Maurice Buckley

Early life

Maurice Vincent Buckley was born in Hawthorn, Victoria, on 13 April 1891. His parents were Timothy and Agnes Buckley of ‘Taku’, 35 McArthur Street, Malvern.

The Buckleys had 7 children, including 3 boys who survived to adulthood and were educated at the Christian Brothers' College in Abbotsford.

Before the war, Maurice trained and worked as a coach trimmer.

Wartime service

Maurice first enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) on 18 December 1914, aged 23. He named both parents as his next of kin. He was described as 5 feet 7 inches tall with a dark complexion, grey eyes, brown, wavy hair and a ‘small fatty lumps size of hazelnut in left side of neck’. Maurice declared being of the Roman Catholic faith.

The AIF assigned Maurice the service number 655. On 29 March 1915, he was posted to the newly raised 13th Light Horse Regiment. The unit was sometimes called the ‘Devil's Own’ by others because its men had a reputation for being unruly.

Service in Egypt

On 28 May 1915, Trooper Maurice Buckley sailed overseas with the 1st Reinforcements of the 13th Light Horse Regiment on board HMAT Persic. The troops disembarked in Egypt on 29 June 1915, with some elements arriving as early as 26 June.

The 13th Light Horse was raised to supply reinforcements for the Gallipoli Campaign. However, the regiment was reorganised in Egypt, and Maurice missed out on frontline opportunities. By mid-1915, the regiment had ceased to exist as an independent formation. Most of its personnel were absorbed into other Light Horse regiments and infantry units at Gallipoli. It was officially disbanded in August 1915 while still in Egypt.

On 31 August 1915, Maurice was one of 275 men invalided home with sexually transmitted infections. He embarked from the Suez Canal, Egypt, on the hospital ship HMAT Wiltshire. His service record states that he was ‘invalided and discharged’ with ‘venereal disease’.

Maurice arrived in Melbourne on 25 September 1915. He was transferred to an AIF medical isolation camp at Langwarrin.

On 4 October 1915, Maurice’s younger brother, Gunner (Timothy) Gerald Buckley of the 12th Battery, 4th Field Artillery Brigade, died from meningitis in the Alfred Hospital, Melbourne. He was only 20. Gerald was buried with full military honours, but there's no record that Maurice was given leave to attend the funeral service.

Maurice left the Langwarrin camp without permission on 21 January 1916, and he did not return. On 20 March 1916, at Langwarrin, Maurice was declared a deserter and struck off the AIF strength.

Sometime between January and May 1916, Maurice moved to Sydney in New South Wales.

Service on the Western Front

On 6 May 1916, Maurice re-enlisted at the AIF camp in the former RAS Showgrounds at Sydney's Moore Park. He assumed the name ‘Gerald Sexton’. Gerald was his brother’s name, and Sexton was his mother’s maiden name (last name at birth).

Maurice gave his occupation as ‘groom’ (for horses) and his address as 74 Castlereagh Street, Sydney, a rented room above a money lender. He named only his mother, Agnes Sexton, as his next of kin. He was described as 5 feet 8 inches tall with a flush complexion, hazel eyes, brown hair and no distinctive marks. Again, Maurice declared being of the Roman Catholic faith.

The AIF assigned Gerald Sexton the service number 6594. He was posted to the 13th Infantry Battalion.

On 7 October 1916, Private Gerald Sexton embarked from Sydney on HMAT Cemamic, disembarking in Plymouth, England, on 21 November 1916.

After training at Folkestone, he transferred to France in January 1917.

In June and September 1917, Gerald was fined for being absent without leave (AWOL). Appointed lance corporal on 31 January 1918, he was appointed as a temporary corporal on 19 April 1918, later appointed corporal, then lance sergeant, on 27 June 1918.

Gerald was wounded in action twice in July 1918 before being appointed temporarily to sergeant on 8 July 1918. His final promotion was to sergeant on 28 August 1918.

For consistent initiative in the field while serving in France, Maurice was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) on 9 October 1918.

For bravery in the field at Le Verguier, France, he was awarded the Victoria Cross (VC) on 10 December 1918.

Distinguished Conduct Medal citation

HIS MAJESTY THE KING has been graciously pleased to approve of the award of the Distinguished Conduct Medal to the undermentioned for gallantry and distinguished service in the field –

No. 6594 Sergeant Maurice Vincent BUCKLEY, 13th Battalion

For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. On four separate occasions his company was suddenly confronted by enemy machine-gun fire. On each occasion, this N.C.C in charge of a Lewis-Gun section brought his gun into action with great promptitude, quickly silencing the opposition. On one occasion, in some tall crops, he stood up in full view of the enemy, firing from the hip until he had put the enemy machine gun out of action. Throughout the day he displayed initiative combined with coolness.

