Company Sergeant Major
Clifton Henry ELLIS
Infantry
Died: 26th August 1914 - Age: 37

Commemorated:

1. Memorial:La Ferte-Sous-Jouarre Memorial
2. Memorial:The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour7A GQS
    

Awards & Titles:

Queen's South Africa Medal 6 Clasps
King's South African Campaign Medal 2 Clasps
1914 (Mons) Star
British War Medal
Victory Medal
Long Service & Good Conduct Medal
 

Family :

Husband of Flora Ellis, of 141, Jervis Rd., North End, Portsmouth. Following his education he worked as a Bricklayer / Labourer. He married Flora Pay on Boxing Day, 1904 whilst stationed at Bulford Camp and had four children, which having been born as part of his service life show where he had been posted to...

Service Life:

Campaigns:

Unit / Ship / Est.: 2/Royal Scots 

2nd Battalion August 1914 : in Plymouth. Part of 8th Brigade, 3rd Division. Landed at Boulogne 14 August 1914 .

Action : The Battle of Le Cateau and subsidiary actions 

26 August - 1 September 1914. Following the clash at Mons, the BEF was forced to retreat. I Corps under Haig was able to march almost unmolested but II Corps under Smith-Dorrien was confronted by large elements of German troops which threatened his line of retreat. In a classic ?stopping? action II Corps held the German attack and allowed time for the orderly retreat to continue.

Experienced professional Soldier whose reckonable service date was 26th October 1895, enlisting at Chatham aged 18 and 7 months. He declared, on his "12 Year" attestation, that he had formerly been in the service of the 4th Battalion, The Essex Regiment. Service No. 5464. He served in the South African War and by 1908 was a Colour Sergeant, 2nd Battalion, Bn Royal Scots. He was further promoted on to become Company Sergeant Major in 1913.

Detail :

Amongst the first casualties of the Great War having been killed in the opening month of the war on 26th August 1914, in action as part of the Retreat from Mons.

A letter from his wife is in his service records showing her living at Lemon Grove, White Hill, Bordon, Hants., following his death, declaring "I have received £12. 9. 0 from Effects Office for C.S.M. C H Ellis, Royal Scots also my marrage certificate which I sent to you in answer to a form you sent me on Sept 27th, asking for my marrage certificate also my childrens birth certificate Could you tell me where the childrens are, were they forwarded tot he War Office with mine or are they at [F...] could you let me know. Yours truly Flora Ellis." A further letter shows receipt back of these documents in December 1915.

For his service in South Africa between 1899-1902 he was was a warded the Queen's South African Campaign Medal bearing the clasps for Paardeburg, Dreifontein, Johannesburg, Diamond Hill, Wittebergen and Relief of Kimberley. For his service in the Great War he was awarded the 1914 Star, British War and Victory Medals. He was also a recipient of the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal.

He is commemorated at Portsmouth.

Masonic :

TypeLodge Name and No.Province/District :
Mother : Lodge of Unity, Peace, and Concord No. 316 E.C.London

Initiated
Passed
Raised
16th October 1908
18th December 1908
28th December 1908
 

A letter from the Worshipful Master of the Lodge, John Bowers, dated 10th February 1922 requests: "Dear Sir, I beg to inform you that the members of this Lodge are placing on record, the services of their honoured dead during the recent Great European War. Would you kindly oblige me, with the date and place, at which the late Company Sergeant Major Clifton Henry Ellis, 2nd Bn "The Royal Scots" met his death. Thanking you in anticipation Yours faithfully John Bowers Wor. Mas."

A sub-note shows the detail which the Lodge is aware of, i.e. " K in Action F+Flanders 26.8.14", also shown in their contribution record at United Grand Lodge.

Unity, Peace and Concord is the Lodge long associated with and attached to the 2nd Battalion, Royal Scots. The lodge asserts that it was the first to receive an ambulatory warrant (and the last one to begrudgingly give it back), meaning that they held lodge wherever their battalion was stationed. Today, they meet at Mark Mason's Hall in St. James's, London.

Source :

The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:

Additional Source:

Last Updated: 2019-09-04 06:34:09