It is somewhat odd in that in Journal
30 we had featured one of the men (Pte Claude Morton)
who were sent from England to make up the RJGB numbers,
we now have another of those faces to feature, namely
Henry (or Harry) Clements. For this we have to thank
Jill Dixon for providing this photograph and other information
on her great-uncle. Jill informs me that this was taken
on his wedding day, Boxing Day 1917. Jill also writes
that Harry was a career soldier joining the Leicestershire
Regiment in 1910 as a boy soldier and then serving with
that Regiment’s 2nd Battalion from the following
year. There is a bit of confusion as to his actual pre-war
service with this Battalion in that Jill believes that
he was en-route to India at the War’s outbreak.
I’m not so sure!
When war broke out the Leicestershire Regiment’s
2nd Battalion was in India, and would be sent to France
and Flanders in September, 1914 as part of the 20th
Garwhal Brigade of the 7th (Meerut) Indian Division,
arriving in Marseille in mid-October. Jill thinks that
he was travelling from the UK to India and joined the
Battalion in Egypt, I believe that he was already in
India, and this covers the gap between 1911 and 1914.
According to his service record, somewhat patchy as
it is from the ‘Burnt Records’, he was wounded
in March, 1915 and again, seriously wounded by gun shots
to his back and ankle in September, 1915, being sent
back to England to recover. Given these two dates, I
am inclined to think that these wounds were received
at Neuve Chapelle and Loos respectively, since the Battalion
was very much in action during both battles. The second
set of wounds was such that he was unable to be the
best man at his brother’s wedding in June, 1916.
From looking at his service record he rejoined his regiment
in June, 1917, and was transferred to the Royal Defence
Corps on the 1st September, 1917 and later served with
the RJGB. He was discharged from the Army on 23rd April,
1918. This date of discharge is taken from the Silver
War Badge Roll (NA Kew reference: WO 329/3245) since
he was awarded Badge Number 404248. Having looked at
the service records that Jill sent, there is scope for
his career to ‘enjoy’ different interpretations,
and that can only be attributed to the clerical staff
of the day. But, again, the picture conforms with the
period of regular service (29th July, 1911 to 23rd April,
1918 (SWB Roll)) thanks to the two good conduct stripes
and the two wound stripes.
As to India, the evidence is inconclusive, but we know
that he was in Jersey!
Barrie Bertram
