Subject

Sir Galahad

Text

Galahad Good Knight of God go on Until at last you come to Me to sing In Heaven always and to walk around The Garden where I am

Inscription

In loving memory of Clarence D. Wells Daly D.S.O. Lieut. Col. 6th Battn. A.I.F. Born in Hobart 5th May 1890 Volunteered 5th Aug. 1914 Killed in Action Nieppe Forest 13th Apl.1918

Description & History

Melbourne's leading stained glass artist, William Montgomery (1850-1927) was commissioned for two memorial windows on the theme of Sir Galahad that were erected in the foyer of Adamson Hall at Wesley College. This was the second to be completed and Montgomery based this design loosely on a painting by John Pettie, The Vigil, in which a kneeling Sir Galahad was depicted with the vision of the Holy Grail above him in the head of the window. The window to Lieutenant-Colonel Daly DSO, a former student at Wesley, was unveiled on 1 November 1920 by Brigadier-General Brand, at a service commencing at 2.30 pm. Note that the inscription on the window differs from his military record; in her letters to Army records, his mother (who commissioned the window) always ordered his given names as written on the window.

When 24 year old Clarence Didier Wells Daly enlisted he had four years military experience as a Captain in the 64 Infantry City of Melbourne Regiment and applied for a commission. He joined 6 Battalion AIF and embarked on HMAT Hororata on 19 October 1914, bound for Egypt. Captain Daly received a gunshot wound to the leg at the Gallipoli landing, however he soon rejoined his unit, which he continued to serve with distinction despite several woundings, including one occasion when he was buried alive. Promoted to Major while still on Gallipoli, he headed to France in May 1916. He was awarded the DSO for his actions at Sailly and at Pozieres, and was mentioned in dispatches at Bullecourt. Lieutenant Colonel Daly was killed in action on 13 April 1918, as he was superintending the dispositions on horseback and under heavy fire on the La Motte-Vieuxberquin road and was buried the following day with full military honours in a service conducted by Chaplain Carter; he is remembered at Hazebrouck Communal Cemetery.

References & Acknowledgements

AWM Roll of Honour; NAA: B2455, Daly WD; Argus, 13 November 1919, p.6; 2 November 1920, p.5.