Military History

Clifford is listed as being killed in action on 4th November 1918 during the Battle of the Sambre, part of "final push" of the allies. The following description of events is taken from the book Royal Hampshire Regiment 1914-1918 by C.T. Atkinson which is free to read on the Internet Archive.

The forming-up line, from which the 2/4th Hampshire was to lead its brigade’s advance, ran roughly NW. and SE., along the Le Quesnoy-Valenciennes railway, whose low embankment here gave a little cover to the leading companies, A and B. The first objective was a wooded ravine, where stubborn opposition was to be expected and was indeed encountered, while the advance caught the enemy’s barrage before reaching the ravine. However, A Company (2/Lt. Wheeler) forced its way down the steep slope, fighting hard and refusing to be checked. Many Germans were killed here and over 50 taken with three machine-guns.

On A’s left B (Captain Lainé) had difficulty over a copse from which machine-guns swept the ravine, and only after really hard fighting was it taken with 80 prisoners. C (Captain Brierley) and D (Captain Gotelee) now went through, up the slope beyond the ravine and forced their way to the Le Quesnoy-Orsinval road despite heavy fire from machine-guns, the battalion’s final objective being reached within three hours of ‘Zero’. Several more machine-guns, four trench mortars and 160 prisoners were taken in this stage of the advance, in which Captain Brierley was wounded after having gone unhit through every other action in France, while the prisoners now taken swelled the total to over 300.

Casualties came to nearly 100, but only 20 were killed. The 186th and 187th Brigades having secured their objectives, the 185th should have continued the attack, but partly owing to the congestion of the roads this move had to be postponed till next morning (November 5th), when the 2/4th followed it towards Bavai, to take over the lead next day. The advance was now becoming more of a pursuit: the Germans had been well and truly beaten on November 4th, especially by the Fourth Army, which had forced its way across the Sambre, and on starting their attack on November 6th, the 2/4th, who had the Bavai-Avesnes road as objective, met few enemy at first though they were heavily shelled; machine-guns enfilading the left then delayed them for a time, but after some orchards had been cleared and two machine-guns and some prisoners taken, the advance went ahead again.