Aubrey Geoffrey De Rune Barclay (1914 - 1942)

Born 29 Apr 1914 in Wellington, New Zealand

Ancestors

Died 23 Oct 1942 at age 28 in Kokoda, Central, Papua New Guinea

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Biography

Captain Peter Barclay was born on 29th April 1914 in Wellington, New Zealand. ^[1]

Peter Barclay migrated from New Zealand to New South Wales.

Peter Barclay is an Anzac who served in World War Two.

Captain Peter Barclay was killed in action at Kokoda during the Second World War.

On 21st October 1939 Peter was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Second Australian Imperial Force. His next-of-kin was listed as Aubrey Barclay. ^[2] Allocated to the 2/1st Australian Infantry Battalion, a unit in the 16th Brigade, 6th Division, he was appointed commander of the 18th Platoon, D Company. In this role he led his men in the successful Libyan Campaign, helping to capture the towns of Bardia and Tobruk in January 1941. He then led his platoon in the disastrous April-May campaign in Greece and Crete, in which some 500 men of the battalion alone were captured by the German forces. In this latter campaign, the 6th Division formed part of the New Zealand and Australian Corps, thereby entitling the combatants as ANZACs. Promoted to Captain and appointed commander of C Company, Peter was next active in the Kokoda Track campaign, being killed in action on 23rd October at Eora Creek. He was 28 years of age. Peter Barclay's name is located at panel 28 in the Commemorative Area at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra. He is now buried in the Bomana War Cemetery, Bomana, Port Moresby. ^[3]

He was posthumously Mentioned in Despatches (equivalent to today's Commendation for Gallantry) for 'gallant and distinguished service in the South West Pacific Area'. ^[4][5]

A poem by Robert S. Byrnes titled 'For Peter' originally appeared in The Bulletin 5 Jan 1944 ^[6] and was republished in 1954 ^[7]. The poem is dedicated 'In memory of Captain Peter Barclay, 2/1st Bn. of Sydney, killed in action'

Often, old friend, I think of our first meeting,
The camp at Julius near the orchard trees:
Recall your laughing eye, your cheery greeting,
Your voice that rippled like a passing breeze.

I call to mind the leave we had together,
The chains forgotten so the heart could live:
The orchestra, the dance, the willing tether
Of dark eyes in the dusk at Tel Aviv.

I recollect your hunt for Bergonzoli,
And how we laughed until the mess-hut shook;
How singing on our way we followed slowly
The desert road from Mersa to Tobruk.

You thrilled to Greece, the classics took new colour ;
You fought until the very end on Crete:
So, Palestine and Lebanon seemed duller
Till green Ceylon delayed our homeward feet.

I left them, but you crossed the bloodied mountain,
You led the lads whose deeds will never die,
For courage is an ever-flowing fountain:
You live – beyond the jungle where you lie.

Yet sometimes in the crowd I feel your presence,
Or hear your voice from out the silent night
That sends me vagabonding in remembrance
And touches all these Brisbane hills with light.

In peace we’ll go from Moresby down to Buna
Not as you toiled: we’ll read the words engraved
Unconquerable tales, told late or sooner
For us who live, within the land you saved.

Sources

1. ↑ ascertained from service records; New Zealand birth record Birth Reg. no. 1914/19136, born Aubrey Geoffrey de Rune Barclay, the son Aubrey Colville Henri de Rune Barclay (1880-1950) and Alice Anne Gibbes
2. ↑ Department of Veterans' Affairs nominal roll: NX4124 Captain Peter Barclay; accessed 27 May 2021
3. ↑ Australian War Memorial roll of honour: NX4124 Captain Peter Barclay; accessed 27 May 2021
4. ↑ Australian War Memorial honours and awards (recommendation): NX4124 Captain Peter Barclay; accessed 27 May 2021
5. ↑ Australian War Memorial honours and awards: NX4124 Captain Peter Barclay; accessed 27 May 2021
6. ↑ FOR PETER. (5 January 1944) 1944-01-05. The bulletin, vol. 65, no. 3334, pp. 13.
7. ↑ Endeavour and other poems, by Robert S. Byrnes (Brisbane: Queensland Authors and Artists Association, 1954)

See also

• Givney, Edwin C. The First at War: The Story of the 2/1st Australian Infantry Battalion 1939-45. The Association of First Infantry Battalions. Earlwood, 1987. ISBN 1 86252 965 5.
• Australian Dictionary of Biography - Aubrey Colville Henri de Rune Barclay [1]