inspired the composition of the libretto. Traynor has said when asked what was the most poignant and enduring image evoked by these letters: "I still get very upset when I think about it. It’s a small part of the libretto, towards the end—a pastor has written about this young soldier who’d been out in the battle and is attacked by gas. The last words of this young man that were witnessed as he walked off the front line were ‘I’m done. Get your gas helmets on, boys’. And that will forever stay in my memory because I knew him, it was so real to me. That soldier was young Clive Crowley. I had come to know him through the heartfelt letters his mother Alice had written to him. Clive didn't ever recover, he died. It upset me greatly." With a 250 voice choir, five soloists and a full orchestra, ''An Australian War Requiem'' premiered at the

Sydney Town Hall The Sydney Town Hall is a late 19th-century heritage-listed town hall building in the city of Sydney, the capital city of New South Wales, Australia, housing the chambers of the Lord Mayor of Sydney, council offices, and venues for meetings and ...

in August 2014.An Australian War Requiem
Retrieved 8 August 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crowley, Clive Stanley 1890 births 1918 deaths People educated at Newington College Australian Army officers Australian recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal Australian military personnel killed in World War I Burials at Longueau British Cemetery