440th Agricultural Company, Labour Corps
Richard Henry Clifford was born in 1895 at Nympsfield, near Dursley. He was the son of Robert and Edith Alice (née Jones) Clifford and the couple had six children, Abel, Richard, Edward, Alexandra, Bartimore and Christopher. At the time of the 1911 census the family lived at Townsend, Nympsfield and Robert was shown as a ‘carter on estate’. Richard’s occupation was shown as a stick worker in a sawmill.
Richard was enrolled for military service on 7 June 1917, at the age of 21 years 11 months. His occupation was stated to be ‘butcher’, he was a single man, with no previous military service and was living at Nympsfield. He stated a preference for the Army Service Corps but was posted to the Royal Engineers. He was classified as C1, which precluded him from front line military service.
He was posted to the Royal Engineers, Horse Transport on 11 June 1917 but for reasons unknown was transferred to the Labour Corps (440 Agricultural Company) on 25 September 1917. Soldiers who had a low grade of fitness where often assigned to Agricultural Companies, providing labour to assist with farm work, particularly harvest.
His military career was very short. In early November he was admitted to the sick bay at Horfield Barracks and on the 10th admitted to Beaufort War Hospital, Fishponds, Bristol. He died there at 2.45am on 14 November, in the presence of his relatives, from influenza and bronchial pneumonia, age 23.
He was buried in the churchyard of St Bartholomew’s, Nympsfield on 18 November 1918, his body having been conveyed from Bristol by rail. His grave is marked by a standard CWGC headstone and is alongside his brother Abel.
His brother, Abel, was also a casualty of the war, having died on 6 March 1915 at Stockwell, south east London, whilst serving with the 11th Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment (service number 17651).
Researched by Graham Adams 6 April 2015