WATSON, Clive Lawley - 5400164

Original items held by a member of the community

Pte Clive Lawley Watson

Conflict	Korean War
Service Arm	Australian Army
Unit	1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, D Company
Service No.	5400164
Service Arm	Army
Date of Birth	4 Jun 1930
Birthplace	Perth, WA
Residence	Perth, WA
Date of Death	29 Apr 2022
Relatives	Father - William John Watson Brother - WATSON, Thomas John - WX7307 Brother - WATSON, John Charles - W8663, WX14539 Brother - WATSON, William Simpson - W13120, WX10681 Brother - WATSON, Arthur - 5/1241 Brother - WATSON, Harold - 276347, WX5013 Brother - WATSON, Leslie Joseph - WX16573

Clive Watson travelled to Sydney for training. The 1st Royal Australian Regiment departed Sydney on 3rd March, 1952 on the troopship HMT Devonshire and sailed to Kure, Japan for more training. The 1st Royal Australian Regiment then joined the 3rd Royal Australian Regiment in Korea.

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  training in Japan

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  training in Japan

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Clive first served as a medic, retrieving injured soldiers from the field and returning them to base hospitals. He was then based at Hill 355 and involved in the fighting in the mud, snow and cold defending this strategic area. He shared these recollections of his time in Korea.



One time Clive was coming off patrol and his back to back was coming on to replace him. As they passed each other, his replacement was shot point blank in the head and killed right next to him.

He was in a bunker when it was hit by a mortar. The impact of the explosion sent Clive flying out of the bunker but he remarkably landed on his feet.

One time they were crouched in a dugout under severe fire from the enemy. The weather conditions were terrible and Clive and his fellow medics nearly froze to death. The only thing that saved them was an officer who knew they were out and came looking for them.

1952 Christmas - The American allies sent them some left over ham and turkey but by the time it reached the Australian soldiers it was frozen solid.

Clive was fighting mainly against Chinese soldiers as it was the part of the Korean War when China was involved. Clive recollected that not all of the Chinese had guns and some had a distraction device like a musical instrument. But he said it there were just hoards of Chinese soldiers.

It was so cold in Korea his socks were constantly embedded in his skin.

Family asked Clive once what Korea was like and he replied “It was bombed to shit.”

The Australian soldiers wore second hand WW2 uniforms. The gun he was issued was an Owen gun because it was one of the few that worked in such cold temperatures.

Clive was allocated 2 weeks R&R leave in Tokyo, Japan. He told his family of his surprise going from the dark hills of Korea to seeing the bright lights of Tokyo. One night he and his friend were arrested in Tokyo for drunk and disorderly. His friend was apparently still playing up in the back of the police car and the Japanese officer said stop messing about or I'll hit you with this crank handle. Clive then said his friends nickname from then on was crank handle.

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