CLOUGH, Charles Eric
| Service Numbers: | Not yet discovered |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Major |
| Last Unit: | Unspecified British Units |
| Born: | Mount Barker, South Australia, date not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | London, England, United Kingdom |
| Schooling: | St. Peter's College, Adelaide, South Australia |
| Occupation: | County Council Engineer |
| Died: | Heart Failure, 12 March 1915, place of death not yet discovered, age not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Longuenesse (St. Omer) Souvenir Cemetery I A 52 |
| Memorials: | Hackney St Peter's College Fallen Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| Date unknown: | Involvement Major, Unspecified British Units |
|---|
Help us honour Charles Eric Clough's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Faithe Jones
Charles Eric Clough was born at Mount Barker South Australia and gained his early education at Hahndorf College before then attending the Collegiate School of St Peter. An article published in an Australian newspaper reported Eric, as he was known, was a son of Charles Frederick Clough a former resident railway engineer at Mount Barker.
... now a County Council engineer in London. Major Clough accompanied his parents to England immediately after his father's retirement from the railway service in South Australia....
He went to England in 1902 and there married Norah Ironmonger of Blackheath in September 1912. In an article published shortly after his death, a friend claimed Charles had shown ‘an extraordinary’ interest in the military from a young age and even before the war was a second lieutenant in the territorials. When war broke out Charles was in camp at Dorset, and was among the first to volunteer; after successfully completing a number of courses at Woolwich and Aldershot he was promoted to Major in October 1914.
Twenty eight year old Major Charles Eric Clough, 28th Divisional Train, Army Service Corps who died on duty at the front on 12 March 1915 is remembered with honour at Longuenesse (St. Omer) Souvenir Cemetery.
In a letter of condolence to his father, a close friend, still serving at the front, wrote that Charles was a ‘splendid rider’ and although a ‘strict disciplinarian’ was popular with his fellow officers and ‘beloved by his men.’ Another man, and obviously one who knew him very well having served under his under his command for four years, referred to him as always being ‘an officer and a gentleman.’
On 13 March 1915, just a day after the death of Charles Clough, the British ceased their three-day assault on the German trenches at Neuve Chapelle. In the three days it took, to launch and complete their first major spring offensive of 1915, the British suffered approximately 12,000 casualties, among them was one the School’s former pupils.
Courtesy of Robert Kearney
Commemorated at Chirst Church War Memorial, Lee, UK
Click images to start slideshow.