Born in Warracknabeal, Victoria and a Labourer by trade, Ellis Clugston was 18 years and single when enlisted on the 28th of March 1915 in the 24th Battalion, D Company, Australian Imperial Force, with the rank of Private, Number 851. His Unit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT A14 'Euripides' on the 10th of May 1915. Declared dangerously ill – Diphtheria Paralysis - on the 23rd of October 1915. Sailed from Suez per 'Ulysses' for return to Australia on the 3rd of January 1916. Disembarked Melbourne on the 5th of February 1916 – muscular wasting. Discharged from the 3rd Military District on the 12th of July 1916. Tree No. 441