253921 William Cyrus Clissitt British Army 28th (Artists Rifles) Battalion London Regiment It was 11th November 1918. Two young English soldiers, William Clissitt and Sydney Berkeley, were at Hare Hall Camp. They were both twenty, William was interested in writing and Sydney in music, so they got on well together. Then the dispatch came : it was the end of the First World War. Overjoyed to hear the news, they put their talents together and wrote a song, "Your Radiant Smile". Of course now, so many years later, the style is rather old fashioned, but it nevertheless expresses their immense happiness.
Subsequently, Sydney Berkeley became a musician. After the war, William Clissitt became a journalist (and, at 24 years old, a very young editor) and today one of his grandsons has followed in his footsteps.
One day, quite by chance, we found this song among the music at home and since then, to perpetuate their memory, we play it on 11th November. To pay tribute to those who died in the 14-18 war and to two young people who were so happy to rediscover life and its radiant smile.
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