Born at Woodford in 1889, son of Joseph Brooke (Paper Merchant & Agent) and Ethel Hunt. 1891: At home with family at Haddon House, Fairfield Road, Woodford Green. 1901: He was with his maternal grandmother Mary Taylor in Welford House, Market Street, Bakewell, Derbyshire. The rest of his family and grandfather were at “Mossford”, Theydon Garnon. In 1902 his father died in Torquay, with Probate giving his address as “Holmewood” Woodford Green. Clifford was an Old Bancroftian.
Clifford does not appear in the 1911 census, but around 1910 he emigrated to Canada where he worked as a Bank Clerk for the Bank of British North America in Montreal. The Bank objected to him joining the Forces, but on 23rd October 1914 he enlisted in the 24th Battalion Canadian Infantry (Victoria Rifles). The form shows that his mother had married Dr W.R.C. Middleton, a Medical Officer of Health in Singapore, and she was living there with him.
During the voyage to England he volunteered as an additional stoker on the ship, and then completed training as a military scout. 12th September 1915 saw him depart for France where he worked as a Scout and Battalion Gunner. After leave in May he was attached to the Canadian Army Service Corps for four months, rejoining his regiment in late September.
Clifford Hunt was part of the Canadian Forces deployed at the Battle of Thiepval Ridge at the end of September 16, and Canadian military documents record his death. While his Battalion was massing in a front line trench for an attack on enemy positions near Courcelette, he was severely wounded in the jaw by shrapnel. He was given immediate attention, but died from wounds a few hours later. He was buried in a shell hole just behind Regina Trench at Grandcourt. Like thousands of others, his remains were never recovered from the Somme battlefield.
Research by Adrian Lee, Local Historian
Sources:
Ancestry.com
Woodford Times
Canadian National Archives Documents
The Bancroftian
For more information on this individual please see The Old Bancroftian website.