Thomas 1856-1911 and Emma Cartwright (nee Salmon) 1857-1917 married in Crewe, Cheshire in 1878. The young couple migrated to Sydney, New South Wales with their eldest daughter, Harriet, who was born in Cheshire in 1878. Sadly, Harriet died at sea in 1879.

After arriving in New South Wales, seven children were added to the family and after a move to Western Australia the youngest, James, was born in 1900. Our soldier, Cliff, was the third youngest of the family and appears to have been named for his father (also Thomas Clift Cartwright) and his paternal grandmother (Catherine Clift). Thomas, senior, was an engine driver with the railways and became involved in Labor politics and the union movement. He died in June 1911 at just 54 leaving Emma with five of their children still under the age of 20. Cliff was 16 and his youngest brother, James, just 11.

In total, Thomas and Emma had six girls and three boys but only seven grew to adulthood:

The family mainly remained in Western Australia though Samuel returned to settle in New South Wales while James worked for many years as a seaman whose work took him to many places; later in life, he worked as a signalman and remained based in Fremantle.

It is from these family connections that we have been seeking suitable DNA connections to help identify Cliff as he may be one of the unidentified soldiers buried in the mass grave at Fromelles. To date, we have been unable to find any related male Cartwright lines in Australia, or indeed in the two prior generations back in Shropshire. Cliff really needs assistance to identify him. See further family details at the end of the story as we would love to hear from you if you can assist.

With the outbreak of war, young Cliff was keen to sign up and did so in July 1915 adding a year to his age claiming to be 21. He was assigned to the 32nd Battalion and began training at the Blackboy Hill camp before his unit left for Adelaide to join the South Australian companies.

The Battalion embarked from Adelaide in November 1915 and arrived in Egypt just prior to Christmas. They served six months in the desert sands before proceeding to France for the trenches of the Western Front.

The Battalion fought its first major battle at Fromelles on 19 July 1916, having only entered the front-line trenches 3 days previously. According to the AWM, the attack was disastrous with the Battalion suffering “718 casualties, almost 75 per cent of the battalion's total strength, but closer to 90 per cent of its actual fighting strength.”

Private Cliff Cartwright was one of the hundreds of casualties listed as missing in action.

His name was included in a list of deceased allied soldiers that was provided by German authorities through Red Cross channels and his paybook handed back. His death was confirmed by authorities in December 1916 and his identity disc was returned and sent on to Cliff’s widowed mother, Emma Cartwright, as next of kin, in early 1917.

Attempts to return other personal effects (wallet, notebook, photos, letters) in 1920 were delayed as Emma herself had died in August 1917, leaving the three youngest siblings (Marjorie 24, Adelaide 18 and James 17) to fend for themselves.

After various enquiries, Cliff’s personal effects were eventually handed over to his younger brother, James, as he claimed to be the eldest surviving brother – ignoring his older brother, Sam.

This may have been a ‘convenient oversight’ or the family may have lost touch with Sam who appeared to have moved back to New South Wales. He was living in Sydney when he enlisted in March 1917, aged 34. He gave his mother’s address as next of kin and he is listed in her death notice, so it is likely the family were in contact at that stage. Private 7345 Samuel Cartwright embarked overseas in April 1917 and served with the 4th Battalion. He was wounded in action, eventually being invalided home in September 1918 suffering the ill-effects of gassing. He married in 1919 remaining in New South Wales to raise his family of two daughters.

While the family has never had closure knowing where Cliff is buried, he is commemorated at:

Family members are also involved in research seeking likely DNA donors who may assist in identifying Cliff’s final resting place.