[Commonwealth of Australia Gazette, No 36, 14 March 1919]

Victoria Cross citation

HIS MAJESTY THE KING has been graciously pleased to approve of the award of the Victoria Cross to the undermentioned for gallantry and devotion to duty in the field –

No. 6594 Sergeant Maurice Vincent BUCKLEY, 13th Battalion

For most conspicuous bravery during the attack near Le Verguier, north-west of St. Quentin, on the 18th September, 1918. During the whole period of the advance, which was very seriously opposed, Sergeant Buckley was to the fore dealing with enemy machine guns, rushing enemy posts, and performing great feats of bravery and endurance without faltering or for a moment taking cover. When the advance had passed the ridge at Le Verguier Sergeant Buckley’s attention was directed to a party of the enemy manning a bank, and to a field gun causing casualties and holding up a company. Without hesitation, calling to his section to follow, he rushed down the bank and killed the gunners of the field gun. Regardless of machine gun fire, he returned to the bank, and after firing down some dug-outs induced about thirty of the enemy to surrender. When the advance was continued from the first to the second objective the company was again held up by machine guns on the flanks. Supported by another platoon, he disposed of the enemy guns, displaying boldness which inspired all. Later, he again showed the most conspicuous initiative in the capture of hostile posts and machine guns, and rendered invaluable support to his company digging in.

[Commonwealth of Australia Gazette, No 61, 23 May 1919]

On 14 December 1919, at Victoria Barracks in Melbourne, Maurice’s mother, Agnes Buckley, signed a statutory declaration explaining that ‘Gerald Sexton’ was an assumed name for her son, Maurice Vincent Buckley. No doubt she wanted her son to be recognised for his 2 recent awards.

On 25 March 1919, in Hanzinelle, Belgium, Maurice signed a statutory declaration correcting his name to Maurice Vincent Buckley. The declaration was witnessed by Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Samuel ‘Tubby’ Allen, Commander of the 13th Infantry Battalion.

Maurice attended an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace in London on 29 May 1919. He received his Victoria Cross from King George V as Sergeant Buckley.

Between June and August 1919, Maurice was treated at the 1st Australian Dermatological Hospital (1ADH) in Bulford for gonorrhea and syphilis. He was fined for being AWOL in July 1919.

Maurice was declared non-infectious and fit to travel on a troopship on 29 August 1919. He returned to Australia on HMAT Raranga and disembarked in Sydney on 8 September 1919.

On 27 October 1919, an invalid report showed Maurice suffered from shell shock (post-traumatic stress syndrome, or PTSD) with headaches, shortness of breath and tachycardia effort syndrome (an excessively fast heart rate in response to physical activity or stress). He was declared permanently unfit for service due to a disability related to his military service.

Maurice discharged from the AIF on 11 December 1919.

Life after service

Because Maurice had been awarded the VC and DCM, the AIF decided to issue all war service medals eligible to him as Maurice Buckley and Gerald Sexton.

In November 1919, Maurice accepted an invitation to visit his old school in Abbotsford. He attended with his mother and a sister. Maurice told the students that ‘the honour conferred on him was an honour which many of his comrades had well deserved’. He sat down, ‘visibly affected’ by the students’ welcome, and listened as they sang For He's a Jolly Good Fellow.

Maurice died on 27 January 1921 due to injuries received in a horseriding accident at Boolarra, Victoria. He was buried in Brighton General Cemetery.

Commemoration

Students from Maurice’s old school, Christian Brothers’ College, formed a guard of honour at his funeral. Former members of the 4th Brigade attended, and the pallbearers were all living VC recipients. In all, more than 500 veterans farewelled him.

In the Brighton General Cemetery, Maurice’s original headstone inscription records him as ‘Gerald Sexton VC’. Some early honour boards and archival rolls list him as ‘Gerald Sexton’. Most modern commemorations have corrected the record, and some acknowledge his alias.

Maurice’s Victoria Cross is on display at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. His name is commemorated on VC memorials across the country.

Some sources say Buckley Court, a street that existed in the Canberra suburb of Kambah until the 1990s, was named for Maurice. But it was named for William Buckley, a former convict and interpreter of the Woi-wurrung language who accompanied John Batman’s party.