SCHWONBERG, Claude Greybrook
| Service Number: | 2782 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 12 July 1915, After enlistment and while in training at Liverpool Claude wore the rank of Corporal perhaps for training purposes and in recognition of his time with the Maclean Scottish Rifles where he attained the rank of Lance Corporal. He was assigned to the 6th Reinforcements for the 17th Battalion. |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 17th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Maclean, New South Wales, Australia, 24 April 1889 |
| Home Town: | Maclean, Clarence Valley, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Maclean Public School, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Ship's Purser |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Belgium, 9 October 1917, aged 28 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Maclean Public School Roll of Honour, Menin Gate Memorial (Commonwealth Memorial to the Missing of the Ypres Salient) |
World War 1 Service
| 12 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Corporal, 2782, 17th Infantry Battalion, After enlistment and while in training at Liverpool Claude wore the rank of Corporal perhaps for training purposes and in recognition of his time with the Maclean Scottish Rifles where he attained the rank of Lance Corporal. He was assigned to the 6th Reinforcements for the 17th Battalion. | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Nov 1915: | Involvement Private, 2782, 17th Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '12' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Euripides embarkation_ship_number: A14 public_note: '' | |
| 2 Nov 1915: | Embarked Private, 2782, 17th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Euripides, Sydney | |
| 21 Mar 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Sergeant, 2782, 17th Infantry Battalion, Claude embarked from Alexandria for Marseilles on HT Oriana on 21 March 1916 which for some unknown reason was four days after his Battalion. He had been hospitalised in Egypt on 12 December 1915 with the mumps and while there and in a photograph on a donkey in front of the Sphinx he is recorded as having Sergeant's rank. He left Marseilles and went to Etaples while his battalion was already in Northern France at Bois Grenier. Either when at Etaples or when he joined the 17th Battalion at Bois Grenier on 3 May 1916 he reverted to the rank of Private. | |
| 1 Jul 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 17th Infantry Battalion | |
| 25 Jul 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 2782, 17th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , The 17th Battalion was in the Front Line at Pozieres from 25 July to 6 August 1916. Claude was initially tasked with supplying ammunition and rations to the Front Line trenches and as a guide and then involved in an attack on the night of the 28th and morning of the 29th when the Battalion suffered many casualties. The Battalion was relieved from the Pozieres trenches on the night of 6 August. | |
| 15 Apr 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 2782, 17th Infantry Battalion, Bullecourt (Second), After Pozieres 17 Battalion had a spell in Belgium, returning to the Somme in late October 1916. The 17th Battalion resisted the German attack at Lagnicourt on 15 April 1917. Prior to the attack Claude's role was carrying rations to the Front Line but all hands would have been required to hold off the enemy. The Battalion was then involved in Second Bullecourt from 3 to 5 May 1917. | |
| 1 Aug 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Corporal, 17th Infantry Battalion, Claude was promoted to Corporal on 1 August 1917. He took leave in England and Scotland, returning to his Unit in Belgium on 15 August 1917. | |
| 9 Oct 1917: | Involvement Corporal, 2782, 17th Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 2782 awm_unit: 17th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Corporal awm_died_date: 1917-10-09 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Greg Towner
Claude's full name is Claude Greybrook Schwonberg. His Schwonberg grandfather came to Australia from Hamburg in Germany in 1846 and settled in Maclean in 1866. His grandmother on his mother's side came from Alloa in Scotland and Claude's interest in his Scottish heritage may have been why he was given the nickname of Paddy.
Claude's father and grandfather were boatbuilders in Maclean and Claude as might be expected spent much time on the river. With his brother Dugald he was mentioned in the local newspaper for his role in rescuing a party of travellers when their boat had become stuck on rocks in the river. Claude was well liked in the district and received a fond farewell from work colleagues in Conlon's Store, remarking that "everybody in Maclean knows Claude Schwonberg". Claude worked for a time in retail in Sydney with Anthony Hordern and Sons before working for the North Coast Steam Navigation Company in the role of Ship's purser, travelling between Sydney and the Northern Rivers of NSW. In this role he was also popular and well known in both the Clarence and Richmond River districts.
At the outbreak of war Claude enquired if he could be employed on a transport ship from Australia supporting the war effort. Not being succesful in this he enlisted in the AIF at Liverpool on 12 July 1915.
Claude's service history is well documented on this site with much information obtained from his Service Records held by the National Archives of Australia, from a diary he maintained covering from his embarkation from Sydney until 15 April 1917, and from the Australian Red Cross Wounded and Missing files held by the Australian War Memorial. Claude was assigned to the 17th Infantry Battalion AIF. In October 1917 the 17th Battalion was in Belgium and on 9 October 1917 preparing to attack towards the hilltop village of Passchendaele.
On 9 October 1917 17 Battalion advanced along the Ypres - Roueres railway line and reached a high point in the railway cutting at Decline Copse by 0900. Claude and Sergeant John Raitt were assigned to mop up some machine gun posts along the railway embankment and were reported to have done "excellent work". The enemy counter-attacked and got behind the battalion lines. Claude was seen to be wounded. By reports in the Australian Red Cross Wounded and Missing files Claude was wounded in the chest or in the legs, one report saying not seriously. Raitt was captured and escorted away but the enemy refused to take Claude. Raitt subsequently escaped. A report suggested Claude was seen sheltering in a shell hole where he may have slipped beneath the mud and water. He has no known grave. His name is inscribed on Panel 17 in the Menin Gate Memorial at Ypres, Belgium.
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