Hector and Phyllis Clayton correspondence and other material

MLMSS 10487

fonds

1910-2001

Textual Records, Graphic Materials, Photographs, Clippings, Ephemera

9633652

1.15 metres of textual material (8 boxes)

Hector Joseph Richard Clayton (1885-1975) was born in Surry Hills, Sydney. He studied Law at the University of Sydney and practised in partnership with his father, solicitor John Horatio Clayton. Enlisting on the outbreak of World War I, he embarked for Egypt in October 1914 as a captain in the 4th Battalion and took part in the Gallipoli landing on 25 April 1915. After being wounded in action in May, he served as an embarkation officer in Egypt until June 1916. He was transferred to the Western Front, promoted to major in November 1916, commanded the 4th Division Base and performed administrative duties in England from June 1918.
On 24 July 1917 Clayton had married Phyllis Edith Midwood, daughter of Arthur and Edith Midwood of Market Drayton in Shropshire, England. After the war they returned to Sydney where Hector became a partner in the legal firm Clayton & Utz, then in Clayton, Utz & Co. He was elected to the NSW Legislative Council in 1936. He was knighted in 1968 and retired from the council in 1973.

Reference:
Moore, Andrew. “Clayton, Sir Hector Joseph (1885-1975)”. Australian Dictionary of Biography. Accessed 21 December 2020. http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/clayton-sir-hector-joseph-9759/text17241

By descent to the Claytons' grandson, John Clayton

Correspondence and other material accumulated by Hector and Phyllis Clayton. While correspondence from both their families is included, most of the letters are between Hector and Phyllis, both before and after their marriage, and were written during World War I while Hector was a serving military officer of the AIF. The letters, although personal, reveal much of the wartime activities of servicemen and those on the home front in England. The collection also includes news clippings, ephemera items, photographs and some writings by later family members.

SERIES 1
Letters from Hector Clayton to Phyllis Clayton

SERIES 2
Letters from Phyllis Clayton to Hector Clayton

SERIES 3
Clayton and Midwood family correspondence

SERIES 4
Clayton family writings and other material

Copyright restrictions may apply:
Please acknowledge:: Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales and Courtesy copyright holder

Digital copies of correspondence in Series 1, 2 and 3 have been provided by the donor and are available in the Reading Room only