Clarence "Clarrie" Wallach
MC (November 1889 – 22 April 1918)
was an
Australian representative rugby union
Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
forward and decorated World War I military officer. He fought at
Gallipoli
The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east.
Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...
and in France and died on the
Western Front. He was the second oldest of a
number of brothers who served during World War I.
Rugby career
Born in November 1889 in
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
, Clarence Wallach, known as Clarrie, played club rugby for
Eastern Suburbs RUFC Eastern Suburbs Rugby Union Football Club may refer to:
* Eastern Suburbs District RUFC (NSW), est. 1900, based in Sydney, Australia
* Eastern Suburbs RUFC (Canberra), est. 1938, based in Canberra, Australia
* Easts Tigers Rugby Union, est. 1947, b ...
as a lock. He made eight state representative appearances for
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
and appeared on five occasions between 1913 and 1914 for
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
.
First World War
Wallach was commissioned as a lieutenant in the
19th Battalion,
5th Brigade, of the
2nd Division raised in March 1915, disembarking in June 1915. After training in Egypt, the battalion landed at
Anzac Cove on 21 August 1915, and following that took part in the attack on
Battle of Hill 60.
Wallach wrote a letter home from Gallipoli which was published in the sporting paper ''The Referee''. He described hearing of the deaths of his Eastern Suburbs clubmates
Harold George and Fred Thompson from
William Tasker
William George "Twit" Tasker (15 October 1891 – 9 August 1918) was an Australian World War I soldier who had been a national representative rugby union player making six Test appearances for the Wallabies.Australian Rugby - The Game and the ...
, another rugby contemporary who served at Gallipoli and who, like Wallach, would die on the Western Front.''"We arrived at Heliopolis about three weeks ago. We have been in some pretty solid work, but expect to go into the real stuff next week. All the rugby union men are well here, from the Major down to the privates.
Twit Tasker told me how
Harold George died the death of deaths – a hero's – never beaten till the whistle went"''. Clarrie kept a diary at Gallipoli which is referred to by Carlyon for its glib style, e.g.''"Nothing of note, two skittled by shrapnel''"
[Carlyon p601]
On the
Western Front Wallach saw action at the
Battle of Pozières
The Battle of Pozières (23 July – 3 September 1916) took place in northern France around the village of Pozières, during the Battle of the Somme. The costly fighting ended with the British in possession of the plateau north and east of the ...
in August 1916. He named the trench he occupied at
Pozières
Pozières (; ) is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.
Geography
The commune is situated on the D929 road, northeast of Amiens between Albert and Bapaume, on the Pozières ridge.
Southwest of the village ...
"Blancmange Trench" because it changed shape every time he visited it.
[Carlyon p173] In 1918, the 19th Battalion helped to repel the
German spring offensive
The German spring offensive, also known as ''Kaiserschlacht'' ("Kaiser's Battle") or the Ludendorff offensive, was a series of German Empire, German attacks along the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during the World War I, First Wor ...
, and it was during this time, on 7 April 1918, that Wallach, by now a captain and commander of a company, was involved in an attack around
Hangard Wood Hangard Wood is a locality south of Villers-Bretonneux northern France. It was the site of Hangard village and a battle in World WarI. The battle of Hangard Wood was part of the German offensive Operation Michael, in the Arras– Saint-Quentin– ...
.
[
The attack was intended to be supported by a barrage behind which the Australians were to begin advancing at 4.55 am. On Wallach's section of the front line no barrage fell ahead of his company. He nonetheless led his men across 400 yards of open country toward the wood. German machine gunners, untouched by shells, opened fire on the advance. By the time the company reached the edge of the wood one man in four had been hit. Wallach fell with wounds to both knees. His second in command, Lieutenant Percy Storkey was following 75 yards behind Wallach and took command. He pushed into undergrowth with eleven men trying to get behind the Germans. They successfully surprised an enemy position containing 80 to 100 men, driving them out, killing and wounding about 30 and capturing three officers, 50 men, and one machine gun.] Storkey was later awarded a Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...
for his role during the fighting.[
Wallach had suffered a compound fracture of his left leg. Gas gangrene set in and doctors amputated the limb. His temperature soared to 105 degrees. He was given a blood transfusion to try to save the other leg but eventually it was removed as well. Wallach began to weaken, due to shock. He died on 22 April, aged 28.][Carlyon p602] He is buried in the Etretat Churchyard Extension in Étretat
Étretat () is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-Maritime Departments of France, department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy Regions of France, region of Northwestern France. It is a Tourism, tourist and Agriculture, far ...
, France.[C Wallach – War Graves Commission](_blank)
/ref>
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wallach, Clarrie
Australian rugby union players
Australia international rugby union players
People educated at Sydney Grammar School
Australian military personnel killed in World War I
1889 births
1918 deaths
Burials in Etretat Churchyard
Rugby union players from Sydney
Rugby union locks
Australian amputees
Sportspeople with limb difference
Australian disabled sportspeople
Military personnel from Sydney
Australian Army officers
Eastern Suburbs RUFC players
New South Wales rugby union team players
20th-century Australian sportsmen