227247 Pte. Thomas Clifford British Army 7th Battalion East Kent Regiment from:Marylebone, London My maternal grandfather, Thomas Clifford, ran away from his home in 1916 at the age of 17 to join up. To avoid being traced, he travelled by train to Kent where he joined the Buffs, whilst still under age for military service.
He was captured during the misjudged advance through the quagmire at the Battle of Poelcapelle on 12th October 1917 and remained a prisoner of war until his release at the end of hostilities some 12 months later.
My research turned up his POW record at Friedrichsfeld Prisoner of War camp, near Wesel in Germany. It shows that he was not wounded. Also his date of birth, 7.5.1899.
He never spoke about his experiences in the War, but had a lasting dislike for Earl Haig which never left him. He would spit on the floor outside the Earl Haig pub in Hounslow and no amount of free porter would ever have been enough to tempt him inside. On a personal note, he never had any contact with the family he left and to this day I know nothing of them.
I guess he was one of the lucky ones, to survive and see his grandchildren.
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