L/Corporal Herbert Clifford - Cdn 14th Battalion

[sclifford]

Hi,

I'm researching my great-grandfather Herbert Clifford who was a member of the 1st Canadian Expeditionary Force and served in the 14th Battalion (Reg No. 26540). He was wounded and captured at the Second Battle of Ypres on April 22, 1915. I just returned from a trip to Belgium and France where I was able to follow in his footsteps and so I have quite a bit of information on his movements up to his point of capture. However I wanted to put his name out there in case any other members might be able to provide new details. I have no photos of my great-grandfather from that era and have no idea what happened to his medals. Thanks for any help you might be able to provide.

Thanks,

Steve

PS. I will post a follow-up note listing some of the POW camps he served in. I often wonder whether his name was mentioned in correspondence from other soldiers.

[KennethB]

Welcome Steve,

From a quick web search (sorry if I have given info you already have)

The 14th Battalion War Diaries. The April 1915 Diary is in this archive. While it is rare to find a soldier mentioned by name, it is a good resource to understand what was happening to the Battalion during this time.

http://data4.collectionscanada.gc.ca/netacgi/nph-brs?s1=14th+Battalion&s13=&s12=&l=20&s9=RG9&s7=9-52&Sect1=IMAGE&Sect2=THESOFF&Sect4=AND&Sect5=WARDPEN&Sect6=HITOFF&d=FIND&p=1&u=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/archivianet/02015202_e.html&r=1&f=G

Here is the link to his attestation papers. Note, it seems to indicate that he rec'd the rank of Stg.

http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/cef/001042-119.01-e.php?id_nbr=105881&PHPSESSID=lnqlt841t9cdq60h0a7urbec94

2nd Ypres was a significant battle as it was the first time gas was used. This is a link for a great book on the battle. It breaks it down to battalion level information. It really gives you a great sense of the stuggle that the Canadians went throught as the lines collapsed. Should be able to get it at the library.

http://www.amazon.ca/Baptism-Fire-Nathan-M-Greenfield/dp/0002007274/ref=sr_1_4/184-7040994-9197813?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1281020039&sr=8-4

Here is a link for how to getting his Canadian Medal card. I'm not aware of any online databases for the CEF.

http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy/022-909.008-e.html

Link to the the 14th Battalion museum. (now the Royal Montreal Regiment). There's a webmaster contact, the museum might have era photos or company group shots etc. .

http://royalmontrealregiment.com/contact-us/

Link on how to order his Military Service record.

http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/cef/001042-130-e.html?PHPSESSID=ma5o0sce7n7lgmvrfkvoojj550#g

There is also a POW subforum of the Soldier Forum that you might find info/advice in.

Best of luck!

Cheers,

Ken

[sclifford]

Hi Ken,

Thanks very much for your reply! I have some of these links but I did not have the one to the Canadian Medal card so I will definitely follow that up. Interestingly enough about a year ago I found a UK Medal card for Herbert (he joined the Cheshire Regiment in early 1920) and the British card included a list of his Canadian medals. I subsequently ordered his British service records from the MOD and received information on his service from '20 to '24. Unfortunately Herbert disappeared after he left the service and so I've been trying to solve the mystery for many years. I'm really hoping that Kevin Dobson and Spalding Resident contact me as they may have some additional information that could help me in my search.

Thanks again,

Steve