Claud Charles Castleton, VC (12 April 1893 – 29 July 1916) was an Australian recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Early life

Claud Castleton was born in

Kirkley Kirkley is a district within the town of Lowestoft in the East Suffolk district of the English county of Suffolk. It is located south of the centre of Lowestoft and the town's harbour and Lake Lothing. Kirkley was originally an independent vill ...

, Lowestoft, England. Educated at a council school, he won a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...

to the

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

. In 1912 he set off on a long adventure, stopping first at

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia. He worked in various parts of Australia before heading to

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

, intending to earn funds for the return journey to England via New Zealand, India and Africa. Matters changed with the outbreak of 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 ...

; he joined the Australian force formed in New Guinea for the defence of the area in the face of German warship activities.

First World War

In March 1915 Castleton returned to Sydney and enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force. He subsequently served at Gallipoli, where he earned promotion. He later transferred to the

Australian Machine Gun Corps The Australian Machine Gun Corps was a corps of the Australian Army which was formed for service during World War I. It was established in early 1916 as part of a reorganisation of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) in Egypt as preparations were ...

. He was 23 years old, and a sergeant in the 5th Machine Gun Company, 5th Brigade, 2nd Division when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. Castleton is buried at Pozières British Military Cemetery, Somme, France, 3 miles NE of Albert (Plot IV, Row L, Grave 43). The inscription on his gravestone reads: A NOBLE LIFE LAID DOWN FOR FREEDOM WE SHALL MEET OUR LOVED ONE AGAIN.

Legacy

Castleton's Victoria Cross is displayed at the Australian War Memorial in

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

. Castleton Crescent in the Canberra suburb of Gowrie was named in his honour. There is a brass plaque to him at the former South Cliff Congregational Church, now St Nicholas's Catholic Church, in south Lowestoft.
Suffolk Churches site

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