2nd Lt
Clifford White

Information about birth

Date of birth:
07/08/1895
Place of birth:
Batley, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom

General information

Profession:
Civil Service Clerk

Army information

Country:
England, United Kingdom
Force:
British Expeditionary Force
Rank:
Second Lieutenant
Service number:
/
Units:
 —  Machine Gun Corps, 200th Coy.  (Last known unit)

Information about death

Date of death:
26/09/1917
Place of death:
Somme - Hill 35 - Iberian, Belgium
Cause of death:
Killed in action (K.I.A.)
Age:
22

Memorial

Tyne Cot Memorial
Panel: 154

Distinctions and medals 3

Points of interest 1

#1 Place of birth

My story

Second Lieutenant Clifford White was part of the 200th Machine Gun Company, 59th Division which took part in the Battle of Polygon Wood on the 26 September 1917. He commanded ‘B’ Battery.

On the 22nd of September the company received orders to put 16 guns on the line in the night of 23rd/24th September, with an advanced headquarters at Jasper Farm. Between the 23rd and 24th of September new battery positions near Somme, Hill 35 and Iberian were scouted. On the 25th preparations were made for the attack the following day. The new battery emplacements were to be occupied that night and telephone communication was established between the new advanced headquarters at Pommern Castle and A, B and C-Battery.

On the 26th all batteries were subjected to heavy shelling. Officer casualties were heavy. Five other ranks were killed and 21 others were wounded. It’s unclear what happened to Second lieutenant Clifford White but he was missing in action after the battle. It’s highly likely that he was killed in the German artillery barrage. The notes in the War Diary are not clear on where Second lieutenant Clifford White was located, but its highly likely that he died near the gun emplacements east of Pommern Castle, on the line between Somme, Hill 35 and Iberian.

Sources 5

Ancestry
https://www.ancestry.com/
Sources used
Chris McCarthy, 'Passchendaele : The Day-by-Day' London: Unicorn Publishing Group, 2018, p. 96-97.
Sources used
CWGC
https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/876763/white,-clifford/
Sources used
Naval & Military Archive
http://www.nmarchive.com/
Sources used
The Long, Long Trail
https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/
Sources used