DIVISION
5th Division Signals Company
OCCUPATION
Fireman for the Veteran Railways
REGIMENT
5th Battalion
MEDALS
Military Cross
Clarence Aspinall
Within days of arming in France, he was sent straight to the Fleurbaix area to prepare for the planned attack near the village of Fromelles – our greatest military battle disaster.
Even before Clarrie left Australia he had already lost a dear friend to the war, William Walter Head. Will was the brother of Clarries’ sweetheart Deborah, he had died at the Gallipoli landing on 25 April. The Head family were a large and prominent family from Box Hill Victoria.
Framelles hit Clarrie very hard, he had lost two friends Alfred Tuck and Benjamin
Ruddle, both men later died at Fromelles. Alfred was later identified after the mass grave of Australian soldiers locked at Pheasant Wood in 2008 thanks to the amazing and tireless work of Lambis Englezos.
The Australian losses at Fromelles were catastrophic and unparalleled even to this
day. The 5th Divisional had lost in one night’s sharp fighting 5,533 officers and men.
Clarrie luck held he was in the village of Oisemont west of Armies on Armistice Day, 11 November 1918.
Clarrie Aspinall went back to work for the Veteran Railways and also went back to his sweetheart, Deborah Head. They were married on 30th April 1921.
Clarrie and Deborah had four children – Nola, Majorie, Eric and Dorothy. They lived in Box Hill for many years.
Clarrie’s grand daughter Claire Trevorrow remembers her grandfather as very
friendly and good natured. He was a doting granddad with a wicked sense of humour
and a great sense of fun. She remembers her Aunt Nola telling her stories about
being woken up at night by Clarrie’s screams. Too young to understand, Nola was
reassured by her mother that she should not be afraid – her father was just having
nightmares about the war which was never discussed. Clarrie died aged seventyeight,
in early 1969 after a series of strokes.
